Style: August 03, 2017

42 STYLE | landscaping
HEDGING
YOUR BETS
Landscape architect
Craig Wilson talks us
through how to add instant
elegance to the garden with
some simple hedging.
Hedges have a well-earned and highlycelebrated
place in the garden design
narrative. Their use spans many centuries from
historic French, Italian and English garden estates
through to the cutting-edge contemporary
landscape design of today. The ‘form’ and ‘intent’
may have changed over time but the principle
and simplicity of execution has remained, as
hedges are a cost-effective and naturalistic way
to define space in an outdoor setting. They
can be established within a few years and with
regular maintenance can be of benefit and
enjoyment for decades.
If you have hedging in mind for your property,
a suitable species selection will be key to your
success. Great options are available for our
Canterbury climate and conditions across
evergreen and deciduous species and with both
native and exotic origin.
Evergreen species tend to be a more popular
choice as they lend year-round foliage and
structure to your garden, forming the ‘bones’ or
‘skeletal’ structure of your outdoor space, if you
like. For this kind of planting, consider species
such as buxus, laurel, corokia and griselinia, as
their consistency and reliability will provide a
welcome relief and visual contrast to dormant
areas of the garden which are awaiting new
spring growth.
Deciduous options, on the other hand, can
include the more traditional hornbeam and
beech species or may even extend to the
contemporary choice of muehlenbeckia, which
will all provide the same form and structure
as an evergreen hedge, but also provide rich
seasonal expression.
The cost of establishing a hedge will always be
less than the physical construction of a timber
or masonry wall, and while more costly ‘instant’
hedging can be sourced, a true hedge will take
time to establish itself and create the desired
effect of screening or edging.
Over time a hedge will require regular
maintenance to keep it in optimum health
and good shape. Once again, selecting the
right species is vital and choosing a hedge that
matches your appetite for ongoing maintenance
is important. If you don’t want to be regularly
clipping to keep a crisp look, avoid fastergrowing
varieties like lonicera and teucrium.
In recent years, I have noticed increased
interest in the use of ‘pleaching’ as a horticultural
technique to create a ‘hedge on stilts’. This
can be particularly useful on smaller sections
to screen out a neighbour’s roofline and can
be easily and quickly achieved by the use of
‘standardised’ specimens.
The use of hedges will remain a common
element in garden design and can bring a
degree of structure and order to any outdoor
space, without creating too much formality or
compromising on style.
Megan and Lee have
a young family.
So we designed them a home
to grow up in.
Start your own story
03 348 1994 | www.peterrayhomes.co.nz