Low hedges are great for making a gentle barrier between properties without taking up much space or blocking light. They fit nicely into different types of garden designs and can mark the edge of your yard.
Low hedges can be useful in many ways. They can line a path, divide a small garden into sections without making it feel crowded, serve as a backdrop for other plants, or separate your driveway from your neighbor’s.
Why Use Low Hedges?
Low hedges help define garden edges, paths, and boundaries. They are easy to care for and add shape to garden designs. A popular idea is to plant a flowering low hedge in front of a taller evergreen hedge. This adds seasonal interest and makes the taller hedge stand out more.
Low hedges create a separation but still keep an open feel. They can give a sculptural look and are great for adding features against walls or fences.
Berberis are versatile ornamental shrubs, adding colourful foliage, flowers and berries to borders, rock gardens and containers. Evergreen or deciduous and ranging from very large to dwarf shrubs, these easy to grow, spiny plants have a place in almost every garden.
Berberis thunbergii come in a range of sizes, have bright spring flowers and great autumn fruits and foliage on offer. They're a good choice for low hedging or as border plants.
Brachyglottis Senecio ‘Sunshine’ will bring a burst of colour to any outside space. With large, yellow, daisy-like flowers and evergreen foliage, Senecio ‘Sunshine’ is a lovely, informal shrub. The grey-green leaves and young stems are covered in a soft fuzzy texture of white growth.
Cotoneasters make useful garden shrubs, ground cover plants and small trees, with most of them growing well in sun and partial shade. They bear a long season of interest thanks to their prolific summer flowers followed by deep red berries, which remain on the plant from autumn through winter. Many species have beautiful autumn foliage.
Box is a bushy habit with masses of small, densely packed deep green leaves makes box ideal for trimming into precise shapes and offsetting complex planting schemes.
Dutch box is a dwarf variety of English box. It has the same small glossy green leaves although slightly rounder. Like English box, ensure that it doesn’t dry out and feed with plenty of organic materials during spring and autumn.
Dwarf honeysuckle features dark green leaves that can be trimmed and look as good as box. In extremely cold frosts the leaves will change to a purple colour. Don’t worry this is perfectly normal the plants are at no risk of dying.
Nandina nana is a super versatile little shrub. The beauty of these plants is their ever changing foliage colour. In summer they are a lime-yellow, but in winter they are a bright red.
A low-growing Euonymus such as ‘Emerald ‘n’ Gold’ is another great alternative to box without the risk of disease. ‘Emerald ‘n’ Gold’ is the variety of choice for edging small formal beds.
Golden diosma has brilliant soft golden foliage, hence the name. It produces dainty pink flowers. Often grown as a small bush shrub for pops of foliage colour. It responds really well to pruning. A low golden hedge looks great!.
What Plants Are Good for Low Hedges?
While almost any hedge can be kept low with regular trimming, some plants are better for low hedges because they don’t grow too fast. Good choices are small-leafed evergreen shrubs.
Lavender and Rosemary are great for low hedges. They have bright flowers and smell good as you walk by. Lavender is also loved by bees and butterflies.
Garden designers use unique plants to make their designs stand out. For example, Hebe ‘Red Edge’ has dark green leaves with a red outline, adding a pop of color to the garden.
Choose low flowering hedges for their bright colors. Brachyglottis Senecio ‘Sunshine’ has bright yellow flowers that glow against its dark green leaves. It can grow in many places, making it perfect for tricky garden spots.
These are just a few plants you can use for low hedges. Check out more plants below!
Compact hebes such as ‘Red Edge’ make a great low hedge that requires virtually no maintenance. Year-round interest is provided by the small, pointed greyish-green leaves attractively edged with red. The display is enhanced in summer by conical clusters of pale lilac flowers, which are attractive to bees and butterflies.
Thriving almost anywhere, including in deep shade, Hypericum calycinum is an ideal choice for difficult spots. This versatile shrub becomes festooned with large yellow flowers in summer and autumn, which are followed by decorative red berries.
Ilex crenata is great for a low formal hedge, producing small, glossy dark green leaves with a gently scalloped edge. White flowers in May are followed by glossy black berries. Compact habit and slow growth rate means it won’t need trimming very often.
