Our native Oregon Grape, native from British Columbia to Oregon, is an attractive, easy plant for the hedgerow. It easily grows to four feet and can be kept bushy or if planted closely with other shrubs can grow taller.
It is drought-tolerant but doesn’t do well in desiccating winds.
Mahonia media, a horticultural hybrid is below. This attractive evergreen offers dramatic foliage and winter flowers. All Mahonias have dark blue berries that birds eat.
Darwin’s Barberry, Berberis darwinii
Darwin’s Barberry, an evergreen shrub that thrives in our region, belongs in our hedgerows. Although it is not native, it come s from a similar climate in Chile. It is drought tolerant once established, provides berries for birds, and is an attractive relative of Oregon grape. It grows best in well-drained soil and can tolerate sand or clay soils. It grows best in full sun, and although it can handle shade it will flower much less. A slow grower, in ten years this Barberry will only be 5 ft tall by 4 ft. Over time it can grow to twice that size.
It is recognized as choice ornamental by Great Plant Picks, an educational branch of University of Washington.
Snowberry, Symphoricarpos albus
This inconspicuous native shrub can be a real workhorse in the hedgerow. It never really stands out until winter when it drops its leaves. The fat white berries make a distinct statement. Birds don’t eat them until late winter. Saponins and alkaloids make them mildly toxic to humans. It is drought tolerant and somewhat deer-tolerant.
Snowberry can form a thicket 4-6 feet wide. It can grow in poor gravelly soil. (To keep it in check, consider mowing or weed eating.) The vigorous roots can bind soil and make it idea for slope stabilization. I never really appreciated its aesthetic virtues until I saw it used on a steep bank in a landscape encircling an outdoor seating area. In late afternoon the sun’s low angle lit up the foliage creating a translucent green screen. Several cultivated varieties of snowberry have bubble gum pink fruit.
Shore Pine, Pinus contorta
As the name implies, shore pine, Pinus contorta var. contorta is native along the coast and tolerates salt spray. It is an excellent choice for windbreaks. Where conditions are harsh—infertile soil and heavy winds, the trees will grow to 25-30 feet. The Whatcom County plant table describes shore pine as “A tried and true backbone hedgerow species due to its adaptability to variable site conditions, moderate size, and quick growth rate.” Make sure it gets enough sunlight. In its natural habitat, shore pine is often found in sites too challenging for other conifers. One place to see them is at Ft Worden along the road to the lighthouse, where they were planted as part of a restoration project.
Note that in a mixed hedgerow, the shore pine branches are likely to get excess shade and die out. This is a natural consequence of crowding and won’t necessarily kill the tree, although there will be gaps. Keep this in mind and space other trees farther away.
(A different variety of this pine species occurs inland—the lodgepole pine). They are the only PNW pines with short needles in bundles of two.
One way to shape shore pines in the early years is to prune the new flexible tip growth or candles during the month of May when thye are pliable. They grow in clusters of 4 or 5. Several can be removed by snapping off the flexible candles, while the remaining ones can be pinched in half to encourage dense growth. This may be too labor-intensive for a hedgerow, but in the landscape, it makes a huge difference.
The oil-rich seeds in the cones are a great food source for birds.
I planted a row of them on the road-right-of-way to the west of a stand of madrona trees. Over thirty years they have grown well with regular attention early on, and then no care. At the time I wanted more screening from the busy road and didn’t consider their ultimate size in future decades.
There are a number of both native and non-native permaculture shrubs that I have already written about, including such natives as Pacific Wax Myrtle, Serviceberry, Hairy Manzanita, and Oregon Grape. Multifunctional shrubs that are not native also work well, including Goumi and Sea Buckthorn.
Sustainable Garden Design 