Are you looking for the best windy garden solutions? Read on.
If you have a windy garden, this can often seem like a major challenge and a problem to overcome. But with the right approach, wind can be beneficial. And there are ways to keep your garden plants safe.
By understanding the terrain, choosing the right plants for the right places, and protecting those plants that need protecting you can create a wonderful garden in even the most blustery of spots. And if you are clever, you can even harness the wind and use it to your advantage in your garden design.
Understand and Use The Terrain
Understanding your site is crucial when seeking the best windy garden solutions. Of course, you need to know the prevailing wind direction, and where the wind most commonly comes from throughout the year.
You also need to think about the terrain – both within the garden and in the surrounding area. Think about how hills and valleys funnel the wind, and also how surrounding buildings impact the environment.
The mid-slope areas on a landscape are typically less problematic than the higher peaks, and the valley bottoms. So think about where things are best positioned on sloping terrain.
Add Shelter Belts
Using plants is one of the most effective ways to manage wind in a garden. Plants can filter and disperse strong winds rather than blocking them entirely. On larger sites, one of the best windy garden solutions is planting shelter belts of suitable tree species.
Of course, there are plenty of wind-tolerant trees suitable for the UK, including evergreens like:
- Cedars
- Cypress
- Junipers
- & Pines
And deciduous trees like:
- Alders
- Aspen
- Birch
- Dogwoods
- Elder
- Goat Willow
- Oaks
- Poplars
- Rowan
- Whitebeam
Just remember that when choosing trees, you will have to consider a range of environmental factors – not just the wind. You will also have to make sure that shelter belts are long enough to prevent wind eddies around the sides, and are otherwise suitable for the site and its conditions.
Add Wind Break Hedgerows
Wind break hedgerows are another of the excellent and versatile nature-based windy garden solutions you might consider. Some shrubs which can work well in exposed gardens, even ones by the coast, include:
- Blackthorn
- Broom
- Elaeagnus
- Euonymous
- Gorse
- Hawthorn
- Hazel
- Holly
- Hornbeam
- Rosa rugosa
- Sea buckthorn
- Viburnum tinus
It can be a good idea to incorporate both evergreen and deciduous species, and it is often a good idea (for wildlife and site-suitability) to choose a high proportion of native species.
Wind break hedges placed to counter the prevailing winds can protect a small area on their windward side, and an area of around 30x their height behind them.
The wind will rise up and over the hedge, and should be carefully planned to form a higher peak in the middle to maximise its beneficial effect. You should also think carefully about its length to improve its function.
Smaller shrubs like heathers and Mediterranean herbs can also work well as windy garden solutions. And even small shrubs, when carefully positioned, can help create micro-climates for other less wind-tolerant plants.
Add Taller Plants Around Beds or Vegetable Gardens
As well as making wind-break hedges, you can also think carefully about where you place shrubs and other taller plants to protect a vegetable garden.
Many vegetables and annual fruits can find windy conditions challenging. But by thinking carefully about where and how you place plants around such areas, you can create more sheltered areas for your crops.
Use Sturdy Trellis With Climbing Plants to Shield Certain Areas of Your Garden
Another way to protect key growing areas is to create a more sheltered spot with man-made structures. A solid wall or fence can cause more issues than it solves. So if you are looking for a windy garden solution, you should consider ways to filter the wind rather than blocking it entirely.
Where space is limited, or you do not wish to increase shade too excessively, you might consider, instead of trees or shrubs, placing sturdy trellis structures with climbing plants. Just make sure that your trellis is firmly fixed into the ground and is strong enough to support the climbing plants you choose.
Use Undercover Growing Areas Like Polytunnels for Your Crops
Another way, of course, to protect your crops in a food-producing garden is to grow them undercover. A polytunnel can work in a windy garden – you just have to make sure that you position it correctly so that it will not be damaged.
A polytunnel, protected by shelter belts or wind break hedgerows where necessary, and placed in the right location, is one of the best windy garden solutions – allowing you to grow you own not just through the summer months but year-round.
Make Sure Taller Plants Are Supported and Tied In
Taller plants may break or become damaged in a windy garden. So another key windy garden solution involves choosing the right support structures for these taller or climbing plants and tying them properly into their supports.
Prune Properly To Reduce Wind Damage
Another maintenance job to undertake each year if you have a windy garden is proper pruning. Not all plants require pruning, of course, but you should always check your garden over regularly and remove dead or damaged branches and material.
This is another of the windy garden solutions that is about limiting damage and boosting resilience in your garden.
Select Perennial Flowers and Ornamental Grasses That Like To Sway in the Breeze
However, embracing your environment might also mean choosing plants which like to sway in the breeze, and which will not mind blustery conditions.
Some perennial flowers and ornamental grasses work very well as windy garden solutions. Not only are they able to cope with the conditions – they also really come into their own, adding visual interest and appeal, as they move in the breezes.
Deeper rooted and ‘flexible’ taller plants, as well as low-lying, sturdy, mat-forming alpines and other perennials are great choices for a windy space.
Harness the Wind and Use it to Your Advantage
Choosing plants that look great in the wind is not the only way to take advantage of a windy spot. Wind can also be beneficial in cooling certain areas.
For example, a properly positioned polytunnel can take advantage of summer breezes when doors or vents are left open. A seating area in a slightly breezy spot might also be a more pleasant place to sit than somewhere very hot and still.
You might also consider harnessing the wind with a small wind turbine to generate renewable electricity on your property.
Or place chimes or windmills to add to the visual appeal and natural soundscape of your garden.
These are just some windy garden solutions to consider when trying to make the most of your exposed garden.
