Hedging

Hedges are very good for the environment acting, as vital wildlife corridors, providing food and shelter for insects and birds, capturing carbon and improving air quality, Spofforth Park is well blessed with hedging planted by the builders mainly of two types: Photinia Red Robin and Beech.

Activity 1 Filling the gaps

The usual survival rate with new planting is about 90 per cent and the main areas affected by these losses is the hedging which runs parallel to the pathway in Ezart Avenue, (house numbers 32-38 and 40-48. The hedge in front of the apartment block which also borders the cycle path needs gaps filled in.

As a trial, hornbeam, which is similar to beech, was plante d and is probably more suited to the soil. In total over 100 hornbeams were planted in the gaps in the hedges along the pathway and 30 in front of the apartment block.

Activity 2 The creation of two new hedges.

Hedge 1 Screening the garden walls between house number 26 and 32.

The wall between these two properties stretched for 140 yards and since the completion of the houses at least 3 planting attempts had been made to screen the wall from the roadway. Each had failed. There were some climbing hydrangeas clinging on to life.

Two hundred bare rooted beech were planted, and these were augmented by 8 crab apple trees, – to give variation and height to the strip of land. Wildflowers are to be planted in front of the hedge to give colour in the summer.

Hedge 2

This is planted against the metal fence running parallel to the cycle path. The hedge will offer a screen to the apartment block car park. The hedge needed 200 beech plants, again they were bare rooted.

Total hedging plants 530 and as they were bare rooted, they were a fraction of the cost compared to potted plants.

Barry Curtis April 2026