Butterfly friendly privacy hedge

[butterfly_pete]

Hello all, Pete here. First timer to the forum, lifetime butterfly fan.
A question for the panel, Sorry if it’s been asked before but I couldn’t find anything similar in search.

The front of my house needs a privacy hedge.
I want something different from the bland green box hedges all around me.
A bit different and maybe improve the curb appeal of the house.

Is there any butterfly attracting plants/shrubs I can use.
I want the hedge just over 6 foot high.
The hedge will be facing NE. I live in Notts.
The rear of the hedge will get very little/no sunlight through the day.
I can go up to 4 foot deep and it will be 12 foot long.

One wild, idea I had was lavender. Would that be think and/or high enough.
If not high enough, maybe build a raised wall/bed, about 18 inches high, at the rear of where the hedge would go.
This could accommodate some plants.


I’m not adverted to some Holly but it grows rather slow and when matures, is hard to keep in order.
I don’t know if buddleias will be thick enough.

So any ideas?

Thanks in advance for the replies.

Pete

[Paul Wetton]

Hi Pete

Welcome from another Notts based butterfly enthusiast.

Have you thought about Hebe. There are many different types from low growing to very large bushes. The larger leaved varieties grow faster but are slightly more prone to being killed by frost like this winter. Some of mine suffered. I have bought them in the past from Bardill's Garden Centre on the A52 near Chillwell. I had two larger leaved varieties in my front garden that grew to 5 foot high by the same width in only 2 or 3 years. They are evergreen and flower most of the year if dead headed. I've had many common species on them along with my Buddleia and even a White-letter Hairstreak a few years ago. Don't know where it came from.

Just a thought anyway. I like them as they don't need too much love and attention and can be vigourously cut back.

[Matsukaze]

A couple of buckthorn bushes would attract breeding brimstones. Some sallows might be the right size - something like Salix 'Kilmarnock' - will flower in early spring and attract the early-emerging hibernators - small tortoiseshell, peacock, comma - and the latter will occasionally lay eggs on the sallow (as will various moths). Broom and gorse might be worth trying, though I think they are more an attractant for bumblebees than butterflies.

Don't forget that several useful wildflower species like hedgerow conditions and will attract butterflies - garlic mustard for breeding orange-tips and green-veined whites, bugle, herb robert and red campion as nectar sources. I also grow soapwort in quite shady conditions. This is popular with small tortoiseshells and hummingbird hawk-moths.

[Michaeljf]

The quickest way to attract butterflies for summer would be to get Buddleias. They grow quickly on any sort of ground and Garden Centres normally have detail on which ones are best for butterfies and insects. However they can be a bit straggly. Blackthorns are great as a demarcation bush and have spring flowers and late summer have lots of berries, though the same is true for Hawthorns. I agree with Paul that Orme's are a great bush, but like him I fear I may have lost several of mine to frost from the winter.

I have a small Buckthorn that I planted in my garden about 5 years ago. It's still struggling to grow a bit because it mostly gets the shade (the very small flowers always attract loads of wasps and bees). As stated, they're great for Brimstone caterpillars but make sure you get the right bush (not everyone refers to Buckthorn as the same bush) and they might not grow very fast if they're in shade.

You can always build a combination wall with smaller plants like Heather and Birds-foot Trefoil at the bottom, as long as the Trefoil will get sunlight. BFT is great for small butterflies (flower-wise) and may support a number of caterpillars as well. Again they may take a time to grow, whereas Heather and the aforementioned Lavender will give you flowers and growth fairly quickly.

Michael

[Pete Eeles]

I'd personally have a variety of plants in place, if I needed a hedge - both nectar sources and larval foodplants.

If you're also into moths, I think a privet hedge can support a good variety of species, as well as provide the seclusion you're after. It's also nice and thick! Hawthorn or blackthorn might also work. I'd then have a variety of plants at the base of the hedge, such as Garlic Mustard, and even Stinging Nettle - especially on the sunny side

But I'm struggling to think of any other plants that are thick enough to provide the seclusion you're after.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Lee Hurrell]

Hi Pete,

Welcome to the forums!

