A word in hedgewise

by SUE LINDSAY - Nelson

Hedges have practical and aesthetic uses far beyond marking boundaries.

Hedges come in all shapes, sizes and varieties – much like people. And some people love them, and other people hate them.

They can be high or low, prickly or pleached, red, yellow, grey or green, smothered with large luscious flowers, small dainty flowers, or none at all.

Very experienced gardeners know the value of a hedge and how little work is required to keep it looking great.

Whether you love them or hate them, they are a key landscaping tool, and provide fantastic "bones" to a garden if used skilfully.

They can define spaces, act as brilliant background foils for plantings, emphasise special features, provide valuable shelter from wind, and dramatically frame vistas.

They are also one of the most effective and inexpensive boundary markers. They have far more flexibility than a fence or wall, are relatively inexpensive, and look a million times better. Prickly plants can make fabulous burglar-deterring hedges.

Try the holly species (Ilex) for a big hedge, or some of the rose varieties (Rosa) for a smaller version.

Hedges have a long tradition as a landscaping technique, particularly in Europe.

They've been used extremely effectively in European gardens such as Le Potage in the Fontainebleau region of France and Sissinghurst in England. Larnach's Castle near Dunedin and The Lodge at Paratiho Farms in Upper Moutere have incorporated formal hedges into their extensive gardens.

There's definitely a place for hedges in small and contemporary gardens.

They're useful for showcasing a sculpture, water feature or special planting.

They can beautifully surround and enclose a patio or a petanque court, or be used to "lead" your eye to a vista or to frame a view.

Unfortunately, they are often one of the most neglected parts of the garden too, even though they don't demand much attention. They need to be fed with the appropriate fertiliser, kept weed-free, watered regularly in dry periods, and clipped to develop and maintain their shape. It's important to choose a hedge that will suit your conditions and requirements, so that you can easily look after it.

All of us immediately think a hedge must be "square cut", a plant version of short back and sides. Often boundary hedges are like this for practical reasons, but hedges can also be clipped to almost any shape.

A row of the long-flowering Rosa mutabalis bush roses, or a curve of lavender (Lavandula x intermedia `Super'), or even a circle of beautiful Leucadendron `Safari Sunset' can all become hedges.

One of the most effective and beautiful plantings I've ever seen was in Whangarei, at the Fern Garden. There, a low hedge of square-cut, clipped box (Buxus sempervirens) enclosed a planting of native tree ferns and smaller ground ferns. The effect was stunning, as the formality of the hedge was the perfect foil for the lush, vibrant fronds of the ferns.

Some people want only native plantings, and in this case, the buxus hedge could have easily been replaced with a variety of hebe.

The biggest mistake in planning a hedge is to choose plant varieties that will not achieve the desired effect.

The foliage is the defining feature and, en masse, is a bold statement. Therefore the size, shape and colour of the leaf must be considered carefully.

Generally, slower-growing species are more suitable, as they grow more compactly, clip beautifully, and are easier to maintain.

The smaller-leafed plants such as corokia, box, or irish yew are best for very formal hedges.

They can be trimmed very closely and grow quite slowly but densely.

The smaller leaf also gives a sense of "distance" and the planting will appear further away than it really is. These smaller-leafed varieties are usually very tolerant of hot, sunny, windy sites, as well as frost and snow.

They suit a hedge less than one metre high and only need clipping once a year, maybe twice at the most.

The larger-leafed plants will develop into a larger, more open hedge and will visually shorten the distance between you and the hedge.

A large evergreen leaf, like that of Grisilinea lucida, or Coprosma repens, gives a lush, more informal feel. Grisilinea lucida is a favourite choice as hedging in subtropical gardens. There are some great examples of Coprosma repens hedging at the Store at Kekerengu, north of Kaikoura. This location is ideally suited to coprosma, which enjoys hot, dry, seaside conditions.

Many people choose a variety of pittosporum for a quick-growing hedge. Even though it's quick and easy to establish, it can become a chore to maintain, as it will require perhaps three trims a year to maintain shape. Amaltal Head Office in Akersten St, Port Nelson, has fine examples of corokia and pittosporum hedges.

Port wine magnolia (Michelia figo), some camellia varieties and portugal cherry laurel (Prunus lusitanica) grow into excellent evergreen hedges that require minimal maintenance. The flowers are an additional bonus with the camellia, and the michelia has fragrant flowers.

They will provide a hedge that easily reaches two metres.

A fresh, green, leafy hedge always looks fantastic, and provides a quiet tranquillity to the garden.

However, if you want a "coloured" hedge, there are plenty of choices.

Photinia `Red Robin' makes a vibrant red hedge, but it absolutely must be clipped very regularly, as it's the newer leaves that are red.

The best example of a photinia hedge that I've seen is at the Rototai Cemetery in Golden Bay.It always looks neat and tidy, and red.

The golden cultivar of our totara (Podocarpus totara) will grow into a yellow-orange hedge, easily two metres high, and there's a splendid example along Main Road Hope.

Silver germander (Teucrium fruticans) will give you a grey hedge with small blue flowers.

It's also a hedge that needs rigorous attention to keep its compact shape, because it grows very quickly.

A fantastic example of a teucrium hedge is at the front of the veterinary clinic in Gladstone Rd, Richmond.

Traditionally, yew hedges (Taxus baccata) have been used in cemeteries, and there's quite a bit of folklore surrounding their use.

Generally the dark green coniferous species, such as yew and cypress (Cupressus), require very large spaces to be effective. In Canterbury and Otago, you often see these species, as well as Pinus radiata, beautifully trimmed and used as windbreaks on farms.

They're perfect in these situations, where there's plenty of space and tractors with huge clipping blades to keep them maintained.

If you fancy a conifer hedge and have a smaller garden, then Taxus baccata `Fastigiata' would be a good choice. It's a slow-growing irish yew, and very well suited to topiary and hedging, as it only grows about 20cm a year.

In Europe, the English beech (Fagus sylvatica) and hornbeam (Carpinus betula) are traditionally used for hedging.

They grow relatively slowly, and are deciduous. However, the leaves are retained throughout winter, which maintains the hedge effect and adds a gentle rustling sound on windy days. In spring the fresh, lime-green leaves push the old copper-coloured leaves from the tree. And in autumn the leaves turn brilliant shades of yellow and orange, before turning to copper.

These two species have strongly interlocking branches and make a sturdy hedge. They are often used on farms for stock control, but are very popular in gardens because the closely meshed branches allow them to be trimmed very formally.

Both the English beech and hornbeam are used to create pleached hedges, in which the hedging begins about a metre off the ground. These hedges look fantastic, as the trunks of the trees are visible and "ground" the hedge, but there's an elegance and lightness to the whole structure.

• Golden Bay resident Sue Lindsay has run Angelus Landscapes since 1994 and has undertaken a wide range of landscape commissions throughout the Nelson region. She writes occasional articles for Home and Garden with a landscape or garden design theme. Readers with questions about boundaries, or other landscaping issues, can email her at angelus@paradise.net.nz.