There is something special about a healthy, well maintained hedge. A symmetrical wall of green creates visual and physical limits in the landscape and provides a softer effect than wood or plastic materials. Hedges are an effective backdrop for flower beds and borders or may stand on their own in a diversity of shapes and sizes. Shrub plantings can be allowed to grow into a natural, informal hedge or they may be pruned (sheared) into a formal hedge. Shrubs suitable for small hedges (less than 5 feet in height) include barberry (Berberis), boxwood (Buxus), inkberry (Ilex), and alpine currant (Ribes) while Privet (Ligustrum), lilac (Syringa), yew (Taxus), and arborvitae (Thuja) can be utilized as tall hedges (those greater than 5 feet in height).
Lilac and dogwood hedges (left, right, respectively) will not require as much pruning as a pine hedge (center).
Different pruning styles and species can be mixed to create a variety of hedges
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