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Trees Gallery - Guernsey
Hedging
Hedging on islands and coasts can be quite distinctive compared to those of mainland, inland sites. Some plants are particularly well suited to coastal areas - pittosporum, coprosma, eleagnus - usally with thick glossy leaves or protective hairs. Others grow in hedgrows across the UK - privet, blackthorn, hawthorn, bramble. Some are planted as hedges and pruned accordingly, others grow wild and look after themselves.The eleagnus hedge pictured here is at Jerbourg on Guernsey. The other photos on this page are all from Sark. A second hedges page has photos taken on Herm.
Eleagnus (ebbingei?)
Oleaster
Silvery-green evergreen leaves, probably e. ebbingei, Ebbing's silverberry. In autumn, very small, but well-scented, creamy-white flowers open, filling the air with their delicious perfume.
Escallonia rubra macrantha
Red escallonia
A.k.a. redclaws. A native of Chile and Argentina, a spreading shrub usually to 1m, but can grow to 3.6m, It features glossy, elliptical, serrate evergreen leaves. The upper side is glossy and dark green, while the lower side is much lighter. The prominent, maroon to red hypanthia a cuplike or tubular enlargement of the receptacle of a flower, loosely surrounding the gynoecium or united with it are campanulate bell-shaped with acute points, leading to the common name redclaws. The flowers sit in short clusters from the leaf corners. The petals are fused into a short tube.
Euonymous (japonica?)
Japanese spindle
A bushy, medium-sized, evergreen shrub or small tree to a height of 4m, native to Japan, China and Korea. The flowers are small and greenish in colour; fruits are pink and orange, with a hint of white. This one on Sark appears to have escaped pruning and grown into a small tree.
Pittosporum tenuifolium
Kohuhu
A native of New Zealand, a.k.a tawhiwhi or black matipo, a potentially large evergreen shrub with slender, dark shoots. Here, in the formal garden of La Seigneurie on Sark, it has been neatly clipped into a hedge forming a small maze.
Quercus robur
Oak
The mighty oak tree when growing in a hedgerow on the coast can be buffeted by the wind, stunting its growth, pushing the trunk over to almost horizontal, and shaping the crown to a profile not far beyond the hedge.
Tamarix gallica
Tamarisk
Planted extensively as a hedge due its high resistance to wind, and tolerance of salt. Can be long lived, spreads by seed and by suckering. In its native mediterranean climate it can grow into a medium sized tree.
Ulex europaeus
Gorse
A.k.a. furze or whin, an evergreen shrub capable of growing to 3m. The shoots and leaves are modified into green spines, though young seedlings produce normal leaves for the first few months; these are trifoliate, resembling a small clover leaf. The solitary pea-like flowers are yellow, produced throughout the year, but mainly over a long period in spring. An extremely tough and hardy plant, considered an invasive weed in the Americas, New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia, where it was introduced as a type of hedge, but became a major blight to farmers as the climate suited its growth better than its native habitat and many of its natural predators were absent.A second page showing hedges on Herm is available.