Lush hedge

CONVERT A SIMPLE LINE OF SHRUBS OR TREES INTO A STATEMENT THAT WILL MAKE YOUR GARDEN A STANDOUT

Think of a hedge as not just a way to define your boundary, give privacy or hide an eyesore, but as a thing of beauty, whether formal or informal. You can shape and twirl it into intricate or gentle shapes, or choose one that bursts into flower – especially in winter if it’s a camellia. Use it as a backdrop to a colourful border or grow one as a garden room divider. Big or small, a hedge is more than your garden’s outer frame. It can be an intrinsic part of your whole design.

2 TAKE THIS ANGLE

Create crannies in a yew hedge so your stroll through the garden is full of surprises. Fill them with small trees and shade-loving plants and each season will bring a new look.

3 PUT YOUR FEET UP!

Informal get-togethers hosted in your back garden become more relaxed if the hedging hiding the neighbours is allowed to retain its looser, more natural, shape. It means less work for you, too!

4 SHINING EXAMPLE

Camellias make great hedges, especially C. sasanqua, which blooms through autumn and winter. Its smaller, glossy leaves mean they look less ragged when trimmed. Also, while the flowers last only a few days, and drop to form a colourful carpet on your lawn, they are quickly replaced on the bush.

5 GET THE BEST VIEW

The beauty of having a formal hedge is you can clip it and trim it into any shape you want – even your own private throne room surrounded by the subjects you favour.

6 PLAY HIDE AND SEEK

Double your back hedge with pleached yew trees behind rows of buxus. That way you can hide your compost bin, poing shed or chook house between the rows.

PLEACHED HORNBEAMS PUT AIR IN YOUR GARDEN BUT SCREEN OUT ANY NOSY NEIGHBOURS

TRIM YOUR BUXUS TO MIRROR YOUR LANDSCAPE FEATURES HERE STEPS AND A RILL 1 GO UP A LEVEL Plant hedges to your heart’s content – and make each one different. This design by BHG TV’S Charlie Albone won an award at the 2016 Chelsea Flower Show for its multilevel layout, starting under a relaxing canopy and leading to a sunken garden, with different hedges leading the way.