Hedges and Edges
By Lynn Kirkland
December 1st
Herb gardens can be given structure by
using hedging of box, lavender, rosemary,
roses or other herbal shrubs.
When considering hedging for a herb garden,
take into consideration the amount of
formality you want as well as the height
and width of the hedge.
At this time of year our stand out hedging
feature is the Corylus rugosa rose hedge
which when in full bloom gives off a delicious
spicy scent.
Later in autumn the foliage turns gorgeous
reds and oranges and the blooms have transformed
into clusters of orangey/red hips.
Even in winter when the hedge is bare,
it still creates a feature with its spectacular
thorns.
All our rugosa roses at the herb farm
were purchased from the rose specialists
at Trinity Farm.
Lloyd and Ann Chapman are experts and
helped with making the right choices many
years ago.
This is what they say about the rugosa
family.
“Rugosas are the toughest and least-understood
of all roses. Native to Japan and China,
they are tolerant of adverse conditions,
meaning they can be planted with confidence
at the beach, where salt spray would inhibit
other roses. Rugosas were 'discovered'
by the British in the 18th century, and
now can be found growing everywhere, even
in arctic Canada. Rugosas have fierce
prickles, deeply-veined crinkled leaves
and vigorous shrubby growth. Most are
continuous-flowering, many have wonderful
edible hips. The best hips come from the
single (5 petalled) rugosas. While tolerant
of adverse conditions, Rugosas are equally
at home in any garden setting. If you
want to keep out the neighbor's dogs or
children, a Rugosa hedge is the answer.
Best of all, Rugosas are so tough they
don’t need spraying.”
It is well worth a visit to Trinity Farm
to look at the display of the Queen of
Flowers and purchase some for your garden.
They are situated 2 kms off State Highway
1, just North of Otaki.
In the foreground of the photo of our
rugosa hedge is the delightful herb lady’s
mantle.
Alchemilla mollis is a favourite herb
of mine. It is lovely as an edging plant
and one of the loveliest features of this
herb is the way dewdrops or raindrops
are cupped in the pleated leaves and sparkle
beautifully to delight the gardener.
At this time of the year the lime green
flowers provide a pretty contrast to the
leaves. They also provide a nice contrast
to a rose or lavender hedge.
As we are now in December, a time where
the stresses and rush to Christmas starts
to build, it is the perfect time to remember
to take a moment now and then to get out
into the garden and smell the roses.
Grove
Road, RD10
Ashhurst
Manawatu
New Zealand
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