Some county planners have banned it – and we’ve done likewise, it is now six years since we’ve stopped stocking leyland cypress, x Cupressocyparis leylandii. The reason is simple. While it is useful as a tall screen, where there is plenty of space, it grows too fast and too high for most modern gardens. This problem is compounded by their inability to re-sprout when they are cut back into the old wood. A badly clipped and, thereby, damaged leylandii hedge is horrible, horrible, horrible.

There are many excellent hedges that have been overlooked in favour of cypress. In a rustic setting our native beech, Fagus sylvatica, is unsurpassed as a natural looking boundary. Although it is deciduous, it is as good as evergreen because it holds its leaves over winter. Either the green or the purple leafed form may be used.

Another native, the hornbeam, Carpinus betulus, is in many ways similar to beech and also retains its leaves over winter. Keeping the rural theme going, hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna, is tough, quick growing and forms an impenetrable barrier. It is traditional and blends well with the countryside.

Of the evergreens, the most natural looking in a rural setting is the often-overlooked Laurel, Prunus laurocerasus. It grows rapidly and has healthy, dark green, and glossy foliage. While many people regard holly, Ilex aquilifolium, as being slow-growing, it is a reputation that is undeserved and detracts from a hedge that will grow equally well in sun or shade, makes an excellent formal, dense and impenetrable barrier. For berries, alternate male and female varieties.

The common, native yew, Taxus baccata, makes a beautiful formal hedge. Don’t be put off by its reputation for being slow-growing. It may take a little longer to establish, but the wait is worthwhile. It will grow well in shade and can be kept clipped quite narrow. Unlike leylandii it will re-sprout from old wood.

Like leylandii, privet, Ligistrum ovalifolium, is much despised and has gone out of fashion. It is however tolerant of poor conditions, hardy and quick growing. Griselinia littoralis is very popular in a suburban setting, but it is liable to frost damage in non-coastal areas. We have serious doubts about the suitability of growing griselinia as a hedge. Lately, a lot of people have had trouble with griselinia hedges suffering from serious root disease, where some plants die, creating gaps.

Good choices for low hedges include the wonderful box, Buxus, for a formal effect, or choose from lavender, Lavendula, rosemary, Rosmarinus, and the dwarf barberry, Berberis atropurpureum ‘nana’ if you want something a little less formal.

Flowering Hedges

Viburnum tinus, is one of the most-overlooked of all hedging plants. It makes a beautiful hedge, producing white flowers from November to May. It is quick growing, hardy, and is shade and wind tolerant.
Another hardy and attractive choice would be Berberis darwinii, which produces orange flowers in April and blue berries in the autumn. Escallonia macranta is a popular hedge, especially in coastal areas. It may be damaged by a severe frost, but does make a lovely informal barrier.

As hardy as anything you can put in your garden, Pyracantha rogersinia, makes an excellent hedge that will certainly be impenetrable. Cotoneaster lacteus is the variety to choose if its berries you’re after. Wind resistant, tolerant of poor conditions and unaffected by shade, a couple of good trims a year will keep it in check.

For a beautiful and reliable informal flowering hedge, you need look no further than several rose varieties. ‘Queen Elizabeth’, ‘Iceberg’, ‘Blanc double du Coubert’ and ‘Roserie de L’Hay’ are all recommended.

Unusual Alternatives:

If you are feeling adventurous and would love to grow a hedge that is ‘off the beaten track’, then Red Robin, Photina, (pictured above...) is definitely worth considering. It is very easy to grow, and makes a formal hedge that is guaranteed to make heads turn. The new foliage is a wonderful bright red, and the ‘secret’ is to keep it clipped from a young age, to keep it producing lots of new leaves.

You’ll have to take my word on this one, because I doubt you’ll see it recommended in the text books, but one of the most amazing hedges I’ve ever seen was a Wisteria sinensis hedge in full bloom. Some initial support will be necessary. The one I saw was in an ‘average’ private garden, in a countryside setting, and the wisterias had been trained along wires, which had since been removed. A little dedicated pruning had produced a real show-stopper.

One of the most underrated shrubs in cultivation is Osmanthus burkwoodii. This is probably because it lacks a recognised common name. In Australia its popular relatives are known as ‘Sweet Olives’, so at least in Hennessy’s if you ask about a ‘Sweet Olive’ hedge we’ll tell you it’s makes an attractive shade tolerant, spring flowering and deliciously fragrant barrier.

For winter interest why not plant the popular Garrya elliptica which produces grey catkins with a background of evergreen foliage in January and February.

...And for the truly outrageous...

A Poinsettia Hedge!