Winter is an excellent time to create new spacees in the garden and to place some structure in it. There is no better way to make edges look neat and tidy than to use a good hedging!
There are a variety of plants to be used for hedging depending on your height and sun requirements. For small hedges, 30- 60cm, one can use Rosemary, Lavender or Hebe varieties in sunny areas. Buxus sempervirens can be maintained in a small hedge, can also be used in a medium sized hedge (-/-1m).
For a medium hedge one can also use Abelia varieties, Buxus microphyllas, Ligustrum ibota, Escalonia ‘Pink Princess’ or E. ‘Iveyii”. Use Freylinia tropica, F.lanceolata and Westringea for an indigenous option on medium hedging. For more “flower power” to your indigenous options, use white or blue Plumbago, or the range of warm yellow, orange and red Tecoma.
Larger hedges, 1,5m to 2,5m are tipicaly a backdrop or screen (how many stories have you heard of someone’s pescy neighbour?). Vibirnum varieties like are popular for their variable sizes, abundant foilage and white flowers.
V. tinus ‘Lucidum’, V. tinus ‘Purpureum’, V. tinus ‘Variegata’,
V. awabuki ‘Emerald Lustre’ and V. odoratissimum to name a few,
are often used in sun or light shade.
Feijowa is an interesting choice for grey foliage and red flowers in a sunny spot. Pyracantha’s have a long tradition in large hedging becouse of their thorns, but are notoriously difficult to cut their fast growing long branches.Pyracantha ‘Mohave’ is a welcome newcommer to the family that sports orrange berries, but has a much more dense growth suited to hedging from 60cm to 2,5m! Don’t forget that bamboo can also be used as large hedging or screening in difficult, shaded spots. Shaded areas also have Eleagnus ‘Gilt Edge’ to add some colour to a medium hedge. Sarcococca humilis is a ‘Chinese Box’ that can reach 1m in sun or shade and is also hardy. Smaller hedges for shade I think its best left to Trachylospermum jasminoides ‘Star Jasmine’. So get cracking. And remember, “First law on holes – when you're in one, stop digging!”- Denis Healey
