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Hedges
Fences give you privacy and mark your boundaries from day one, but they are expensive and need annual treatment with timber preservative if they are to last.
A hedge may take a while to grow but it looks ‘softer’, and if you want straight, architectural lines all you need is a sharp pair of shears.
- Yew doesn’t grow as slowly as you might think. It can grow 22.5cm (9in) in a year, but it only needs trimming once a year, in August.
- Laurel has big, shiny leaves that are perfect for reflecting light into dark corners. The only trouble is, if you cut it with shears or hedge-trimmers, the leaves that are chopped in half turn brown. It really needs pruning by hand, but the good news is you don’t need to do it every year.
- Leylandii isn’t as big a rogue as people say, as long as you clip it twice a year and keep within the 'green zone'; if you cut back into the brown bits it won’t usually regenerate.
- Hornbeam is, correctly speaking, not evergreen, however it does retain russet-coloured leaves throughout the winter.
- Box grows well in both sunny and shady areas. You can get away with clipping it once a year but I would recommend twice, once in spring and again in early August if you want it to stay fuzz-free.
- Pyracantha makes a good hedge if regularly clipped. Do it lightly just after it has finished flowering, and only remove the new growth leaving the developing berries on the outside of the hedge; the result will be a truly memorable autumn/winter show.
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