5 Tall Evergreen Hedges

Surrounding your garden with an imposing hedge is like planting a 'neighbour' you have chosen yourself and like a lot!

- By Anna Celliers

You would not normally associate a tall and formally pruned privacy hedge with a moderately sized or small suburban garden, but it is quite possible to train a row of large evergreen shrubs and even small upright growing trees into a dense and enveloping screen up to 2.5m high (or as high as a regular ladder might comfortably reach) and with a width of only 1m or less. Any higher or wider can become a nuisance, as very tall hedges can cause too much shade and are normally supported by vigorous roots competing against those of other plants.

Planting a row of camphor bushes (Tarchonanthus camphoratus) along the ugly wire fence of my small front yard was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

The advantages:

The plants were much, much cheaper than the quotes I received for even the most basic solid boundary wall. The choice of plant was correct, as it suits a dry and windy coastal climate where water restrictions are often a reality - you seldom irrigate the hedge in the background as regularly as you would do other plants.