Hedging and hedges – styles and uses

Hedges may be planted for many reasons including:

1. to define property boundaries
2. provide privacy from neighbours and passers-by
3. to offer shelter from prevailing winds
4. to mark out areas of the garden such as driveways or to conceal areas like compost bins.

In addition they may have purely decorative purposes, by delivering a formal appearance, when they are usually grown from yew, privet or box, or may be chosen for their colourful foliage or flowers like rose and quince.

Styles of hedge – formal

Formal hedges are usually composed of evergreen species, such as Taxus baccata (yew), Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (Lawson cypress) and especially the love/hate hedging plant Cupressocyparis leylandii (Leyland cypress). All need frequent and careful pruning if they are to be kept tidy – this is something to bear in mind, as well as the initial investment of money, there’s a constant time investment to formal hedging too. Formal hedging has a timeless appeal which works well for formal gardening.

Styles of hedge - informal

Informal hedges give a softer effect and also require less maintenance – because they need minimal pruning they also take up more space and to give them the maximum impact you should avoid removing flowers or fruit when pruning and focus only on extracting dead and diseased wood to encourage new growth. Good plants for informal hedges include Berberis, Forsythia and roses such as Rosa rugosa, although almost any shrub can be used. Informal hedging has a more relaxed and sinuous appeal that works well with cottage gardens.

Hedge gardening hedges photograph by Mrs. Gemstone, used under a creative commons attribution licence

 

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