HEDGES: WHICH SPECIES TO CHOOSE, DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU WANT IT FOR

Most people choose a hedge from a photo. Then it turns out they needed screening and chose something deciduous, or wanted something low and planted something that wants to be a tree. Start from the job you are asking it to do, not from the plant.

To stop seeing the neighbours

You need evergreen foliage and density right down to the ground. That rules out half the catalogue.

Photinia x fraseri. The most used, and for good reason: fast, genuinely opaque, and the new shoots come out red. It takes pruning without complaint. It wants sun.

Ligustrum japonicum. Plainer and very obliging. It tolerates partial shade and mediocre soil, which is where the others start to fail.

Laurus nobilis. The bay of the kitchen. Slow at first, but it makes a compact wall, lives for decades and smells good when you prune it.

To break the wind

There is a contradiction worth understanding here: a solid wall does not stop wind, it makes it jump and creates turbulence on the other side. A hedge that lets some air through protects better and further.

Elaeagnus. Hard to beat near the sea: it shrugs off wind, salt and drought. The x ebbingei is the classic hedging one; angustifolia is more of a tree and suits large screens.

To mark a boundary without screening

If you only want to say where your plot ends, you do not need two metres of wall.

Myrtus communis. Mediterranean myrtle: small glossy leaves, white flowers in summer and a wonderful scent. It takes clipping and stays where you tell it.

Myrtus communis Nana. The dwarf version, for half-metre hedges and edging.

Low hedges and edging

Lavender. For edging a path or separating areas within the garden there is nothing better: flowers all summer, no watering once established, and the bees are grateful. Angustifolia copes better with cold, dentata flowers almost non-stop in a mild climate.

If what you want is flowers

Nerium oleander. Oleander. It flowers from May to October, takes heat, drought and poor soil, and comes in white, pink, red, cream and salmon. It is the answer when you want a hedge that also gets noticed.

One warning that has to be given: every part of it is toxic if eaten. There is no problem in having one, it is used on roadsides and in gardens across half the world, but it is worth knowing if there are small children or animals that chew.

How many plants per metre

The most expensive mistake is planting too close out of impatience. It costs more, they get in each other's way and the hedge stays thin at the bottom.

As a guide: low hedge, 3 or 4 plants per metre; medium hedge, 2 or 3; large screen, one every 60-80 cm. Planted in autumn, it will have closed up within two seasons.