A great garden will have a thriving wildlife, so you may as well make you hedge a big part of that.
For many people their garden is their sanctuary - a place of peace and tranquillity - and in order to protect their little haven from the hustle and bustle of the outside world, they need the best privacy hedge plants.
Now exactly what people look for in their privacy hedge will differ from person to person. The best privacy hedges won't be the same; for some it will be a dense hedge, for others it may be a tall hedge. You may need fast growing hedge plants or you may be after a low maintenance option. Well, whatever you are looking for in your hedge plants, we are going to cover them in this blog to help you plan your ideal privacy hedge setup.
Best Hedges for Privacy
We're going to separate the various options for a privacy hedge into different categories, so that you can find the one that best suits your needs. Some of the hedges could feature under numerous categories, so we will make sure we mention where them when this applies, without repeating ourselves.
Best Evergreen Hedges for Privacy
Let's kick things off with some evergreen hedges - he best way to provide you with a lush, green backdrop to your garden. Here are some of our favourite evergreen shrubs:
Cherry Laurel
Where better to start than with a UK garden classic - the Cherry Laurel (or Prunus Rotundifolia to give its botanical name). If you're after bright green glossy leaves, that look their very best all year round, then you could do a lot worse than this beautiful, but dense, hedge. It's great for providing you with an attractive screen around your garden.
Taxus Baccata
Another hedge plant that can provide you with year round interest is the Taxus Baccata, or English Yew. They are recognisable for their dark green leaves, not too dissimilar to a fir or spruce tree, which is why these hedges are shaped into Christmas trees by some gardeners. This will give you a wonderfully privacy hedge, though, when planted around your garden, and produces bright red berries in the Autumn for an extra splash of colour. They are slow growing, so easy to maintain.
Other options: Leylandii, Ligustrum Ovalifolium, Green Privet
Best Fast Growing Hedges for Privacy
Sometimes you need hedge plants with an excellent growth rate, to get your hedge up as soon as possible. Here are some of the best fast growing bushes for privacy:
Leylandii Green
If you're after a classic hedge that offers plenty of privacy, and grows quickly, the Leylandii Green may be your best screening hedge option. With a rapid growth rate of around 1 metre a year, this evergreen hedge ticks all of the boxes, with the added bonus of looking great too!
Photinia Red-Robin
This beautiful hedge, with large, glossy evergreen leaves in red and green, will grow quickly (at a rate of around 40 cm a year), and provide you with a stunning border around your property. You'll also be rewarded with creamy white flowers in the Summer with the Photinia Red-Robin. A great example of formal hedges.
Other options: Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Cherry Laurel
Best Flowering Hedges for Privacy
If you have the option to add more flowers, more colour and more interest to your garden, you should take it. Here are some of our favourite flowering hedges:
Osmanthus Burkwoodii
Another one of our evergreen shrubs, the Osmanthus Burkwoodii is a very low-maintenance, dense hedge plant will offer your a decent amount of privacy in your garden, but the main benefit is the wonderful scented flowers that it produces. These clusters of white flowers are released from the early Spring, and are then followed by black fruits in the Autumn. It is perfect for coastal areas, to act as a windbreak.
Mountain Ash Rowan
The Mountain Ash Rowan is one of our favourite flowering hedges as it offers something a bit different depending on the time of year. In the Spring you'll see the creamy white flowers, forming in dense clusters to give you delightful pops of colour. Then when Autumn rolls around you'll see beautiful red berries - great for attracting wildlife. All year round, though, you'll have a wonderful dense hedge, perfect for privacy.
Best Privacy Hedges for Wildlife
A great garden will have a thriving wildlife, so you may as well make you hedge a big part of that. Whether you're after birds, butterflies or pollinating insects, these hedges will help you create a garden that hums with life.
Common Alder
The Common Alder, or Alnus glutinosa, is a handsome privacy hedge, with it's glossy green leaves - but it comes into life when it produces the yellow and red catkins. These charming little cones provide an extra layer of interest. Birds, butterflies and a host of invertebrates will all be attracted to your Common Alder hedge, creating a vibrant hub for local wildlife.
Hawthorn Hedge
There's a lot to attract wildlife with a Hawthorn Hedge. White flowers from early spring will get the bees and butterflies descending on your garden, while in the Autumn and Winter the mass of bright red berries, will get the birds and squirrels coming to have a look! To make this even more appealing, this is a fast growing hedge, which can grow up to 5 metres. These are good shrubs for privacy.
Other options: Blackthorn, Mountain Ash Rowan, Osmanthus Burkwoodii
Best Low Maintenance Privacy Hedges
Many of us don't have the time to be constantly pruning or trimming hedge plants - so here are the best low maintenance options:
Laurel Hedge
One of the best privacy hedge plants around, the Laurel is similar to it's cousin the Cherry Laurel. Beautiful glossy green leaves, you can get away with just annual pruning as it doesn't grow particularly quickly - just aim for the Spring or Autumn.
Hornbeam
This deciduous hedge is a great option for a low maintenance privacy hedge. Again, you will only need to prune the Hornbeam it once a year, just to keep it neat. A quick tip for better privacy, though - you may need to plant in staggered rows, as a deciduous hedge will not be quite as dense as evergreen shrubs.
Other options: Cherry Laurel, Photinia Red-Robin, Taxus Baccata
Best Privacy Hedges for Security
Blackthorn Hedge
If you are looking to protect your property, the Blackthorn hedge could well be the one to go for. It's a thick, dense hedge, but on top of that it has long, protruding spikes making it a wonderful deterrent. The fact that it is also lovely to look at, and produces sloe berries are just added bonuses!
Other options: Hawthorn
Best Hedges for Privacy - Conclusion
We've shown plenty of options when it comes to the best hedges for screening and privacy - now all is left for you to do is pick your favourite! Have a look through shop all Hedges now and find the one that will complement your garden perfectly.
