The majority of New Zealand’s population lives in coastal areas, experiencing strong winds
on many days in a year. What would be your first impulse to protect your garden from these
winds? Out of experience, most people tend to build fences. This shouldn’t be a problem,
since they are keeping the wind out, right? If you surround your garden with high walls or
solid fences, strong eddies (miniature whirlwinds) are created, making the conditions in the
inside garden worse. The Mary Flower team does not want this to happen to your garden
and we collected some ideas on what you could do for your garden to protect it from the
winds on a daily basis.
- Installing a non-solid fence, consisting out of approximately 50% gaps, will still give
you the look and feel of a nice fence surrounding your garden, but also lets through
enough wind to prevent eddies and still protect your plants. - Planting shelter beds, which is a row of tall, upright trees and shrubs. Plants ideally
filter 50 – 60% of the wind, reducing its strength. We recommend installing multiple staggered rows, rather than one single line to prevent a fortress wall effect. Further,
it will reduce possible surrounding traffic noise or any other noise you would like to
keep out of your garden. - Simply planting an array of tall plants. It is the most flexible method of protection for
low-growing areas. It is our recommendation to plant a mixture of plants, reducing
the losses if a single disease or pest breaks out. It will also increase the biodiversity in
your garden, attracting the animals that will keep the populations of pest insects in
check. There are many choices available to you. Have a look at /maryflower.co.nz/product-category/hedges/
Our last tip is to plant or install your wind breakers wider than the area that needs
protection or even extend it down the sides to prevent wind slipping around the sides and
cause problems.
Head to our shop to check out some options, please feel free to contact us if you have any
more questions and happy planting!