Hedges
The sunken lawn creates a protective space, offering a tranquil place to lie out in the sun surrounded by interesting perennials and exotics. One enters via steps at each end that are hedged with immaculately clipped boxwood (Buxus) hedging. A copper water rill runs down the side of the steps and around the lawn, adding gentle movement and the soothing sound of running water to the garden.
Imagine this sitting area in the middle of an open lawn. “Cozy” is not an adjective that comes to mind. But enclose it within a simple vine trellis and a rich bed of greenery, and it takes on an intimate personality conducive to hours of conversation and relaxation. Tip: If your goal is to create privacy for your dining patio or reading room — or any space where you’ll be seated — a 5-foot-tall hedge or wall is all it will take to make you disappear. Any taller and the space could feel claustrophobic. And keeping the top within easy reach makes trimming less of an ordeal.
he mixed border of evergreen and deciduous trees, tall shrubs and perennials shown here is a less-formal look that provides more visual diversity. If you enjoy gardening, desire a wide range of seasonal interest or want to attract wildlife, this is the look for you. A fairly large footprint is necessary — think planting beds 8 to 24 feet deep — to achieve this look.
Narrow evergreens with thick foliage, such as the arborvitae (Thuja spp) in this photograph, upright junipers (Juniperus spp) and columnar blue spruce (Picea pungens 'Iseli Fastigiate') need little pruning and provide a year-round screen that is much taller than most building codes will permit for structures.
Laurustinus (Viburnum tinus, zones 7 to 10) fits this category well. It’s surprisingly hardy for a Mediterranean native, shrugging off sharp frosts when other supposedly hardier plants succumb. Depending on the variety, it will happily reach 10 feet tall but is easily pruned and contained to any height required to create a hedge. Its outstanding feature is its ability to bear pink-tinged white flowers throughout the winter, finishing with an explosive burst of blossoms in the spring. Dark metallic-blue berries follow the flowers and nestle against the shiny, deep green foliage. Due to the plant’s nature of repeat flowering, both flowers and berries are found together through the winter. The straight species is perfectly good as a hedging plant, but there are some very good varieties, such as ‘Gwenllian’, with its deep pink flowers; the compact ‘Eve Price’; and ‘French White’, which has amazing pure white flowers.
In the U.K., we’ve recently seen the increased use of broadleaf (Griselinia littoralis, zones 9 to 10) as an evergreen hedge, especially in coastal locations, where it copes with the salt-laden conditions. In the winter it adds an evergreen richness to gardens, both with its texture and the way it emphasizes the garden’s structure with its height — it easily grows up to 10 feet tall. Broadleaf doesn’t produce flowers or berries over winter but brings joy through the variation of greens in its glossy green, rounded leaves and new shoots.
Semiformal. An underlying symmetrical plan brings order to the garden — but how it’s maintained will determine how formal it feels. While regular trimming is absolutely necessary to maintain the shape of hedges, you can allow things to get a bit shaggy between clippings to give the garden a wilder air. Easygoing rounded shapes are lower maintenance in a clipped garden than those with crisp, straight lines, and they blend well with bountiful flowers.
Green room. Take the idea of an outdoor room to the next level by planting a tall hedgerow to form the walls and place benches in the room. For a whimsical touch, trim some of the hedges lower in sections to look like additional benches. Add a tree or two to provide shade, making the outdoor space more comfortable.
Verdant lane. Known as an allée in formal garden design terms, a grassy path lined with boxwood hedges and trees makes an enchanting addition to an expansive yard. Crisply trimmed hedges accented with formal statues frames the view here, making the outdoor space seem even more substantial. Consider along west side before cove view - shield Jacobs'
Laurustinus (Viburnum tinus 'Eve Price') Laurustinus is another large, bushy evergreen that you would not believe could be controlled enough to create a step-over hedge Here the variety 'Eve Price' creates a stunning dwarf hedge, as it is more compact than some of the other varieties of Viburnum tinus. The flowers, blooming in late autumn to early spring, are very attractive, with carmine buds and pink-tinged petals.
