The garden should be a place of relaxation. If you can't enclose it with a wall or a tall sheltering fence, think about a hedge that creates a green, living wall and - unlike shrubs that grow freely - takes up little space.Among hedge plants there are shrubs that are always green and shed multicolored leaves (red, green and golden yellow).The most appropriate time to plant a hedge is autumn, when the ground is not so cold.
Evergreen hedge plants can be found among conifers. These include the thuja thuja and the Chamaecyparis cypress.Both shrubs are similar to each other: they have a dense habit and shoots are covered with scale-shaped needles, which makes them perfect covers.Not all gardeners like the homogeneous appearance of a coniferous hedge, especially those formed by thujas, but many varieties of thuja and cypress trees have already been bred, which differ in the color of the needles.Instead of uniform green plants, we can also choose golden yellow, blue-gray , as well as in various shades of green.
Thuja and Cypress like moist soil and suffer from drought. Remember that these conifers should not be cut too hard. From the non-leafy parts, new shoots are unlikely to grow and the hedge will thin out in these places.Remember to trim your bushes once or twice every year.
Yew Taxus baccata does not cause such problems. It is the only conifer that turns green quickly and nicely even after a radical cut. Yew is perfect for creating hedges of unusual shapes and fanciful green sculptures.It is a plant that can be used in many different ways, so it will adapt to any type of garden. Flowers, for example from a perennial bed, look particularly attractive against the dark green background of yew needles.
Due to the slow growth of yews, they require patient waiting so that the tops of their shoots are at the level of our eyesight. However, slow growth has some advantages. A trimmed hedge should keep its shape for a long time and therefore we can safely prune these conifers only once a year.
The privet is the fastest growing hedge shrub. During the garden season, the height of the hedge can increase by 30 cm, so it should be cut twice a year.The egg-leaf privet is a semi-winter hardy plant and it fully renews its leaf cover every spring.The last old leaves fall with the emergence of young greenery.A privet hedge can cover the interior of the garden almost all year round. The dark green privet Ligustrum vulgare is a plant that is completely insensitive to frost, while some more decorative forms, such as the golden yellow variety of Ligustrum ovalifolium 'Aureum', may freeze in harsh winters.
Very impressive hedges are made of Prunus laurocerasus bushes. The always green plant has characteristic leathery and glossy leaves, up to 15 cm long, which remain on the shoots also in winter. Laurowiśnia is very widespread in southern Europe.It tolerates our climatic conditions, although uncovered it can freeze in sharper colds.Laurel wreath grows best in semi-shaded places, where its leathery leaves are sheltered from the scorching sun.
Some more sensitive varieties, such as the large-leaved 'Rotundifolia', require special attention and care, especially in the coldest months.Therefore, it is worth recommending forms distinguished by resistance to frost, e.g. 'Herbergia' and 'Otto Luyken'.The laurel hedge should be pruned carefully, preferably with a hand pruner.
Bamboo hedge
Hedging shrubs can successfully (especially in warmer regions) replace bamboo, which fits perfectly in an Asian or modern garden. By shortening the blades, we can easily maintain the required height of the plant. Tall species such as Phyllostachys bissetii, Semiarundinaria fastuosa and Fargesia murieliae are best suited for sheltering hedges.
IMPORTANT: To prevent bamboo from spreading in the wild in the garden, a vertical root barrier should be dug at least 60 cm deep around the plant.
Other deciduous species are also suitable for hedges. Common beech plants, Carpinus betulus and common beech Fagus sylvatica, are plants that are not very complicated and do not require any extraordinary maintenance.They both grow well in the shade and their cutting is not problematic. Although the beech and hornbeam are somewhat similar to each other, they are not closely related.Beech leaves are smoother than hornbeam, and some varieties have a beautiful dark red color.Beech seedlings grown from seeds are cheaper than grafted plants, but their leaves are not very intensely colored.
Barberry 'Atropurpurea' also flaunts beautiful red. This undemanding plant rarely reaches a height of more than 1.5 m, therefore it is only exceptionally suitable for cover, but it works very well as a low border hedge. If we are looking for unusual solutions, let's try to create a hedge from the ever-green climbing Euonymus fortunei, similarly persistent holly Ilex, the vital field maple Acer campestre or the prickly white flowering hawthorn Crataegus.
The best hedge cutting dates are February and the end of June.If we want its beautiful appearance at the end of the season, let's reach for the secateurs again in August.When pruning, remember that the base of the hedge should be slightly wider than the top of the hedge.Don't forget the birds nesting in dense bushes in spring. In order not to disturb them in raising their chicks, in April and May we should avoid working on the hedge.Hedges cut several times require systematic fertilization and watering, as well as access to nutrients.
