Hedging plants
Hedging plants will become the cornerstone of your garden, forming an attractive boundary and creating a secure screen around your home. Hedges also reduce noise, improve privacy and act as a great way to attract wildlife, particularly nesting birds. Think carefully about the plants you choose. In particular, consider whether you'd prefer a deciduous hedge for beautiful autumnal colours or an evergreen hedge to act as a year-round backdrop for showier perennials, shrubs and seasonal displays. It's also worth contemplating whether you prefer a flowering, fruiting or berrying hedge, or something a little more subdued.
Some of the most popular hedging choices are Beech, common Yew, Hawthorn, Privet and Leylandii. Choose holly plants if you're looking for a spiky, impenetrable intruder-proof screen; Sorbus Aucuparia for white flowers and red berries (deciduous); or box hedging if you want something that's slow growing, long lived and looks smart when kept well-clipped.
Containerised hedging plants are available and can be planted all year round, whilst the planting time for bare root and root balled hedging is restricted to mid-October to the end of March, with March or even April/early May actually being preferable for rootballed evergreens. If you have the choice, deciduous hedges will fare best when put into the ground between mid-autumn and late winter.
