Q What low hedge can I grow to surround my new herb bed?
Andy Wilson, Suffolk
A CHRISTINE SAYS The plants that I suggest will need regular clipping to maintaining their dense growth and height. As a result, you will need to ensure these plants are fed, ideally with a slow-release fertiliser at the base of the hedge each year. They may also need to be watered on a regular basis to encourage establishment and regrowth.
Do not allow too much fertiliser or water to spill over into the herb bed as this would encourage too much soft growth, which is not desirable for herbs.
If you want something that looks like a box hedge, select a dwarf yew such as Taxus baccata ‘Repandens’. It responds well to hard clipping. With a similar appearance to box with tiny leaves try Lonicera nitida, which requires regular cutting, and give some of the smaller pittosporums a go.