Hedges are a sustainable asset in any garden. Last week, I looked at the benefits of living hedges and turn here to ‘dead’ ones. Having been promoting this idea in talks and articles for nigh on quarter of a century, I’m delighted it’s now becoming mainstream.

Dead hedges are the perfect place for woody autumn prunings. The waste, especially when near the damp soil, rots down very slowly and provides a secure base for many creatures. Rotting wood is an invaluably rich habitat for so much of the garden’s microscopic life and this in turn makes a good food source for larger creatures.

There are many nesting opportunities for birds and I’ve even seen a hedgehog emerging from a structure I had built in a council-funded demonstration garden.

A dead hedge has none of the drawbacks of a living hedge, needing neither watering nor nutrients. And, like a living hedge, acts as a permeable wind barrier, helping give plants some protection from the wind.

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You can make a dead hedge as rough or neat as you like, from chucking the waste on a chaotic pile in a corner of the garden to constructing an attractive hedge. This could be whatever height and length you want - a higher boundary one or a low division between parts of the garden.

The simplest approach is to drive two lines of poles into the ground, approximately 45- 60cm apart. Make the hedge’s width whatever you like. Then gradually fill with stems and branches cut to fit fairly neatly inside the poles. This is the simplest way of dealing with prickly rose and bramble stems, all the autumn and winter clearings that are hard, if not impossible to process.

When you use secateurs and loppers to break bulky waste down to levelish stems you’ll end up with a perfectly decent-looking hedge.

If the spirit moves you, you could even make an attractive feature of the hedge, something I’m afraid I’ve never had time or inclination to do. If you grow and need to coppice willow, weave any wands between the uprights, packing them down tightly, and put the other woody prunings behind.

Any pliable stems such as honeysuckle or clematis would do the trick as well as willow. But if you are using willow, remember it’s almost immortal and manages to strike and flush in seemingly impossible places. And, for heaven’s sake sake, don’t use willow as upright poles unless you want to plant a fresh forest.

On a shady side you could plant ferns that would enjoy ready access to moisture but be sure to leave one side that is easy to get at so you can continuously add more material.

A colourful treatA colourful treat (Image: free)

Plant of the week

Rosa moyesii ‘Geranium’ is covered with brilliant red, flask shaped hips that put on just as good a show as the flowers. A vigorous shrub rose with pretty foliage it has something for every season.