bird species are closely associated with hedgerows.

Says Nick Coumbe, general manager, Grown For You, When we think of going green its making compost and going to the bottle bank that leap to mind, but gardeners can add planting a native hedge to the list. Not only are they beneficial to over wintering insects  many of which are very useful in the garden  but they promote the overall health of any plot. They provide an ideal habitat which introduced species like leylandii dont.

The variety is also wide: from the evergreen of the yew to the fantastic coppery colours

of the beech and hornbeam, to say nothing of the common blackthorne, also known as the sloe, whose berries make that wonderful winter warmer, sloe gin. Good looking, tasting good and beneficial  what could be better?

The Tree Councils Hedge Fund campaign aims to plant 73 km of new hedges and more than 8.500 new hedge trees in communities across the UK. According to The Tree Council the UK has lost almost four per cent of its hedgerow trees in the 10 years up to 2007.

Through its site www.plantahedge.co.uk, Grown For You is offering 10 bare-root hedging plants of 60-90 cm tall for £11.95 and 10 bare-root beech hedging plants for £15.75. Normally planted at three to five per metre, this means each pack will provide two metres of hedge.

Grown For You was founded in 2008 by Rupert White, owner of Griffin Nurseries, which enjoys a reputation as one of the UKs best specimen plant producers. Nick Coumbe has very recently been appointed as general manager for the online business.