6 flowering low hedges

Low hedge, are strong design elements. Here a number of the same plants are used repeatedly in a row to form a pattern or barrier. But, do they have to be the traditional and formally clipped green box? Or golden duranta hedges? The answer is no! Let’s take a closer look at 6 flowering hedges now!

If you choose your hedge plants well, you can have your bread buttered on both sides! You can have lots of flowers in different seasons backed up by attractive, dense foliage on plants. And these can be given free reign for longer periods, before you have to do some taming with hedge clippers.

Dwarf Natal Plum

Carissa macrocarpa ‘Green Carpet’
It has very dark green, leathery foliage and spiny stems. This indigenous variety is normally used as a groundcover. It only grows about 30cm high with a spread of about 60cm. However it works extremely well as a neat informal little hedge. It can be pruned to a hedge shape. You then forfeit the white, star-shaped, fragrant flowers and edible berries that follow them from spring to midsummer. So, as with all the other hedge options here, mind the flowering times. Plant it in full sun, but it is also tolerant of even deep shade. It is not hardy to extreme cold and frost but is very adaptable to windy and dry gardens.

Spider Flower Hybrid

Grevillea ‘Fireworks’
A very forgiving, low-maintenance shrub with soft greyish-green foliage, and perfect for borders or low hedges. The bicoloured flowers in bright red-and-yellow appear in autumn to spring with occasional flowering peaks at other times too. It likes sandy, acidic soil, has low water requirements once established and will tolerate light frost. Very attractive to wildlife. Mature size is about 1m x 75cm.

Coastal or Australian rosemary

Westringia fruticosa
A compact plant with very small greyish-green leaves that are white-felted underneath. In spring and summer it produces copious quantities of small white or blue flowers. These attract butterflies and bees. It is a fast grower that is also hardy to cold, with medium to low water requirements once established. It is ideal for dry and windy coastal gardens and is very salt tolerant. Plant it in full sun. Mature size is about 1.5 x 1.5m. But this plant loves to be kept in check with frequent pruning when not in flower.

READ MORE: Tall Evergreen Hedges

Honeybell Bush

Freylinia tropica
A fast-growing, indigenous evergreen shrub with neat, bright green leaves. Pretty blue or white (depending on the form) flowers from September to February. It can be planted in full sun and actually also loves dappled shade. Moderate water user, cold and frost hardy, and much loved by butterflies. Fast grower up to 2 x 1m and responds very well to frequent pruning.

Escallonia

Escallonia laevis ‘Pink Elle’
A naturally compact and bushy shrub with glossy, dark green leaves. Masses of upright flower heads that start bright pink and fade to soft pink. This vigorous grower flowers in spring to summer, and can be trained into a very elegant hedge that can be neatly pruned in late summer and autumn. Like all other escallonia garden hybrids (which are equally great hedge plants), it is cold and frost hardy. Also a fast grower, with medium to low water requirements. Great for full sun to light shade. Mature size is about 1 x 1m.

White confetti bush

Coleonema album
An erect, multi-branched indigenous shrub with fine needle-like leaves. These have oil glands on the reverse side and release a pleasant nutmeg-like fragrance when crushed. Masses of small white flowers are produced in profusion. The plant is a cloud of white from late autumn to summer (May to November). It is very tolerant to coastal conditions and prefers well-composted, well-draining, acidic soil. Very water-wise once established, but young plants should be well watered at first. Although it can reach a height of 2m when mature, this should not be allowed or it will become woody. It responds very well to pruning into a neat shape after flowering.

Low hedges can be used for:

• Edging or bordering large mixed perennial and shrub beds, giving a finishing touch and tying together everything in the background.
• Creating a floor pattern defining beds of different shapes, such as triangles, squares, circles and narrow rectangular beds. These can be bordered by the same plant on all sides. A simple mass-planting scheme of only one or two other contrasting species inside these beds can create a dramatic effect.
• Directing foot traffic – even the most informal pathway leading from one section of the garden to another can be enhanced by low hedges on either side.
• Boxing in rose beds – roses, although the queens of all flowering plants, can sometimes be bare-legged at their bases. And even if they are covered with healthy foliage, they are not the most attractive of plants when not in a seasonal flower flush. Standard roses, other standards and large topiary plants planted together will look much better if surrounded by a low flowering hedge.
• Accentuating garden art or focal points – a low evergreen flowering hedge around a raised pond. Or a bold element such as a classical urn or old-fashioned bird bath or fountain supplies a classy finishing touch.
• Softening the lines of a dry-packed stone wall with a low hedge at its base or creating a barrier on top of a low wall.
• Building a small labyrinth, maze or even a simple spiral garden by using low-growing hedge plants combined with hard landscaping elements such as gravel, bricks, or stone.

Maintain Good Growth

Immediately after planting, you can start pruning lightly by removing the growing tips of all side branches. This encourages bushy growth. These types of hedges will perform much better if pruned into a mounded shape rather than the old straight sides with a flattened top. Repeat this every few months until the plants have started growing into each other. In most cases you should need 3 – 4 plants per running metre.

General Care

Supply a mulch of extra compost after you have planted, and water the hedge frequently. If you are going to use very small hedge plants it is a good idea to fill up the prepared trench with the soil and then to place a strip of weed matting over it. You can then cut slits into the material and plant through them. The weed mat will not only prevent weeds from growing between the young plants. It will also keep the soil around the roots moist for longer, and can be camouflaged with a layer of mulch. Feed the hedge plants in spring, summer and autumn with a slow-release fertiliser.

READ MORE: Edible Hedges – Plant Hedges With a Big Heart