Garden Studios

Only rugged species will do; anything delicate is shredded or killed completely. But don’t despair for the reason that effective use of windbreaks could make the complete difference – not only on your plants but additionally if you fancy getting the deckchairs out.

What to not do

The obvious solution – surrounding the garden with high walls and solid fences – is not any solution in any respect. Wind blowing excessive of solid structures creates strong eddies that could make conditions inside your garden even worse and through very windy conditions, fencing may blow down, causing all types of wear and tear.

Fencing

Non-solid fencing is way more practical as a windbreak, because it lets through enough wind to avoid eddies but not enough to upset your plants. For best results, a fence ought to be about 50 per cent gaps – that is what you get with woven willow, hazel hurdles or palings. Fences with a comparatively short working life, akin to hurdles, are useful as temporary shelter for brand spanking new hedges, permitting them to establish and grow quickly.
 
Hedges

Look around to peer what hedging plants thrive on your area. Hawthorn is sweet for country districts, while in southern seaside gardens, you’ll want escallonia. Rosa rugosa makes a hard, flowering and fruiting hedge that won’t grow too tall or need clipping. If space permits, plant a mixed country-style hedge containing blackthorn, holly, hawthorn, field maple, sweet briar and dog roses, with a couple of tough, fruiting trees along with crab apple, greengage and damson growing up through it. This makes a pretty livestock-proof hedge that still yields useful crops of fruit and appears good round a cottage-style garden or natural/wild area.
 

Shelter belts

A row of tall, upright trees or shrubs may additionally make an exceptional windbreak, as can ornamental miscanthus grass (unlike the same-looking bamboo,here is slow to spread and possible control).

Alternatively, a living willow “fedge” (a cross between a fence and a hedge) is very good in a wet, exposed position. To make one, push a row of long, live willow stems (withies) into the bottom at an angle, then weave them in conjunction with a second row angled within the wrong way to form diamond shapes.

These will take root and convey side shoots to offer you a living barrier that appears superb and wishes only occasional clipping.

Garden dividers

As a second line of defence, to offer extra protection to a kitchen garden or seating area, it is smart to divide your garden internally. Used thoughtfully, dividers can add lots to the design of your garden, too. There are many options here: an espalier-trained fruit tree or a row of pleached lime or hornbeam looks elegant and deflects the breeze above head-height without creating an excessive amount of shade.

Alternatively, you may make decorative screens from strong, square-pattern trellis panels securely fixed to timber posts, and used as a support for roses or other climbers. Or post a pergola along a straight garden path, then train pillar roses up the posts. Spiral the plants around the uprights to extend the variety of flowers produced and inspire them to hold flowers from the bottom of the plants to the head.

So in the event that your garden is lashed by the four winds, don’t worry – within a season or so, it may be an oasis of greenery and calm.