EP302- Best Hedging Options For An Irish Garden. Hedge Smarts For Every Garden.

Master My Garden Podcast

Master My Garden Podcast
EP302- Best Hedging Options For An Irish Garden. Hedge Smarts For Every Garden.
Nov 14, 2025 Episode 302
John Jones

Planning a hedge can feel like a maze: endless species, mixed advice, and pressure to get it right for the long haul. We cut through the noise with a clear framework that starts with purpose, respects your site, and ends with a shortlist you can trust. Whether you want privacy that feels soft, a living windbreak, neat garden rooms, or a wildlife corridor buzzing with life, you’ll find practical picks and honest trade-offs.

We dive into deciduous stalwarts like beech and hornbeam, explaining why beech remains a favourite for structure and low maintenance, and when hornbeam wins on wetter ground. For biodiversity, we show how to build a native mix—hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, viburnum opulus, and rugosa rose—that feeds pollinators and birds through the seasons. We also explain why tight clipping hides flowers and berries, and how to let sections grow out for real ecological value without losing order.

If evergreen is your brief, we unpack cotoneaster cornubia’s glossy leaves and autumn berries, griselinia’s coastal toughness, slow but classy holly, and the underrated reliability of privet and escallonia where frost is light. We give straight talk on photinia’s red flush versus real-world maintenance, and chat about our bad memeroies of leylandii and look at better conifer choices like Thuja ‘Emerald’. We also share when laurel is manageable and when it becomes a long-term problem for landscapes. For those who love clean lines, yew offers timeless elegance, while box still frames spaces beautifully, with lonicera as a tougher alternative where knocks happen.

You’ll leave with a simple decision path: define the job, assess wind, frost, wet, choose evergreen or deciduous with intent, and pick spacing that fills without waste. We wrap with smart screening tactics that may only need a handful of well-placed plants to block sightlines and keep your view. If this guide helped you plan with confidence, follow the show, share with a gardening friend, and leave a quick review to help others find us.

Support the show

If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes, please let me know.
Email: info@mastermygarden.com

Check out Master My Garden on the following channels
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/
Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/

Until next week
Happy gardening
John

Episode Artwork EP302- Best Hedging Options For An Irish Garden. Hedge Smarts For Every Garden. 46:26 Episode Artwork EP301- Balancing Beauty & Biodiversity Support Listener Question Answered: Building A Beautiful Biodiversity Garden Without The Mess 38:13 Episode Artwork EP300- Adam Alexander “The Seed Detective” chats seed saving, growing veg, his new book and more 57:53 Episode Artwork EP299- How To Build A Stock-Proof, Beautiful Hedge That Delivers Fruit, Nuts, And Year-Round Interest 26:36 Episode Artwork EP298- Autumn Planting: Why Planting Trees And Shrubs Now Sets You Up For Spring Success 24:13 Episode Artwork EP297- Tanya Anderson Lovely Greens, chats winter gardening tips, her book and more: From Lovely Greens to Lasting Soil Health: Organic Gardening, Windproof Growing, and Creative Uses for Plants. 42:31 Episode Artwork EP296 - Louise From Sunfleck Chats All Things Houseplants: From Décor to Wellbeing: Houseplants That Calm, Heal, and Thrive 48:49 Episode Artwork EP295- Shane Hatton Chats About Bosco’s Garden, Permaculture, Food Forests & More. Permaculture in Practice: The Story of Bosco's Garden 51:53 Episode Artwork EP294- 10 Super Plants For Autumn Colour In An Irish Garden. Capturing The Magic Of Autumn Foliage In Your Garden. 22:16 Episode Artwork - EP293 Perennial Grow Along September 2025. What You Will Need To Grow Your Own Perennial Border. Seed to Border: The Perennial Grow Along Project 26:07 Episode Artwork EP292- How To Move Plants Within The Garden: Moving Plants Without Trauma. Listener Question Answered. 38:42 Episode Artwork EP291- What To Sow In September & Other Gardening Jobs. Maximising Your September Garden: What to Sow Now Before Winter 21:18 Episode Artwork EP290- Fill Your Spring Garden With Colour By Planting Bulbs now!! Dig, Drop, Done: Why Lazy Gardeners Love Bulbs. 37:04 Episode Artwork - EP289 Watering Tips & Keeping Plants Looking Great In This Dry Spell: The Watering Wisdom You Desperately Need 24:03 Episode Artwork - EP288 Josh Tickell Big Picture Ranch Chats: Soil Revolution: Regenerative Farming's Global Impact 53:09 Episode Artwork - EP287 What To Sow In August & Other Gardening Jobs : Seed Sowing Success for August Gardens 25:11 Episode Artwork -EP286 Creating A Wildlife Pond & Making Space For Nature With “Pond Girl Ashley” 59:04 Episode Artwork - EP285 Carlow Garden Festival Unveiled For 2025 With Eileen O Rourke Carlow Tourism 45:24 Episode Artwork - EP284 Homemade Fertilisers & Their Benefits In The Garden: Nettle & Comfrey: Creating Natural Fertilisers for Healthier Plants 18:18 Episode Artwork - EP283 What To Sow In The Garden In July & Other Gardening Jobs: July's Seed Sowing Guide for Garden Continuity 23:16 Episode Artwork - EP282- From Lawn to Flower Paradise: Creating a Cutting Garden with Colin Jones Salterbridge Gardens 46:38 Episode Artwork - EP281 Beyond Perennials: 10 Magnificent Flowering Shrubs for Year-Round Interest 36:37 Episode Artwork -EP280 What To Sow In June, Laois Garden Festival Recap & Other Gardening Jobs: Maximizing June: Seeds to Sow Now 29:46 Episode Artwork -EP279 Wild Gardens, Rich History: Tom Coward on William Robinson's Legacy & His Upcoming Talk At Laois Garden Festival 43:16 Episode Artwork -EP278 Paul & Daniel Ardea Garden Chat About This Wonderful Haven Of Special Plants: Exploring Ardea Garden: A Wild West Cork Oasis 52:55