Swales/Hedgerows

Swale Systems
We have several swales on our property to catch and transport water throughout the land. One swale catches water and prevents it from flooding our sidewalk. Another catches runoff that flows down our driveway. Willows, and other plantings in the swales are designed to decrease erosion, increase infiltration, preserve diversity, and remove toxins from surface water. Native grasses help to filter oil runoff from vehicles in the parking lot.

Hedgerows
Hedgerows are narrow strips of vegetation that occur along borders and transitions from one type of land to another. They often occur along fences with the help of birds, small mammals, and wind, which bring seeds. An ancient part of English culture, intentional hedgerows were not developed in the United States except for windbreaks in the Great Plains during the 1930s. Recently, the many benefits of hedgerows have been rediscovered. Hedgerows are an important part of any landscape design, providing many functions including: food, fuel, fibers, mulch, wildlife habitat, nectar for pollinators and honey, medicine, windbreak, animal barrier, visual and noise screen, erosion control, microclimate control, pollutant filter, propagation materials, flowers, dye plants, and income source. In order to minimize watering and weeding, hedgerows should be densely planted, with as many rows and vertical layers as possible.

We have created several hedgerows at Lost Valley. One hedgerow on our land was started in the winter of 1997/1998 in an effort to create a beautiful and edible screen between our lodge and the parking lot. A wattle fence was built with cascara from our own forest and other local plant materials as a temporary structure, and mounds of organic matter were built in front of them to create a good site for hedgerow plants. The hedgerow has four vegetative layers:

• Groundcovers: kinickinnick and strawberry
• Shrubs: buffalo berry (nitrogen-fixer), autumn olive (nitrogen-fixer), chokeberry, Tall Oregon grape, tarwi (edible legume and nitrogen-fixer), and red-osier dogwood
• Trees: beaked hazelnut, paw paw, and red alder (nitrogen-fixer)
• Vines: akebia and trailing blackberry

We also have a grape hedgerow along our driveway that will eventually create a barrier from the harvest house, chicken pen, and tool shed area. Various other multi-story plants are interspersed with the grapes.