The Hedge

Hedges,

Often used to create a boundary between sections of gardens, or to lead you around a garden, or to act as a privacy barrier, a hedge can be a very useful garden tool.

We’ve even used ones for security – by choosing a suitably thorny subject it can make it impossible for someone or something to get through it.

Here the hedge is used as an entrance into a garden, creating some privacy and yet leading the eye to the main terrace doors.

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A hedge can be grown using any plant material that will withstand clipping , so the list is quite large. At the smaller end you have the traditional box hedging often used in kitchen gardens, or to surround ornamental flower beds, as seen below.

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To create a less formal barrier, you could use forsythia – but remember that forsythia flowers of last years wood, so pruning and shaping should be restricted to just after flowering if possible. Hornbeam, Beech, Rose , Escallonia, Cotoneaster, Laurel, Yew, Leylandii, Thuja all make a niceĀ  hedge .

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of course the height you desire makes a difference in choice

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The height is also dictated by how often and by what method is used to keep the hedge clipped. As can be seen below, this hedge would take many hours to keep it in this condition.

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Chris Coope

Author: Chris Coope

Born in Great Britain, Chris Dyson-Coope followed his training and passion in the field of horticulture for decades. This path led him to multiple awards for landscape design and many prestigious projects in the United Kingdom and the U.S. Chris has received 19 national awards for projects as varied as city parks, urban regeneration, playgrounds, office parks and streetscapes. He pioneered the use of designer drives in the 1980s utilizing Permacrib to create structural green walls and award-winning green roofs in London. Most recently, Dyson-Coope has nurtured his interest as an educational innovator to produce an Internet radio show (GrowingTrends.com), books on landscaping, and a series of fictional children's books that explore non-fictional themes such as sustainable agriculture, geography, and history. Convinced that the younger generation can (and must) learn from the older generation, as well as blazing new paths toward a sustainable future for a planet in deep distress from climate change and unsustainable practices, Dyson-Coope presents workable solutions in multiple formats, from books to inventions, podcasts and educational media. With several horticultural patents to his credit, the noted horticulturalist looks to the future with hope that the younger generation will grab the "torch" of innovation to develop and maintain a more sustainable world for us all. Dyson-Coope is a member of The Chartered Institute of Horticulture and serves as Director of Children's Sustainable Education for Energime University. Chris lives in Weston, Missouri, with his lovely wife, Cindi.

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