Laurel

Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus), is a popular and practical choice for hedging for a variety of compelling reasons.

Its lush, evergreen foliage ensures year-round privacy and screening, making it an excellent option for creating secluded outdoor spaces.

The dense growth of its glossy leaves offers effective noise reduction and windbreak capabilities, making it especially suitable for urban or exposed areas.

Laurel is also highly adaptable to different soil types and can tolerate both sun and partial shade, allowing it to thrive in a wide range of garden environments.

Its rapid growth rate facilitates the swift establishment of hedges, quickly transforming outdoor spaces. Additionally, this hardy hedge species is relatively low-maintenance, requiring only occasional trimming to maintain its desired shape.

In terms of aesthetics, Laurel’s deep green leaves bring a touch of elegance to landscapes, providing a versatile backdrop for other plants or garden features. Overall, Laurel’s combination of practical benefits and aesthetic appeal makes it a favoured choice for hedging in the UK.

Growth rate: Fast Growing, expect 30cm – 60cm per year

Height: Easily maintained at 1m to 5m

3L Price: £19.99 each or 5 for £90

Red Robin

Red Robin, scientifically known as Photinia x fraseri ‘Red Robin,’ is a vibrant and visually appealing choice for hedging. This evergreen shrub is widely recognised for its striking young foliage, which emerges as a brilliant red colour before maturing into a glossy green. The contrast between the red and green leaves creates a dynamic and captivating effect, making Red Robin a popular option for creating eye-catching hedges.

Aside from its aesthetic appeal, Red Robin offers practical benefits as well. It forms a dense hedge that provides privacy, noise reduction, and wind protection, making it suitable for various landscaping purposes.

Its adaptability to a range of soil types and its ability to tolerate both sun and partial shade make it versatile for different garden conditions. Regular pruning helps maintain its desired shape and encourages the growth of new red leaves, keeping its vibrant display intact.

Growth rate: Fast Growing, expect 20cm – 40cm per year

Height: Easily maintained at 1m to 4m

Price: £19.99 each

Privet

Privet hedging is a popular and versatile choice for creating neat, attractive garden boundaries. Known for its dense foliage and fast growth, privet forms a thick, green screen that offers excellent privacy and wind protection. It can be easily shaped and maintained with regular trimming, making it ideal for both formal and informal garden styles. Suitable for a wide range of soil types and conditions, privet is a hardy, low-maintenance option that quickly establishes itself and provides year-round structure to your outdoor space.

3L Price: £14.99 each or 3 for £40

Ilex Crenata Japanese Holly & Golden Japanese Holly

Ilex Crenata, commonly known as Japanese Holly, is a popular and versatile choice for hedging due to its compact and neat growth habit, as well as its resemblance to traditional boxwood.

This evergreen shrub features small, glossy leaves that give it a refined appearance, making it an ideal alternative to boxwood hedging, especially considering the challenges posed by boxwood blight in recent years.

Japanese Holly is well-suited for creating formal hedges, topiaries, and border plantings. Its dense foliage ensures year-round privacy and screening, and its slow growth rate means that it requires less frequent trimming than some other hedge species. This can be particularly advantageous for those seeking a low-maintenance yet elegant hedge solution.

The adaptability of Ilex crenata to different soil types and its tolerance of shade make it versatile for various garden conditions. It can also be shaped and pruned into various forms, allowing for creative landscaping designs. Additionally, Japanese Holly is generally resistant to pests and diseases, adding to its appeal as a reliable hedging choice.

Traditionally boxwood has faced challenges due to disease, Ilex crenata shines as a durable and attractive alternative. Its ability to maintain a well-groomed appearance and its adaptability make it an excellent option for those looking to create formal, elegant, and manageable hedges that will enhance their outdoor spaces for years to come.

Growth rate: Slow Growing, expect 10cm – 20cm per year

Height: Easily maintained at 0.5m to 1.5m

9cm Japanese Holly £3.99 each or 3 for £10

2L Golden Japanese Holly £12.99 each or 2 for £22

Griselinia

Griselinia hedging is a stylish and reliable evergreen option, perfect for creating a lush, vibrant boundary in your garden. With its glossy, apple-green leaves and tidy growth habit, Griselinia looks fresh and inviting all year round. It’s particularly well-suited to coastal and exposed areas, being both salt-tolerant and wind-resistant. Fast-growing and easy to maintain, it forms a dense screen that offers excellent privacy and shelter, making it a great choice for modern gardens or natural-looking hedgerows.

£19.99 each or 3 for £50

Prunus Myrtifolia

Prunus myrtifolia, also known as West Indian cherry or myrtle-leaf cherry, is a compact, evergreen shrub ideal for use as a neat, ornamental hedge. It features small, glossy green leaves that resemble those of a myrtle, giving it a fine-textured and elegant appearance. This plant is drought-tolerant once established and responds well to pruning, making it easy to shape into formal or informal styles. Its dense foliage provides excellent privacy, and it can be used in borders, screening, or as a foundation plant in both urban and coastal gardens.

£19.99 each or 3 for £50