Best shrubs for a vandal-proof hedge
Q I want to plant a mixed hedge along the side of my house. I’d like a mix of hedging plants that will make a neat hedge that’s a deterrent to intruders. What would you advise?
Mark Jones (via email)
A To grow a mixed hedge that can be kept neatly trimmed you need to choose plants that respond to pruning and can all be pruned at the same time. Suitable plants include escallonia, holly, privet, Lonicera nitida, hawthorn, beech, hornbeam and berberis. These are deciduous and evergreen plants, which might not look as good in a formal hedge as it might in an informal hedge.
It might be best to decide on one sort or the other and given that you are trying to reduce vandalism I’d be inclined to choose evergreen species such as holly, Lonicera nitida, escallonia and berberis.
Another consideration is that escallonia and berberis both have attractive flowers when grown as freestanding shrubs, but it is not as easy to prune to encourage flowering when grown as part of a hedge. However, they do have attractive foliage.
Holly and berberis come with prickles and will make an impenetrable barrier, while holly has so many foliage colours that you could make a very attractive mixed hedge just with one type of plant.
There are nurseries that specifically supply hedging plants and you can buy some types in bulk as bare-root plants.
If you garden on clay and this is liable to shrink during dry weather, consider the distance you plant the hedge from your house. However, in most cases and on most soils, a hedge near a building will not have any impact on the foundations.