Hedging Your Bets by Nicki Jackson

Favouring hedges over fences and/or walls is a growing trend that appears to have a number of drivers behind it. The main ones we’re seeing are the desire to attract and accommodate wildlife; increasing awareness of the climate and biodiversity crises and the need to try to make a difference in some way, (hedges are even more effective than trees for storing carbon and filtering pollutants and they can mitigate flooding); better understanding of the positive impact of gardens and ‘green’ on our mental health along with changing work practises over the last couple of years due to the pandemic means that customers are wanting to see more green outside their windows. These are some of the real benefits that hedges can bring that fences and walls can’t match and while hedges do bring with it a requirement for a certain degree of maintenance – some more than others – these additional benefits, in our view, far outweigh the often perceived ‘downside’ of maintenance.

If you are considering a hedge boundary one of the first things to think about is whether or not you’d like an evergreen hedge or a deciduous one. Evergreens tend to be more expensive and require more maintenance but, of course, provide privacy and/or shelter benefits 12 months of the year. Deciduous hedges do have some advantages though – losing leaves in the winter will mean a drop in privacy, but they are great for filtering wind and are far more forgiving when it comes to maintenance; while benefitting from a yearly trim they will tend to bounce back if you miss a year or two.

There are many hedging plants to choose from now, gone are the days when Leylandii was the evergreen hedge plant of choice. Whilst still an option for some, there are alternative choices that are better suited for most customers’ gardens. So, in no particular order, here are our favourite 10 hedging plants:

• Taxus baccata(yew): The Rolls Royce of hedges, an excellent choice for a formal dense hedge. A slow grower it can still add 30cm a year in good conditions and unlike Leylandii overgrown hedges can often be restored by hard pruning in late winter.
• Thuja plicata ‘Atrovirens’(Western red cedar): This is a bright green, rapidly growing conifer. Not as fast growing as Leylandii but unlike Leylandii it’s possible to cut into the old growth of this one without suffering browning.
• Griselinia littoralis – A green or variegated evergreen. It prefers a sunny aspect and is brilliant for inland windy conditions. Works well as a coastal plant too.
• Ligustrum ovalifolium (Common privet) Green or variegated. Often underrated, privets are classed as semi-evergreen (they may drop their leaves in severe weather conditions) but they clip really well and offer dense coverage which is great for birds.
• Laurel, often Cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) or Portuguese Laurel (Prunus lusitanica) – both varieties are evergreen, clip well, provide dense coverage (great for birds), and both do well in clay soils.
• Buxus sempervirens – used for centuries for hedging and topiary. Clips really well and is brilliant for birds. However, it does suffer from box blight and box tree caterpillar that can have severe affects so only use this plant if your area doesn’t currently have these issues.
• Ilex aquifolium (Holly) – a native; green or variegated, with berries in the autumn or winter.  Great for wildlife. They prefer full sun or part shade and are fairly tolerant of most soils.
• Fagus sylvatica (Beech) – yellow green glossy leaves that turn rich brown in autumn and tend to stay all winter (severe weather aside), dropping when the spring leaves begin to push their way through.
• Carpinus betulus (Hornbeam) – semi-evergreen. Green catkins in the spring. Autumn brings fruit and yellowing leaves turning to brown which in milder winters will stay for quite some time. Great for the UK climate it can tolerate wetter soils.
• Crataegus monogyna (Hawthorn) – a native that flowers well in the spring with berries in the autumn. Great for wildlife and security since it’s thorny!

Some of the above can be a mild irritant so require gloves when pruning but if you’re thinking of a hedge boundary this is a good place to begin your own research.

© Nicki Jackson, Blue Daisy Gardens 2022