Edible Hedgerows

I am looking to develop a break along a side of my land between properties to hide the freeway adjacent to the property next door.  Looking to find something of a fast-growing edible plant that would work well to block out the sound and view of the freeway, while providing produce and hopefully some pleasant flowers as well.  A little bit about the area:

-  Full sun
-  Very good, dark loam which floods during the winter potentially up to a couple feet deep
-  Water table is ~9' during the summer, would be great to have something with a deep tap root and wouldn't need any (or minimal) water in the summer once established
-  Technically in a 9a Zone, but the aforementioned area is at the bottom of a slope, receives a bit cooler air than a typical 9a
-  Length is ~200'

I was considering planting a couple chandler walnuts along the fence line, but worried that it would ultimately root out (I've read they spread up to 150') and minimize my options for other parts of the field.  

Appreciate any suggestions!

If you do a search for "hedgerow" you will find a ton of info already posted.

For my zone, I would start with autumn olive, seaberry, hazelnuts, possibly raspberries, or black berries.  I'm not sure about your zones.

I would be careful about autumn olive. Great plant, good to eat berries, ...but the birds also like it and so it spreads ALOT. Also, it grows so fast that you really have to keep up with keeping it trimmed back. Otherwise, it'll get tall and leggy fast.

Jim Fry wrote:I would be careful about autumn olive. Great plant, good to eat berries, ...but the birds also like it and so it spreads ALOT. Also, it grows so fast that you really have to keep up with keeping it trimmed back. Otherwise, it'll get tall and leggy fast.

Jim, people keep telling me that, and I keep hoping, but it doesn't happen here.  Every year I find tons of mulberry volunteers from the birds, but I have never found a volunteer autumn olive.  Somewhere warmer may have more problem with them being invasive, I don't know.  I have to take cuttings to propagate mine.  I have started pruning my new ones more to keep them bushier.

I'm not sure but I'd look into elderberries to see if they can handle the water and other conditions.

Thanks for the info!  Yes I have an elderberry growing up the slope that seems to be very old and is a heavy producer, not sure how it would fare in a partially flooded area though.  Found that the white mulberry grows up to 40' so was thinking it would be a good option.  I'm definitely looking to incorporate raspberry/blackberry as a shrub layer, but looking for something that grows a little taller.

What about diffing a swale in the area that floods, and piling that soil adjacent where you want the hedge so that the roots aren't left under so much water? Is it just a low point that can't be drained?

Sorry, I missed the flooding part.  I know from experience this year, that much water is not good for autumn olive.

Been thinking of how to situate some swales well.  The whole area is essentially a floodplain with seasonal water flowing (though unpredictable since we are in CA).

Elderberrries don't mind getting wet on occasion, mine are all growing in a bog with the watertable under a foot below the surface, and they do fine.

Wetland hedges--I know about those! We're in zone 7b/8a, but I think most of these will grow for you as long as it doesn't get too terribly hot! We are very soggy here during the fall-spring. But, our summers can be dry. This year we went like 3 months with almost no rain. Most of them I never watered. I underlined the plants I personally have.

Salmonberries--pokey, but not as much as himalayan blackberry. Berries ripen before anything else, even strawberries. A little...sour? and watery but defintely edible and easy to pick. We eat a bunch because they ripen before any of the tastier berries. Spread easily. Can be managed by mowing the edge of the hedge. Get past 10 feet tall after a few years.

Nettles: Delicious veggies. We loved them cooked and tea. They do sting uncooked, though!

Elderberry: Likes the wet! Red elderberry especially does, but is harder to process to make edible.

Thimbleberries: Get 8+ feet tall. Might not do well if you get too hot/sunny/dry in the summer. Delicious velvety berries. Not thorny! Spreads well. I did water these.

Serviceberries: Like it wet, make blueberry like berries.

Aronia: Likes it wet, very antioxidant rich berries. 6+ feet tall.

Blackcap Raspberries: Also like it wet, and will get 8 feet tall, especially if supported. Very antioxidant rich and delicious.

Josta Berry: My mom has this plant. Her's is like 10 feet tall. Pretty sure she doesn't water it, and that it can handle wet conditions.

Elderberry and blackberry grow often in wet conditions - i know places around here whicht in winter have up to 0,3 of 0,5 m of watercover in which those grow.

I'm constructing a hedge with blackcurrant, autumn raspberry, blackberry, large stinging nettle, wild strawberry, hawthorn, blackthorn, redcurrant, lemon balm, Geum urbanum, ....
I hope to add wild roses and hazel. I've currantly no water issues but that may change - several trees near that part of the garden are ill (fungus) and dying. Once they no longer evaporate, the winter groundwatertable may rise. In anticipation i am raising the groundlevel there about 0,2 m while lowering it elsewhere. It's not a swale/ridge as described elsewhere on this site but the idea is similar.


Stinging nettles good for soup and tea also give us liquid fertilizer, fibre, dy, medicine, etc.... Oh and they keep out some berry snatchers. Hawthorn gives goed berries for jam, sirups, etc... Flowers and leaf for tea (good for the hart). Blackthorn i love for its tart berries that can be used to make liquor. The leaves are used in tea. Both blackthorn and hawthorn can be used to hedge and keep out (or in) both humans and animals. Those plants are verry good to give a strong structure to your hedge (read on the battle of the bocage - http://www.dday-overlord.com/eng/bocage_war.htm).