Hedging to Mark Garden Boundaries

Brighten up a Property Line with these Colorful Shubs

Jul 29, 2009

Colorful hedging spruces up the landscape for picture-perfect curb appeal. Rows of flowering shrubs are easy to care for and add a little more punch than cedar or privet.

Every garden needs its boundary marked, whether by fence or hedge. Hedging provides a wind break as well as a little privacy. A simple fence bordered by flowers or a privet hedge has been a long tradition, but there are colorful shrubs the gardener can use in the landscape instead. There are some shrubs that offer color in their flowers in spring or mid-summer and others that offer color only in their leaves. The plant selection is huge, but here is a sampling.

Honeysuckle

Lonicera nitida, is a lovely small-leafed shrub with tiny pink flowers in mid-spring. It can be trimmed to about 4' tall. The top should be pruned in a wedge-shape or slight angle to avoid damage when it's laden with snow. Honeysuckle will grow in Zones 4 - 10

Sweetbriar

Rosa rubiginosa Elglanteria flowers only once in spring, but the flowers are abundant. These roses can give you a big hedge as it grows quite tall with long arching branches. The flowers of Sweetbriar offer little in the way of scent, but the leaves have the scent of apples when it rains. This is a good choice for a country garden. Very thorny and animals tend not to cross it. Sweetbriar will grow in zones 4 to 9

Lilac

Syringia Vulgaris is the common lilac found in the wild, but there are numerous other varieties. Lilacs are generally fast-growing and will give the gardener a good size screen in only a few years.

Lilacs are easy-care shrubs. Remove the spent flower heads before they turn to seed. This will ensure even more flowers the following year. Lilacs bloom in mid-spring and only for a short time, but the scent alone makes it a memorable period. The gardener can prune lilacs as she would a cedar or privet hedge, but there will be few flowers the following year. It's advisable only to remove the dead or old wood to keep the lilac rejuvenated. Lilacs will grow in Zones 3 to 10.

Beech

Fagus sylvatica purpurea will form a very dense hedge. Its leaves are most attractive in the fall as they turn a deep burgundy bronze. It is not hardy in the north. Beech is best suited to Zones 6b or higher.

Forsythia

Forsythia intermedia spectabilis is very attractive in early spring and is one of the first shrubs to flower in the season. It will grow to 10' tall, sending out long shoots covered with a mass of bright yellow flowers. Once planted, it needs little care other than removing the dead wood. Forsythia is very hardy and will grow in zones 3 and higher.

Holly

Ilex aquifolium is the best variety of holly to use as hedging. It can eventually grow up to 20' tall if you need that height. Holly grows well in sun or shade and it makes an attractive dark green background for the pastel pinks of some roses or perennials.

The gardener will need to plant both male and female varieties of holly in order to have those attractive bright red berries later in the season. Most hollies aren't hardy in the north, but there are hardier hollies available with shorter growth. Some hollies will grow in in zones down to 5b, but most prefer zones 6 or higher.

Rugosa Roses

Rosa Rugosa is another perfect shrub for a hedge and there are lots of cultivars. These roses are highly scented, flower abundantly and grow to about 4' tall and wide and if used as hedging, each rose should be planted 3' apart. They need no winter protection as they are very hardy. The only care they need is the addition of a little manure or rose fertilizer in early spring and again after its first flowering in the season. Prune away any dead or old wood. Rugosa roses are very hardy and will grow from Zone 3 and higher.

There are many good colorful hedging shrubs available in garden nurseries today. Hedging is expensive no matter what variety the gardener chooses. With a little patience, the gardener could beg cuttings from friends or neighbors. Honeysuckle, for example, takes well to cuttings. The gardener may have 12” plant within 2 years, which is a good beginning.

Most shrubs will propagate well from cutting. Roses, Bridlewreath spirea and Weigela will all propagate this way. Once established they will grow quite quickly in a colorful boundary hedge.

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The copyright of the article Hedging to Mark Garden Boundaries in Landscaping is owned by Lorraine Syratt. Permission to republish Hedging to Mark Garden Boundaries in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.