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  • Number 4 in series of 8 lectures in total
  • First 3 lectures are about observing, planning and designing.
  • Next 3 lectures getting hands dirty starting the structure of the garden: establishing windbreaks, building features, establishing paths and planting the canopy layer, the big trees.
  • Final 2 lectures are about filling in the structure: clearing the ground, and then planting the shrubs and the ground cover.

Protect a Backyard Forest

Protect precious plants from elemental forces

Young Dogwood windbreak leading down to polytunnel

The Backyard Forest by Jake Rayson

natureworks.org.uk/backyard/protect

Press P to see notes and credits
Work licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike, embedded work may have other licenses.
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Course overview

Young Dogwood windbreak leading down to polytunnel

  1. Introducing
  2. Plan
  3. Design
  4. Protect 👈
  5. Perennial Veg
  6. Canopy
  7. Ground Prep
  8. Shrubs & Ground Cover
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  • Number 4 in series of 8 lectures in total
  • First 3 lectures are about observing, planning and designing.
  • Next 3 lectures getting hands dirty starting the structure of the garden: establishing windbreaks, building features, establishing paths and planting the canopy layer, the big trees.
  • Final 2 lectures are about filling in the structure: clearing the ground, and then planting the shrubs and the ground cover.

What you’ll learn

Young Dogwood windbreak leading down to polytunnel

  1. Types of protection
  2. Windbreak design
  3. Establish hedge
  4. Suitable species
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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  • Iterative design
  • Revisit design stage!
  • Accessibility, Attention, Protection

1. Protection

Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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Elemental protection

Female blackbird eating red haw berry in hawthorn tree

  1. Wind 👈
  2. Cold
  3. Water
  4. Predators
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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  • Protect from elements
  • Protect for wildlife — habitat & food
  • Trees like the company of other trees
  • Plants grow faster & stronger
  • Wind & frost damage to blossom

1. Wind

Thick rose hedge windbreak

Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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1. Wind

Sticks stacked up into a hedge

Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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  • Temporary until hedges established
  • Use prunings
  • Wildlife habitat
  • Support for climbers

Can be elegant! (photo by John Little)

Curving dead hedge

1. Wind

Yellow pea-like flowers of Broom

Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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  • 2-3 plants, quick growing, 2m from protected tree
  • Ideal UK native is Broom
  • Broom is shortlived, nitrogen fixing, needs full sun
  • Remove nurse tree when protected plant tree enough

1. Wind

Grapevine in polytunnel

Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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Any shelter really:

  • Greenhouse
  • Potting shed
  • Coldframe

Elemental protection

Female blackbird eating red haw berry in hawthorn tree

  1. Wind
  2. Cold 👈
  3. Water
  4. Predators
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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2. Cold

Polytunnel & nursery area

  • Polytunnel 👈
  • Greenhouse
  • Potting shed
  • Cold frame
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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  • Solar gain from sun
  • Polytunnel cheaper than greenhouse
  • Get human doors & folding windows
  • Orient north to south, sunny spot
  • Flat is better!

2. Cold

Polytunnel & nursery area

  • Polytunnel
  • Greenhouse 👈
  • Potting shed
  • Cold frame
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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For heated glasshouse:

2. Cold

Polytunnel & nursery area

  • Polytunnel
  • Greenhouse
  • Potting shed 👈
  • Cold frame
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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  • Like a shed crossed with a greenhouse 😉
  • Expensive
  • Recommended if you 💚 propagating

2. Cold

Cold frame on grass

  • Polytunnel
  • Greenhouse
  • Potting shed
  • Cold frame 👈
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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Elemental protection

Female blackbird eating red haw berry in hawthorn tree

  1. Wind
  2. Cold
  3. Water 👈
  4. Predators
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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3. Water

Garden tap on post

  • Taps & hose 👈
  • Paths
  • Harvest rainwater
  • Swales & mounds
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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  • Taps near propagation area
  • Decent hose!