There's a church and associated buildings along the road from me which has a fantastic hedge. I walk past it every day. It contains Holly, Privet, probably several other shrubs but also plenty of Buddleia!

With the speed that Buddleia grows, at the moment it looks very overgrown as it's all shooting out the top. However, several times throughout the summer, whoever owns it trims it to look more like a normal 'tidy' hedge. This of course only has the effect of promoting the Buddleia's growth so that all summer long the top of the hedge is covered in its flowers for about 12 feet!

It really is something to behold and I presume the Buddleia has self seeded and grown up through the existing hedge while spreading along it's length, but what a sight. I must take a photo of it this year and post on here.

On a similar note, my neighbour's tall Buddleia tree is no more - she cut it right back to about 3 foot high last year. At the moment it has big shoots of this year's growth up to about 8 feet, which are already in bud! Granted her's has always been an early flowering plant (up a month before mine), but mid may? I think it could be out by the end of the month!

Cheers

Lee

[Michaeljf]

Hi Lee,
I always cut my Buddleias (I have about 4 different ones) down during winter, apart from one that white and in semi-shade if it is cut right down. During summer they all come out at different times. If I was smarter I'd know which ones flower early, but I expect there's quite a few varieties! n.b. - I wasn't sure how successful a white buddleia would be when I planted that one - it turns out the butterflies love it just as much, if not more than the others. I've often seen Red / Yellow / Crimson underwing moths on it during the night.

Privet hedges are good too. Good as foodplant for some, good for berries, good for flowers. Good for shaping and cutting, as is the Blackthorn, no wonder they're used as hedges round fields...

Michael

[Gruditch]

Viburnum tinus can if left grow to 3m, a good nectar source that flowers for ages, fine in sun or shade, and makes a good sold screen.

Kind Regards Gruditch

[celery]

I'm another Notts inhabitant. My twopenneth...

There's no point in planting for any species 'out of the ordinary here' in Notts - but you can get holly blue, small copper, large and small skippers, ringlet, speckled wood, meadow brown and gatekeepers into your garden (I've managed this in a small suburban West Bridgford plot) alongside the familiar whites, commas, peacocks, small torts, painted ladies and red admirals.

Hedging - if you're rural or semi-rural you can't beat the classic 'mixed hedge' - alder, elder, hawthorn, blackthorn, buckthorn, spindle, snowberry, privet, yew, whitebeam, beech, holly and then grow native honeysuckle, clematis, roses and ivy though it. All these plants can be obtained in Notts from Langar Wildflower Farm http://www.naturescape.co.uk/acatalog/s ... trees.html either individually or in special 'hedging' packs. (no, I don't work for them ). This kind of planting is just good for wildlife in general rather than being aimed specifically at butterflies.

If you're urban or suburban - and determined not to have privet - I'd go for something like clipped ceanothus, pyracatha, lonicera pileata or even bamboo - all these have real 'curb appeal'. The downside is... they're not great for butterflies - but you can always make up for this with the planting of myriad nectar sources and laval food plants inside your garden hedge.

cheers, celery

[butterfly_pete]

Hi, and thanks everyone for your suggestions.

I had two Hebe’s in the front garden but they both died last winter.
The new privacy hedge will be where one Hebe was.
The old Hebe attracted a lot of butterflies but was too thin for a privacy hedge.
I’m in a suburban area.

Buckthorn bushes and sallows sound a possibility.
I like the idea of a mixed hedge especially with buddleja.
Viburnum tinus sound good. Especially the colouring of the Viburnum tinus Variegatum.
I also love the smell of honeysuckle.

So, at the moment I’m thinking of Viburnum tinus for the screen, and winter interest.
Mixed with 1 blackthorn, 1 sallow, 1 buddleja and 1 honeysuckle. (Can I squeeze another Hebe in as well)
And at the bottom wild garlic and honesty.

But would that all look a bit of a dog’s dinner.
Probably remove the buddleja as I have two in the back garden.

I forgot to say I have the usual butterfly attracting plants in my back garden.
IE Buddleja, Valerian, lavender, small scabious, golden rod, ivy, birds-foot trefoil etc.

Michael, which is the correct buckthorn variety to use.

Thanks again everyone.
Pete