In our experience, people don’t realise just how good a hedge can be. People hear the word hedge and the word that often (unfairly) springs to mind is boring. Well, we’re here to change that perception in our guide to the best evergreen hedging plants. We’ll help you find the best picks for quick growth, shade, flowers and much, much more. First, then, want to create a hedge fast?

Jump to:

• Best evergreen hedging for fast growth
• Best evergreen hedging for shade
• Best evergreen hedging for sun
• Best flowering evergreen hedging
• Best evergreen hedging for wildlife
• Best evergreen hedging for multi-season interest
• Best evergreen hedging for colour
• