The garden hedge is an institution in countries all over the world. It’s as ubiquitous with suburban splendor as a nice wooden fence, a kitted out tool shed and an old Swing Ball setup collecting dust in the corner! Planting a hedge is a great way to enhance garden privacy, build stronger borders and establish structure within outdoor displays. They’re also an excellent place to start if you’re looking to start populating a new or somewhat sparse garden. But which hedge plants will establish your little slice of domestic paradise?
This is an article focused on hedging plantlife, ideal for filling space in a less densely filled garden, so you have a better base of foliage to build the rest of your garden from. Use it as a place to find suggestions for some of the best options, including classics and more unique variations.
Photina fraseri variants
Start building your strong display with this unique species of evergreen hedge plants. In form, it’s a fairly classic hedging plant, with large, glossy foliage and an upright, bushy branching habit. However, the colors of Photina fraseri variants are where things get exciting. Unlike your standard hedges, these plants grow green foliage with shocking pink and red borders, perfect for activating different parts of your color psychology with one gorgeous plant.
These are hardy, partial shade-tolerant and fast-growing hedge plants, so they’re a great choice for a first installation in your garden.
Elaeagnus x ebbingi Compacta
This is an ideal shrub option if you’re looking to start from scratch and take some time with your hedges. It begins its life as a fairly small, compact shrub, but if cared for properly, it can form into an impressive hedge. Once established, it boasts wavy, grey-green foliage, with a unique scaly and silver underside, bringing a slightly bizarre aesthetic appeal to your garden. It even shows off little fragrant flowers in the autumn, followed by some glossy orange berries.
Eleagnus ebbingi loves full sun, but is also a very hardy, evergreen shrub that actually thrives in exposed sites, coastal areas and windy gardens.
Pyracantha ‘Soleil D’or’
This is a versatile hedge plant, which can be planted as a small border shrub, a full-blown hedge or even as a climber, trained against walls and trellises. These options make Pyracantha ‘Soleil D’or’ a wonderful choice for gardens of various sizes and layouts, bringing some welcome life to spaces of all different shapes. The evergreen foliage takes the form of smaller, more delicate green leaves with slightly ridged borders. From May to June it becomes adorned with white flowers, before making way for glossy orange berries (not for eating) in August, which stay on the plant well into Winter.
Super hardy, versatile for sunshine and very low maintenance – what’s not to love?
Fagus (hedging Beech)
This is a unique entry in that it lives in the world of deciduous hedge plants, meaning it moves through the seasons differently from its evergreen counterparts. In early spring, hedging Beech showcases an impressive display of thin, papery leaves in a vibrant pale green, with the colour darkening during the summer. By autumn, the leaves go suitably brown before falling off in the later stages of winter.
It’s a hardy, tough plant that makes for a welcome addition in a garden that’s meant to evolve and change as the seasons do.
Start populating your garden today!
If you’ve got a new, sparsely populated garden, then starting with hedges is a great way to cover lots of ground and introduce some welcome biodiversity to the equation all at once. Find a reputable supplier and get started!
