Winning Hedge
From privacy to edible fruits and aromatics, the right hedging plant has many attractions.
FRUITING HEDGES
Many delicious fruits come from bushy plants that form dense hedges:
Feijoa ( Acca sellowiana), or pineapple guava, has egg-shaped fruit with a fruitsalad flavour. Its pretty crimson flowers are also edible. Silvery leaves make this a very attractive hedge. It grows in most climates, surviving mild frosts and salty coastal winds. The heaviest crops of fruit develop when flowers are cross-pollinated, so having a whole hedge of feijoas is ideal.
Cumquats and calamondins are the bushiest, most compact citrus for hedging. The white flowers are beautifully fragrant and the small, bright orange fruit is held on the tree for months. Although sour, it’s delicious made into marmalade or steeped in brandy. Oval ‘Nagami’ cumquats have sweet skin and can be eaten whole.
Lilly pilly is a native rainforest plant with glossy leaves and colourful new foliage in bronze, pink, red or gold. The fluffy flowers turn into edible berries, ranging from mauve to crimson in colour, which can be used to make jams, jellies and sauces. The bushtucker name of one of the prettiest, Syzygium luehmannii, is riberry.
Chilean guava ( Ugni molinae) is a smallleafed, frost-tolerant shrub that bears masses of pea-sized crimson berries in autumn. Now being marketed under the Tazziberries trademark, they have a spicy, strawberry/pineapple taste. The leaves and fruit are aromatic and pretty flowers in white to pale pink cover the bush in summer.
Pomegranates ( Punica granatum) are tough, deciduous shrubs that grow best in Mediterranean climates. They have lovely flowers (usually bright orange-red) followed by large, apple-size fruit in late summer and autumn. Traditional symbols of fertility, they contain numerous edible seeds in a juicy, crimson pulp. Eat them fresh, blend them for juice or use them in sauces and jellies.
Blueberries are delicious and good for you, so having your own hedge has lots of appeal. They require rich, acidic soil and you’ll need to protect the ripening crop from birds. They may be evergreen or deciduous, depending on the variety and climate. Select the right variety for your conditions; low-chill selections are available for warmer areas. Hedge heights range from 1m to 2m and the fruit ripens over a long period.
AROMATIC LEAVES
Bay trees ( Laurus nobilis) will make a handsome hedge of rich green, aromatic foliage in full sun to part shade. Although native to the Mediterranean, bay trees grow in most areas of Australia and tolerate coastal conditions. Bay leaves, fresh or dried, are used in casseroles and stews, and can also help ward off pantry moths. Rosemary makes a robust, aromatic low hedge. You can choose regular rosemary ( Rosmarinus officinalis) or an upright variety such as ‘Tuscan Blue’. After stripping off the leaves for use in cooking, or drying them for pot pourri, the stalks can serve as barbecue skewers. Rosemary loves a hot, well-drained spot and slightly alkaline soil. It tolerates coastal conditions, drought and mild frosts.
Lemon myrtle ( Backhousia citriodora) is a native rainforest tree that can be pruned to a tall hedge. It likes a frost-free climate and water in summer. Use the leaves to flavour biscuits, teas, ice-cream or fish dishes.
HEDGES FOR BEVERAGES
In tropical or subtropical areas, you can grow your own coffee as a hedge. Coffea arabica and C. robusta have lustrous, deep-green foliage and lightly scented white flowers. The berries ripen from green through yellow to red; the seeds within are roasted and ground to make coffee. Plant your coffee hedge in rich, moist soil, preferably in a sheltered, shaded position. If you’re a tea-drinker in a cooler climate, try growing Camellia sinensis as a hedge. It has white flowers with yellow stamens; the leafy tips are picked and dried for tea.