Korean Box has small leaves with the color changing from a lime green to almost yellow depending on the seasons. It can be grown in more shaded areas of the garden.
A row of lavender makes an attractive, drought-tolerant, fragrant divide that will attract bees and butterflies. Little maintenance is required other than a light shearing back after flowering to retain a compact shape and prevent legginess. Producing a haze of blue-purple flowers above attractive greyish evergreen foliage, lavenders are a great low hedging choice for dry areas.
Lonicera pileata is a tough, drought-tolerant evergreen will quickly fill out to form a dense, compact hedge, which can be easily kept to a desired shape and size by trimming in summer or autumn. The display is enhanced by creamy flowers in spring and purple berries in autumn.
Photinia can be grown as a dense shrub. Being evergreen its perfect for creating privacy in your garden as an all year round hedge screen. Photinia will thrive in full sun or partial shade and is suited to all soil types provided moist soils are well drained.
For a more informal hedge, Pittosporum tenuifolium is a great option for mild areas. Boasting attractive deep glossy purple foliage, it forms a dense, rounded shrub that is ideal for a cloud-pruned hedge.
Compact shrub roses can make a beautiful low hedge. Tresses of lavish pink blooms are produced throughout summer and autumn on arching stems that form a shapely mounded plant. This prickly hedging choice is ideal if you’re looking to discourage animals such as cats from passing through.
Sarcococca confusa makes a lovely informal or informal hedge, depending whether you allow it to take on its natural form or trim it into shape. Year-round interest is provided by the glossy deep green, spear-shaped leaves and shiny black berries, but the plant really excels in January when it fills the air with the most delicious, heady scent from its clusters of small cream flowers. This makes winter box the perfect plant for low hedges near paths, doorways and patios, where its fragrance can be enjoyed to the full.
Sweet box is an excellent hedge choice for shaded areas of the garden. A hedge bordering a path through a dense shaded area looks great and sweet box can help you achieve such a look. The foliage is a deep dark glossy green. The leaves are much larger than a normal box plant.
Westringia will thrive in dry sandy soils, even right on the coast with salt spray. The main options are mauve or white flowers. Both can come with variegated foliage.
Garden Design Ideas To Use Low Hedges
Using low hedges in your garden can add structure, color, and interest. Here are some creative ideas to incorporate low hedges into different garden styles:
Formal Gardens
If your garden is formal, arrange low hedges in straight lines or shapes like squares, rectangles, and circles to create a clean, formal look. Use them to line pathways, giving a neat and tidy appearance. Enhance symmetry by plant matching hedges on either side of walkways or garden features.
Cottage Gardens
Combine low hedges with colorful, flowering plants to achieve a charming, informal look. Plant hedges in gentle curves instead of straight lines to add a softer, more natural feel. Use aromatic herbs like Lavender and Rosemary as low hedges around herb gardens for a delightful scent and visual appeal.
Modern Gardens
Keep the design simple with straight, clean lines and a limited color palette. Pair low hedges with hardscaping elements like stone, concrete, or metal to create an interesting contrast between natural and man-made materials. Trim low hedges into modern, geometric shapes to add a sculptural element to the garden.
Natural Gardens
Let low hedges grow a bit wilder for a more natural look. Mix them with native plants and grasses to blend seamlessly into the landscape. Plant low hedges along the edges of flower beds or woodland areas to provide a subtle boundary without disrupting the natural feel.
Urban Gardens
In small urban gardens or patios, use low hedges to create green walls or borders without taking up too much space. Use them around seating areas to create a sense of privacy and seclusion while still maintaining an open feel. You can plant low hedges in large containers to add greenery to balconies, rooftops, or paved areas.
Themed Gardens
In a Japanese zen gardens use low hedges to frame gravel paths, rocks, and water features, creating a peaceful and serene atmosphere. In a Mediterranean gardens incorporate drought-tolerant plants like Lavender and Rosemary, paired with terracotta pots and stone pathways. In a fairy garden use miniature low hedges to create tiny landscapes.
These design ideas can help you make the most of low hedges in your garden, adding beauty, structure, and functionality to your outdoor space.