The yews

The Yews

This part of the garden sits on the cross axis of the path that runs to the church bell tower and another that runs across the garden - and it's an example of introducing breathing spaces of green between all the floweriness. Here it's just lawn, yew hedges and squares of rosemary, which act as an all-important break in the paragraphs of the garden.

We love these green sections because they don't change dramatically, and they're relatively low maintenance. They hold the garden together in winter as much as in summer, and they make everything else feel richer by contrast.

In this lesson you'll learn why yew hedges and green corridors can be the calm backbone of a garden, and how to use them to create atmosphere with very little fuss.

Key Principles

• Use evergreen structure as the backbone: yew gives shape and permanence all year.
• Create calm between "paragraphs": green corridors let the eye rest between busy planting.
• Keep maintenance realistic: lawn and clipped yew looks grand, but they're not complicated - one good cut a year is enough for yew.
• Let the lawn be useful, not perfect: mow a bit higher and you can keep daisies and softness.
• Plant edible scents on the route: rosemary in the middle means you can pick as you walk - it makes the structure feel generous.
• Water only when establishing: once the framework is in, it should largely look after itself.

The yews also act as brilliant wildlife "hotels", which adds life and movement to what could otherwise feel quite formal.

Further Reading

• RHS: how to grow yew

Sourcebook

• Henchman aluminium tripod and platform ladders - designed for safety on uneven ground

Plant Directory

Taxus baccata

Common yew

Hardy evergreen tree or shrub

Taxaceae

Salvia rosmarinus

Rosemary

Hardy evergreen shrub

Lamiaceae

Bellis perennis

Daisy

Hardy evergreen perennial

Asteraceae