Archive for 02/08/2013
Griselina littoralis- a good seaside hedge
I’ve had a few queries about hedges recently and this one, from Robert Galbraith is my choice for this week’s GQT:
‘We live in a bungalow near the seashore in Sussex, where the soil is rather sandy. Could you suggest some suitable hedging plants to give our garden a bit of privacy, please?’
There is quite a wide choice of suitable plants Robert. You could go for Grisselina littoralis which has thick yellowish – green leaves forming a dense, solid hedge if formally clipped and will grow in most soils. Escallonia ‘Langleyensis’, with red flowers in June – July is often grown in seaside locations and has glossy evergreen foliage. Other varieties are E. macrantha with deep red flowers in June – September and E. ‘Slieve Donard’ with large pink flowers in June- August.
Griselina littoralis
Escallonia rubra
Escallonia rubra
Escallonia rubra hedge
Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) has silvery grey foliage and orange berries (if both male and female forms are grown). Tamarisk pentandra has feathery flowers in August whilst the form T. tetranda is May – flowering.
Sea Buckthorn
Sea Buckthorn close up
Tamarisk growing behind a cornish hedge
Euonymus japonicus, with evergreen shiny leaves is also available in variegated forms which can withstand close clipping as does the shrubby honeysuckle Lonicera nitida with small golden – green leaves.
Euonymus japonicus aureo marginatus 
Euonymus japonicus aureo marginatus
Euonymus japonicus aureo marginatus
Euonymus japonicus aureo marginatus
More generally, and not necessarily suitable for a seaside home, the best ornamental evergeen hedges for formal training and clipping are Yew and Holly. Box is also suitable, but is very slow growing and expensive so is best kept as low hedging (up to about 1 metre tall) or feature, perhaps topiarised, bushes. Hedges of Cypress and Cherry Laurel are also good for an evergreen barrier and Privet, provided it is trained correctly from planting, will supply a satisfactory semi-evergreen barrier.
Cherry Laurel
Old School Gardener
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