3. Water

Grass path by raised bed and new bed

  • Taps & hose
  • Paths 👈
  • Harvest rainwater
  • Swales & mounds
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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  • Essential for access!
  • Reduce grass paths, reduce mowing
  • Woodchip paths need topping up & weeding

3. Water

Big yellow rainwater container in growing area

  • Taps & hose
  • Paths
  • Harvest rainwater 👈
  • Swales & mounds
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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3. Water

Swales & mounds around newly planted trees

  • Taps & hose
  • Paths
  • Harvest rainwater
  • Swales & mounds 👈
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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  • Swales to slow progress of water
  • Tree mounds to improve drainage for trees

Photo by Maria & Thalia on Raw Culture Collective blog

Elemental protection

Female blackbird eating red haw berry in hawthorn tree

  1. Wind
  2. Cold
  3. Water
  4. Predators 👈
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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4. Predators

Big black slug

  • Slugs 👈
  • Mice
  • Squirrels
  • Birds
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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  • Reduce habitat by weeding
  • Treat perennials as annual until mature

Photo by Benjamin Dobson on Flickr

4. Predators

Mouse on grass

  • Slugs
  • Mice 👈
  • Squirrels
  • Birds
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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Photo by David Short on Flickr

4. Predators

Grey squirrel on hind legs

  • Slugs
  • Mice
  • Squirrels 👈
  • Birds
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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  • Photo by Rob Hodgkins on Flickr

4. Predators

Female blackbird eating red haw berry in hawthorn tree

  • Slugs
  • Mice
  • Squirrels
  • Birds 👈
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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 Most attractive fruit colours to birds

In descending order:

  • Purple
  • Red
  • Orange
  • Black (mulberries)

2. Design

Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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2. Design windbreaks

Screenshot of forest garden CAD plan

  1. Height for protection
  2. Aspect dictates height
  3. Profile & gaps
  4. Stack functions
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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  • Plant hedges for final size
  • As with all design, question of balance

2.1 Height for protection

Illustration of hedge heights & protection

  • Height protects 8x length 👈
  • Eg 2m high protects 16m long
  • Sequence extends protection
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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2.1 Height for protection

Illustration of hedge heights & protection

  • Height protects 8x length
  • Eg 2m high protects 16m long 👈
  • Sequence extends protection
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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2.1 Height for protection

Illustration of hedge heights & protection

  • Height protects 8x length
  • Eg 2m high protects 16m long
  • Sequence extends protection 👈
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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2.2 Aspect dictates height

Rosa rugosa prickly thick hedge

  • Taller hedges North & East 👈
  • West sunlight more valuable
  • Calculate sunlight eg Sun Surveyor
  • Check prevailing wind!
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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  • Rule of thumb 👍
  • Compromise

2.2 Aspect dictates height

View across summer evening field

  • Taller hedges North & East
  • West sunlight more valuable 👈
  • Calculate sunlight eg Sun Surveyor
  • Check prevailing wind!
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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2.2 Aspect dictates height

Screenshot sun surveying app

  • Taller hedges North & East
  • West sunlight more valuable
  • Calculate sunlight eg Sun Surveyor 👈
  • Check prevailing wind!
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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2.2 Aspect dictates height

Wind map from Meteoblue

  • Taller hedges North & East
  • West sunlight more valuable
  • Calculate sunlight eg Sun Surveyor
  • Check prevailing wind! 👈
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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2.3 Profile & gaps

Illustration comparing sloping windbreak profile & vertical profile

  • Vertical profile better protection 👈
  • Baffle/island gap
  • Staggered gap
  • Angled gap
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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  • Beware frost pockets on slopes
  • Intentional gaps?

2.3 Profile & gaps

Illustration showing gap

  • Vertical profile better protection
  • Baffle/island gap 👈
  • Staggered gap
  • Angled gap
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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2.3 Profile & gaps

Illustration showing baffle covering gap

  • Vertical profile better protection
  • Baffle/island gap 👈
  • Staggered gap
  • Angled gap
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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2.3 Profile & gaps

Illustration showing staggered gap

  • Vertical profile better protection
  • Baffle/island gap
  • Staggered gap 👈
  • Angled gap
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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2.3 Profile & gaps

Illustration showing angled gap

  • Vertical profile better protection
  • Baffle/island gap
  • Staggered gap
  • Angled gap 👈
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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2.4 Stack those functions

Bumblebee on white open rose flower

  • Primarily create microclimate
  • Wildlife food & shelter
  • Wood & edible crops
  • Nitrogen fixing
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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Key design takeaways

  • Height depends on aspect
  • Plant hedges for final size!
  • Juggle the variables

Nitrogen fixing hedging plants include:

3. Establish

Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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3. Establish hedge

Two strips sheetmulch by fence, weighed down

  • Mulching 👈
  • Bare root
  • Plant wintertime
  • Tree spade
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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3. Establish hedge

