Weekender Alicante North Issue 118

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23
24 FRIDAY 22ND NOVEMBER 2019
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Home&Garden
Home&Garden
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If you have made the decision or are
thinking about making the decision to
go solar, then you may be wondering -
how does sunlight actually gets turned
into electricity?
You may have other questions too,
such as will your solar panels work on
cloudy days, and will your panels work
at night via moonlight, which, after all,
is reflected sunlight? To find out the
answer to these questions and a few
more, please read on.
Charge your
home with the
power of the sun
Hedging
your bets
GARDEN enthusiasts are
being urged to go green
and swap their walls and
fences for eco-friendly
hedges.
Growing a hedge can give
your property a vibrant
splash of colour and create
an ideal habitat for birds
and bees.
And while they give you
as much privacy and protection
as bricks or wooden
fencing, they can also bring
you closer to nature.
Experts at the Royal Horticultural
Society (RHS),
who are behind the hedgegrowing
call, say planting
hedges can help turn urban
concrete corners into thriving
green spaces.
As well as capturing pollutants
and providing protection
against wind, they
can also act as efficient
sound barriers, according to
RHS research. Thick, impenetrable
hedges can also be a
great security feature.
Hedge species in urban
environments were found to
provide a “crucial resource”
for a wide diversity of animal
species – giving them shelter,
nest sites, food resources
and corridors for movement.
The varying structure of
hedges makes them well
suited for a range of specific
roles, gardening experts say.
Yew is extremely popular
when it comes to hedgemaking.
As well as being
slow growing, a yew canopy
can act as an effective sound
barrier, while also taking
pollution out of the air.
Western red cedar, with its
large and dense canopy, was
also found to be a top performing
sound barrier. Cypress
is described as another
good hedging plant.
The RHS says that planting
a mixture of species, to
extend flowering or fruiting
periods, or using a range of
plant species to provide “a
more diverse structure” can
help support wildlife.
Tijana Blanusa, principal
horticultural scientist at
the RHS, says: “In a world
that is rapidly urbanising
and where there is pressure
on land use through the increased
densification of cities,
the relatively compact
nature of the urban hedge
may have a pivotal role in
ensuring our cities remain
‘liveable’, through its various
ecosystem benefits.”