Small-Leaved Hebes We have a wide choice of hebes to use in our gardens, and they love temperate climates, most having originated from New Zealand. Most are hardy, especially the smaller-leaved varieties, which cope well with dry conditions and maritime climes. There are quite a few hebes that naturally form evergreen domes, meaning they don’t need clipping, and that provide flower interest through the summer. Hebe ‘Green Globe’. Its moss-green foliage forms a tight globe-shaped plant that is perfect in containers or in the border. Pure white flowers cover it in summer months. Hebe topiaria. A super dome-shaped evergreen that has interesting silver-green foliage that sets off its white summer flowers perfectly. Hebe rakaiensis. Creates a very tight light green dome. As with the others, this hebe has white flowers through June and July. Hebe ‘Baby Marie’. One of the smallest of the dome-forming hebes, ‘Baby Marie’ is compact and low growing, with pale green foliage.
Sawara Cypress ‘Golden Mop’ (Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Golden Mop’; USDA zones 5 to 7 Some plants, including some conifers, naturally form the type of mounded shape that we create through clipping. The slow-growing Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Gold Mop’ forms a perfect golden mound without clipping or pruning. Other dome-forming conifers include Picea abies ‘Little Gem’ and Cryptomeria japonica ‘Globosa’.
Japanese Holly ‘Golden Gem’ (Ilex crenata ‘Golden Gem’; USDA zones 5 to 9) Japanese holly is a perfect slow-growing evergreen to take the place of boxwood. A member of the holly family but without the traditional leaf formation, it is available in the golden variety, as shown, or in green.
Privet Honeysuckle (Lonicera pileata; USDA zones 6 to 9) Normally grown as a ground cover with horizontal branches, Lonicera pileata makes a good closely clipped specimen. Fresh green, early spring foliage and miniature sweetly scented white flowers held until late spring make it appealing for topiary use.
Planting notes: Make sure your soil is loose and drains well. Space the plants 3 to 5 feet apart. Dig a hole that is as deep as the root ball's height. Loosen the root ball and place it in the hole. Cover it with about 2 inches of dirt. Mulch to keep in moisture, but do not let the mulch touch the trunk of the shrub. These plants have very shallow roots, so make sure you water moderately. Do not let them soak in standing water. There are many varieties and hybrids of the Buxus sempervirens species; this one is an American variety, subtly looser in form and with slightly bigger leaves.
If you are using boxwood to border a knot garden or a kitchen garden, it will provide a green frame around an explosion of colorful herbs and perennials. The verdant green leaves will always provide great color contrast.
Boxwood has a wonderful natural form that can create an undulating hedge if you don't want to keep it trimmed and clipped.
Boxwood grows slowly, which means you'll need to be patient; it won't shoot up to its potential 10 to 12 feet for decades and decades. This is what young boxwood plants look like at first.
Boxwood has long been the number-one choice for formal hedges. Because it is evergreen, it can give your garden a verdant structure year-round. It also takes to shaping very well, whether you want to shape a rectangular hedge, conical shrub or rounded balls.
Botanical name: Buxus sempervirens Common name: Boxwood USDA zones: 5 to 9 (find your zone) Water requirement: This plant is quite drought tolerant. Light requirement: Partial shade to full sun Mature size: Technically, boxwood can get to about 10 feet high and 10 feet wide, but it is a very slow-growing plant. Benefits and tolerances: Boxwood is somewhat drought tolerant and should not be left sitting in standing water due to its short roots. If you are in a hot climate, try to give it partial shade; if you are closer to the northern zone limits, give it full sun. Seasonal interest: This is an evergreen plant that has very glossy deep green leaves year-round. When to plant: Ideally in the fall, but you can plant it in mid to late spring, after the last frost.
standard with low ground cover in a rectangle around it...
greta idea for covering gutters
stilted hedge planted into a traditional low hedge
in the UK, stilted hedges are made of hornbeam and beech
main trunk is clipped 4'-6' above ground
How to use it. Named for the English garden where it was first selected, Walker’s Low catmint has become synonymous with traditional cottage and perennial gardens as a pathway edging or casually cascading over garden walls. While its dainty purple flower and form can serve as the perfect contrast to a classic English rose garden, there is nothing more modern or forward-thinking in garden design than monochromatic mass plantings, and this plant fits right in. Consider planting a field of catmint — like the garden above — as your frost-friendly lavender replacement. With an open arching form, Walker’s Low catmint can also be used as a groundcover alternative and is an effective and low-maintenance space-filling solution. Don’t worry if you don’t have square footage to spare; catmint is another prime candidate for container gardening. Regardless of where you plant, include a sprig or two in any floral arrangement, as the fragrance of its flowers as well as its foliage will enhance any space.
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