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| Man's use of woody plants for hedging is a practice which is possibly as old as civilisation. There are biblical references to hedges in cultivated land, and hedges also figure in early Egyptian illustrations. Roman literature abounds with details of hedging and, to this day, they remain an integral part of the north Italian landscape. |
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 Being long lived features, they've become very much part of garden design and continue to evolve in their style and composition according to the needs of the times. More hedge planting was carried out in Britain than ever before or since during The Great Enclosures of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is a mistake to believe that hedges are particularly British and that they are generally little more than 200 years old; evidence of long established hedging can be found world wide. |
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| The intricately hedged bocage country of Normandy is one example and similar features can be seen across Europe. Hedges are most commonly used in hilly country adjacent to woodland, whereas the open plains - the land of prairie farming - are generally hedgeless. This applies to North America as well as parts of the Andes and Himalayas. Hedges and screens indicate boundary demarcation, give protection from winds, noise and trespass, afford privacy, and attract wildlife, but they also possess more subtle values. |
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 As they bend and shift in the wind, movement and sound is created, adding to our enjoyment of their other attributes. The amber coloured glow and fluttering sight and sound of a beech or hornbeam hedge on a breezy winter's day are surely the finest examples of hedges that serve all practical and aesthetic purposes.
Almost any woody subject, be it deciduous or evergreen, will make a satisfactory hedge but some cannot be seriously recommended. In the north west of Scotland, it is common to see mutilated (the uninitiated may call them clipped!) lines of semi-mature Scots pine, lodgepole pine, sitka spruce and even larch used as shelter belts and hedges to fend off the fury of the westerly maritime gales. |
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| While they do moderate the wind, their natural habit is not ideal for clipping and a better choice of planting would be a mixture of common holly, olearia (the larger species), native willow, cotoneasters, Rhododendron ponticum, Rosa rugosa, in various forms, and Escallonia rubra var. macrantha, as all these naturally lend themselves to pruning and give far more interest and variety. |
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 Without doubt, the most popular hedging plant in Britain is Leylandii cupressocyparis. A recent survey estimated that there are more than 55 million specimens of this hybrid conifer in Britain. Like it or not, it is the fastest growing conifer we have and, if well maintained, does make an excellent hedge. But, if neglected, it immediately heads for the sky at the rate of one metre or more a year and loses its reason for existence. By its over production, fast rate of growth and inclination to misbehave, this tree has been the cause of many heated arguments between neighbours and keeps solicitors well above the bread line. |
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| This contemporary mania for a quick result is not necessarily the best reason for choosing a hedging shrub. It is advisable to settle for an alternative and more interesting subject which gives longer term pleasure, albeit at a slower pace. |
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