Hedge Your Bets

Well, it's Spring now, and after a winter spent staring longingly out the window, you're ready to re-open the sandbox, fire up the pool again and start up the old barbeque. There's only one problem: your neighbours decided last fall to put in a hot tub, and sharing a [chain-link] fence line doesn't mean you have to share your summer evenings.

After debating the merits of an 8-foot tall wooden fence to distract Junior from the nightly neighbourhood festivities, you decide a 'natural fence' would be a better alternative. But the cedar hedge at your buddy's place is 14 feet high and out of control and really, what else makes a hedge? The short answer: plenty. 

Depending on your wants and budget, a lot of plants make great hedges, borders and wind screens. So before calling the fence guy to recreate the Green Monster or trooping to the garden centre to load up on cedars, consider the following lesser thought of creative alternatives:

1-  Upright Junipers- Mention 'juniper' and most people think of crawling ground covers or rock-garden fixtures. Though these varieties are definitely juniper, upright varieties such as 'Ontario Green', 'Mountbatten' or 'Wichita Blue', are beautiful specimens with great hedging potential. The cone-shaped trees have a mature height of 10'-12' and the compact growth habit means they won't take over your yard. A nice thing about these guys is at purchase time, they're already 5 feet tall.

2- Grasses- If you have a bit of room, ornamental grass is a great screening plant. Varieties such as Miscanthus sinensis are clump-forming and graceful. They die back every winter in our area, but fill in nicely in the spring. Perfect for around the pool or playground.

3- Barberry- Deer-resistant, prickly, and ornamental, barberry is a versatile landscape plant. Typically used as a specimen or accent planting in a flower bed, barberry also makes a great hedge. From the dwarf, brightly-coloured 'Golden Nugget' variety, to the fan-shaped two-toned 'Rosy Glow' with a 5' mature height, barberry can be used to neatly line walkways or create a stunning prickly fence line that will keep the neighbour's dog from eating your kids' toys.

Of course, this list is not even close to exhaustive. For more conventional (or unconventional) hedge ideas, stop by your local garden centre and listen to their pitch. Or, if this post has you motivated to get out and plant, then stop by Reds, where all of the aforementioned are amply stocked and awaiting a home!