Garden borders can be used for both practical purposes and to add aesthetic value, so we’ve picked the following hedging plants based on foliage, fragrance, flowers and their low maintenance requirements, which allows you to achieve a fantastic looking border without the need for constant pruning. Here’s our top 5 hedging plants to give your garden that perfect edge…

The classic choice to create a sensory border, Lavender Hidcote provides both colour and fragrance, with a profusion of striking purple flower spikes appearing above attractive grey-green foliage. With a slow growth rate, Lavandula Angustifolia Hidcote hedges are low maintenance and not only look impressive, but they will also act as a magnet to both bees and butterflies.

A great choice for low formal borders, Box hedge plants offer glossy, evergreen foliage, and with a compact growing habit, your border will look neat and tidy without much effort. Buxus sempervirens can handle difficult planting sites and is even drought tolerant once established. Choose Box for the perfect parterre.

This two-tone hedging plant makes a wonderful, decorative border with grey-green foliage margined with an attractive, complementary red colour. Ideal for low borders up to 1m, Hebe Red Edge has great seasonal interest with white and lilac flowers appearing in summer and the red foliage becoming more prominent in winter, warming your garden up as the temperatures drop.

Senecio (brachyglottis sunshine) hedging makes a great informal, low border with high impact. The vibrant, yellow flowers that appear against a canvas of grey-green foliage will add a splash of colour to your garden and, with a tolerance of most planting sites, Brachyglottis can be used for borders even when the conditions are not ideal.  

Rosemary is a fragrant evergreen, with a number of qualities that make it an excellent choice to plant in a border. The aromatic fragrance that drifts from the foliage provides a wonderful treat when walking down a pathway bordered with Rosemary and, with an average growth rate of 20-40cm per year, you don’t need to worry about maintenance, especially as there’s so many uses for this herb in the kitchen; you won’t be able to resist stealing a few sprigs for your cooking.

If you have any questions about this topic, or anything else relating to your garden, please tweet us @best4hedging and we’ll be happy to help.