The A-mazing guide to hedges

Gardening with the RHS

Royal Horticultural Society

Home & Garden, Leisure, Hobbies

4.4 • 654 Ratings

🗓️ 17 March 2022

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Our Chief Horticulturist Guy Barter wanders into Hampton Court Palace's historic yew maze to meet Gardens Manager Graham Dillamore. Once haunt of kings and queens, this 300 year old spread of tortuous topiary now welcomes thousands of visitors and contains valuable lessons for modern-day gardeners too. Guy offers hedge planting and maintenance advice before handing over to Dr Stephanie Bird who shares the latest thinking on box tree moth, a recent arrival to Britain that can devastate plantings of box (Buxus sempervirens). Did you know that hedges have some powerful environmental benefits? Recent RHS research shows they can reduce pollution levels, help prevent flooding and even provide habitat for wildlife and food for pollinators. RHS scientist Dr Mark Gush explains more, and shares details of the best plants to use. Useful links Hampton Court Palace maze Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival RHS advice on growing and maintaining hedges Box tree moth (includes info on planting alternatives to box) Hedges with environmental benefits Plants mentioned (to find suppliers please visit RHS Find a Plant or the RHS online plant shop) Yew (Taxus baccata), western red cedar (Thuja plicata), hawthorn (Crataegus) and cotoneaster (Cotoneaster franchetii and others), beech (Fagus sylvatica), pyracantha, Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii), cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus), holly (Ilex aquifolium), hornbeam (Carpinus betulus)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Get your tickets for the greatest show in Earth at an RHS garden near you.
0:05.1	Where nature puts on an unforgettable performance of colour and fragrance.
0:09.3	The scenery changes many times in one season and our finest trees will happily play the part of...
0:14.7	The best hiding place ever.
0:17.4	Booth!
0:18.2	Put your day out of dreams in the hands of the experts.
0:21.6	It's the greatest show in Earth, at an RHS garden near you.
0:25.6	Book tickets online for discounts plus under fives go free and under 16 to five pounds.
0:31.6	Today it's all about hedges.
0:34.6	I'm exploring how to care for an old favourite you at the UK's oldest
0:40.1	surviving hedge maze, learning about the benefits of hedges for our environment, and hearing
0:46.3	how to protect your hedge from the box tree moth. I'm Guy Barter. Welcome to Gardening with the RHS.
0:57.0	I've just got off the train at Hampton Court, walked across the bridge over the Thames,
1:06.0	and here I am in front of Henry the ape's most famous residence, Hampton Court Palace in Surrey.
1:13.8	When Henry the ape finished his building program, in around 1540, Hampton Court was the most
1:19.9	modern, magnificent palace in England, and the gardens were pretty incredible too. They were once
1:26.3	the exclusive playground of kings and queens,
1:29.3	with new ideas and designs arriving with each era,
1:32.3	from the Tudors through to the Victorians.
1:35.3	And in 1838, the whole place was open to the public on royal orders.
1:40.3	Thanks to Queen Victoria, visitors could now stroll through the Great Fountain Garden, the Privy Garden,
1:47.0	the Pond Gardens, the Royal Kitchen Garden, the Rose Garden, the list goes on.
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