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Q I want to plant a mixed hedge along the side of my house. I’d like a mix of hedging plants that will make a neat hedge that’s a deterrent to intruders. What would you advise?
Mark Jones (via email)
A To grow a mixed hedge that can be kept neatly trimmed you need to choose plants that respond to pruning and can all be pruned at the same time. Suitable plants include escallonia, holly, privet, Lonicera nitida, hawthorn, beech, hornbeam and berberis. These are deciduous and evergreen plants, which might not look as good in a formal hedge as it might in an informal hedge.
It might be best to decide on one sort or the other and given that you are trying to reduce vandalism I’d be inclined to choose evergreen species such as holly, Lonicera nitida, escallonia and berberis.
Another consideration is that escallonia and berberis both have attractive flowers when grown as free standing shrubs, but it is not as easy to prune
