Find all the hedging tips and expert advice you need here on the Thompson & Morgan blog. Discover the best hedges for low borders, high security, wildlife-friendly, flowering and more. Once you’ve found the right option for your gardening needs, pop over to our online store to buy your perfect hedging plants.


How to plant a bareroot hedge

Cooper hedging protecting smaller plants in garden

Hedging creates natural boundaries in your garden
Image: Copper Beech (Hedging) from Thompson & Morgan

Late autumn and winter is the time to plant your bareroot hedge. That’s because from late November through to March, most hedging plants are in their dormant phase and can be moved without causing undue stress. If you wait until budburst you’ll have lost your opportunity for the year, so don’t leave it too late! Planting a hedge is a satisfying job which will keep you warm on a chilly winter’s day. Here’s everything you need to know to tackle the task successfully. 

Looking for inspiration? Check out our full range of hedging plants.

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Best plants for low hedges

Low box hedging surrounding parterre beds at National Trust Wimpole Estate. Image: Canva

There are many situations that call for a low hedge. It could be a formal edging to a border or path, a way to divide up a small garden into separate areas without cramping the space, a structural backdrop to other planting or simply a way to separate your drive from your neighbour’s. The beauty of a low hedge is that it creates a divide whilst still maintaining an open and spacious feel.

Whilst the size of almost any hedge can be limited by how often and how hard you trim it, there are certain plants that lend themselves particularly well to low hedges without wearing out the hedgetrimmer. The ideal candidate is a compact, small-leafed evergreen shrub that is not too fast-growing. Here we’ve picked out some of the best plants for a low hedge – whether you’re looking something formal, informal, flowering or prickly, read on to find the best for you!

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Hedges masterclass: best expert content

Green hornbeam hedging

Hedges provide shelter and privacy in the garden
Image: Hornbeam (hedging) from Thompson & Morgan

Here’s everything you need to create a spectacular living boundary from hedging plants in your garden. We’ve pulled together wisdom from a whole host of independent gardeners and designers and featured their best YouTube videos, Instagram posts and articles. Whether you start with bare root or container grown plants, here’s how to choose, plant and prune the perfect hedge.

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Best flowering hedges

White lace-cap flowers of Guelder Rose (Hedging) from Thompson & Morgan

Guelder Rose hedging has beautiful flowers in the spring, and vibrant red berries in the autumn
Image: Guelder Rose (Hedging) from Thompson & Morgan

Hedges are generally viewed as practical but dull garden workhorses, marking boundaries and screening ugly vistas or providing a plain backdrop to more colourful planting. But hedges don’t have to be boring, and there is a place in the garden for more flamboyant hedging choices. 

There are many hedging shrubs which offer flowers, including some practical evergreens which still perform as dense screens. Smaller flowering shrubs provide opportunities for pretty path edges or to divide up areas. Flowering hedges can provide a lift to an otherwise plain and predictable landscape, enlivening an ordinary boundary hedge with a seasonal surprise of colour.

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The Best Hedges for Chalky Soil

Cross section of chalky soil

Chalky soil can be tricky to work with
Image: Shutterstock

Chalky soils can be challenging. But, with the correct soil preparation and care, there are a host of suitable hedging plants which will happily cope with these conditions. Here is an introduction to some of the best, plus an A-Z list of other species to choose from.

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The Best Hedges for Clay Soil

Red berries on a viburnum shrub

Viburnum is just one of many shrubs which thrive in moist clay soil and which make excellent candidates for hedging
Image: Viburnum opulus from Thompson & Morgan

If you are selecting hedges for clay soil, here is an introduction to some of the best available, plus an A-Z list of other species to choose from.

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