Have you considered a berry hedge? Decorative fruits bring color and shape to hedges in seasons when they have lost their flowers but also, and this is less known, provide cover for many animals.
A life-size feeder
A large part of the decorative fruits are very appreciated by birds. However, there is no need to fear that the hedge will be plundered overnight! On the contrary ... By choosing species whose fruit ripens at different times, you can create a long-lasting show that starts in August and ends in late February or early March, and you can create beautiful effects. Many fruits ripen very late (ivy, some apples) and the birds do not touch them until they have been softened by several successive frosts. Also, be aware that white or yellow fruits are shunned by birds until they have nothing else to eat!
Many "organic" gardeners will appreciate the extra food provided for the birds by the decorative fruiting shrub hedge. By keeping them in place around the garden, they will remain present in spring and summer to protect vegetables from caterpillars, roses from aphids and many other pests.
Shelter as well as cover
Thorny shrubs such as pyracantha or berberis protect birds from a number of predators such as cats, small carnivores or birds of prey. They are especially popular for nesting. The addition of evergreen species, such as hollies and mahonias, provides additional protection and allows the birds to find shelter in the hedge during the winter. Once they have both food and shelter, the birds will not stray from the garden and the sprayer can easily be dispensed with.
Some species to use ?
Pyracantha (Pyracantha talantoïdes)
Innumerable orange, red or yellow fruits on somewhat stiff stems with thorns. Alone or mixed with other shrubs, they form an impassable hedge. The white bloom in spring is also very decorative.
Height: 2,50m; spread, 2m.
Apple tree ' Golden Hornet' (Malus 'Golden Hornet')
Abundant mini golden flowers along the branches from August. Very decorative, they also make excellent jellies. Birds enjoy them from November. Height : 4m, spread : 3m.
Callicarpa ( Callicarpa bodinieri 'Profusion')
Very surprising with its purple fruits that the birds don't eat until they blacken from frost. Also interesting for its bright yellow foliage in autumn. Use sparingly, to break up the monotony. Height and spread: 1,50m.
European Fusain (Euonymus 'Red Cascade')
Curious bright pink fruits that open in quarters to reveal the orange bishop's cap seeds, all against a backdrop of beautiful red fall colors. Ideal in limestone soil. Height : 4m, width : 2,m.
Rough rose (Rosa rugosa)
Very large red fruits that look like cherry tomatoes follow the simple pink or white flowers. Its upright, compact, well-branched habit and strongly thorny stems make it an excellent defensive hedge shrub that can be integrated into a flowering hedge. Ideal for furnishing the base of the hedge. Especially continuous flowering cultivars such as 'F.J. Grootendorst' or 'Pink Grootendorst', which remain in bloom from mid-June until the first frost, should be chosen. The same applies to the new generation of so-called "landscape" roses such as the Meillandécor ® (Meilland), Clos Fleuri ® (Delbard) or Nirpaysage ® (Nirp) series, which offer the advantage of flowering from the base to the top of the plant and can be pruned with a simple shear. Height and spread: about 1,20m.
White Symphorine (Symphoricarpos albus)
Large, pure white fruits that look like cotillions, hanging from the end of young branches. Ideal at the base of the hedge to fill the space between taller shrubs. Grows well in the shade and in poor soil. Height: 1.20m, spread: 1.50m to 2m (suckers).
Mahonia ( Mahonia aquifolium)
Large compound evergreen leaves gathered in a crown around the branches. Intended for the first row of living hedges, because it hardly exceeds 1,50 m in height, this evergreen shrub with thorny leaves, takes a red tint at the end of the season. In March, large bunches of honey-scented yellow flowers are followed in August by clusters of beautiful blue fruits. Height and spread: 1,50m.
Holly (Ilex aquifolium 'Alaska')
This variety is self-fertile. It takes only one plant to produce an abundance of red fruits every year. The rather small leaves are more elegant than on other hollies. Height: 3m approximately (pruning well) spread: 1,20m.
Tree ivy (Hedera helix 'Arborescens')
We appreciate its evergreen foliage and its late flowers (green), which delight the bees in November. Its branches "climb" between the others to make the hedge persistent little by little. Height: up to 2 m, width: 1,50m.
