Top 10 Plants for Hedging

Hedges can serve multiple purposes around the garden. They mark the edge of the property, stop people straying across your garden, keep animals off, provide shelter from strong winds and act as a privacy screen. If you choose, they can also provide flowers and fruits that will nourish the wildlife in the garden and give the smaller birds somewhere to nest in spring.

Evergreen hedges give cover all year round, but if you want more interest from yours, plant a flowering climber to run through it. Make sure it is a compatible size or it may overrun (or even choke) the hedge. A smaller Clematis is ideal and can flower at a different time to the hedge.

Deciduous hedges that lose their leaves in autumn mean you also lose the cover, but a well-trimmed beech or Carpinus hedge will retain the brown leaves on all the younger stems until they are cast off as the new leaves open in spring.

Tapestry hedges give the best of all worlds. By mixing the plants along the hedge, you can have colour and cover throughout the year.

Hedges should not be cut during bird nesting season in spring, but benefit from regular trimming after that until autumn to thicken the growth.

Berberis

Within the Berberis group, there are both deciduous and evergreen plants that will make a good hedge. All are thorny, so are useful where you need a deterrent to unwanted visitors. The deciduous Berberis thunbergii comes in green, red, variegated or golden-leaved forms that have excellent autumn colour and it grows slowly in any soil or position. Yellow flowers in spring are followed by red fruits in autumn. The evergreen Berberis darwinii has leaves like a miniature holly and orange flowers in spring. Both types can be easily maintained at 1m.

Carpinus betulus

The European hornbeam will eventually grow into a large tree if left alone, but makes a very attractive hedge with it’s bright green, serrated leaves. It is ideal for screening out noise and wind and will grow in any soil or position. As a semi-evergreen, it retains the old leaves over winter until the new ones open in spring. Easily maintained at 1-2.5m or it can be grown as a "pleached" hedge on tall, clear stems.

Escallonia

These evergreen plants are ideal as hedges because they respond well to trimming to form dense screens. They bloom throughout the summer with clusters of white, pink or red flowers, according to variety. The form ‘Iveyi’ is particularly good in coastal situations, as it can tolerate salt winds. Easily maintained at anything between 1 and 2.5m.

Fagus sylvatica

Beech is a traditional hedging plant, with its golden-green new leaves in spring, bright green in summer and glorious copper-brown in autumn. As a semi-evergreen, the old brown leaves are retained all winter until replaced by the new leaves in spring. Easily maintained at 1-2.5m, although it is a fairly fast-grower and needs regular trimming. The green form blends well with the copper form of beech to make a tapestry hedge. Grows well in most soils, although Carpinus is better on heavy clay or in wet sites.

Griselinia littoralis

This plant hails from New Zealand and forms a dense hedge of large, glossy leaves that are apple-green all year round. It will tolerate most soils and situations, including coastal exposure, and full sun. Griselinia will make a hedge from 1-5m high. Best trimmed carefully to avoid leaving half leaves that will spoil the appearance. Variegated forms are available that tend to grow more slowly.

Ilex

Holly grows into a reliable, dense, prickly hedge that is ideal for deterring unwanted visitors. It has white flowers in spring, followed on female plants, by glossy red berries in autumn. There are many forms, including variegated silver or gold, splashed with colour and almost blue. Some are very upright, so are less good as hedges and it pays to check on the variety of you want berries for the birds.

Lavandula angustifolia

Lavender forms a very attractive low, informal hedge to divide areas within a garden or edge a pathway. The fragrant silvery foliage remains all year and the flowers in summer are highly perfumed. Coming in white, pink or shades of purple, these may be picked and dried for use indoors or left for smaller birds over winter. Tolerant of full sun and coastal exposure, lavender prefers to be hot and dry to grow well.

Ligustrum ovalifolium

Privet has long been a favourite for hedging because, as long as you keep it well trimmed, it is virtually indestructible. It is evergreen in all but the coldest winters and will tolerate most soils and situations. White flowers in early summer attract bees and other insects. The dense foliage makes it ideal for privacy, but also screening out pollution in urban gardens. It dislikes very wet sites. Makes an easily-maintained hedge from 1-5m high. Golden forms are available.

Pyracantha

The "firethorns" make a dense and very prickly hedge, ideal for deterring unwanted visitors. They are laden with white flowers in May that are highly attractive to bees and many other insects and these are followed in autumn by red, orange or yellow berries according to variety. Birds will eat these over the winter as they ripen. Tolerates most soils and conditions to make a sturdy hedge from 1-2.5m high.

Thuja plicata 'Atrovirens'

Only a few conifers will regrow from the brown, mature woody stems so they are no use for hedging. Yew and Thuja are exceptions. This plant, known as the western red cedar, is a better alternative to the ubiquitous Leylandii. The glossy foliage smells of fruit and spice when cut or crushed and the plants form an evergreen screen that screens out pollution as well as noise. This will form a strong, dense hedge from 1.5-5m in most soils and positions.