Hedging planted between two strips of sheetmulch, extra woodchip mulch over gap

  • Mulching 👈
  • Bare root
  • Plant wintertime
  • Tree spade
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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3. Establish hedge

Bundled bareroot viburnum on wooden table with secateurs

  • Mulching
  • Bare root 👈
  • Plant wintertime
  • Tree spade
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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  • Bare root for deciduous only
  • Much cheaper, about £1
  • Winter, from November to March

Photo by F. D. Richards on Flickr

3. Establish hedge

Ornamental Forest Garden at the beginning of planting, in the winter

  • Mulching
  • Bare root
  • Plant wintertime 👈
  • Tree spade
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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Photo by F. D. Richards on Flickr

3. Establish hedge

Tree spade on sheet mulch

  • Mulching
  • Bare root
  • Plant wintertime
  • Tree spade 👈
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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4. Species

Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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4. Species

Screenshot of Plants For A Future website

  • I am UK-focussed
  • Native where possible
  • Bareroot much cheaper
  • Consider: height, diameter, spines, evergreen
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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UK Native

Foaming white Hawthorn flowers

  1. European Barberry
  2. Guelder Rose
  3. Sea Buckthorn
  4. Hawthorn
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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1. European Barberry

Spiky spines, small red fruit and rounded leaves

Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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  • Photo by Michael Mueller on Flickr

2. Guelder Rose

Bright red dangling berries

Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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3. Sea Buckthorn

Orange berries on the stem of spiky plant

  • Hippophae rhamnoides 6m x 2.5m
  • UK native, host to many
  • Nitrogen fixing; potentially invasive
  • Vicious spines; edible berries taste of battery acid
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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4. Hawthorn

Red haws berries on hawthorn, rounded green leaves

Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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  • Photo by manuel m. v. on Flickr
  1. Autumn Olive
  2. Juneberry
  3. Ebbing’s Silverberry
  4. Red Osier Dogwood
  5. Darwin’s Barberry
  6. Korean Barberry
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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1. Autumn Olive

Bush with mass of small yellowish flowers with lots of bumblebees

Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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2. Ebbing’s Silverberry

White flower and evergreen leaves

  • Elaeagnus x ebbingei 5m x 5m
  • Evergreen, classic Car Park Plant
  • Nitrogen fixing
  • Fragrant flowers, edible fruit
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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3. Juneberry

Pendulous white flowers of Juneberry

  • Amelanchier canandensis 6m x 3m
  • Beautiful early white blossom
  • Berries in, er, June
  • Partners well with Guelder Rose
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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4. Red Osier Dogwood

Leaves turning autumn, branches red

  • Cornus sericea 2.5m x 4m
  • Naturalised native
  • Well-behaved, easy to cut back
  • Likes moist soils
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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Photo by Allan Harris on Flickr

5. Darwin’s Barberry

Bright orange flowers and glossy evergreen spikey leaves

Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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Photo by Andy / Andrew Fogg on Flickr

6. Korean Barberry

Spiky green shrub

  • Berberis koreana 1.5m x 1m
  • Apparently most edible of the barberrys
  • Barberries known as zereshk (زرشک) in Persian
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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Photo by Jerzy Opioła - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Propagation!

Small red sticks stuck in ground mulched with hay

  • Bare-root cheap
  • Propagation cheaper!
  • Propagate named cultivars
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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  • If you have the time & space, propagate!
  • Hedging propagation mostly by cuttings

Backyard forest takeaways

Young Dogwood windbreak leading down to polytunnel

  • Windbreaks are priority!
  • Use temporary windbreaks
  • Remember final width & height
Protection – Design — Establish — Species
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The End

Small edible forest garden, wooden planks and woodchip paths

hello@natureworks.org.uk

natureworks.org.uk/newsletter

Music: Chegsticks by I Am The Mighty Jungulator

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Course overview

Young Dogwood windbreak leading down to polytunnel

  1. Introducing
  2. Plan
  3. Design
  4. Protect 👈
  5. Perennial Veg
  6. Canopy
  7. Ground Prep
  8. Shrubs & Ground Cover
2 / 62
  • Number 4 in series of 8 lectures in total
  • First 3 lectures are about observing, planning and designing.
  • Next 3 lectures getting hands dirty starting the structure of the garden: establishing windbreaks, building features, establishing paths and planting the canopy layer, the big trees.
  • Final 2 lectures are about filling in the structure: clearing the ground, and then planting the shrubs and the ground cover.
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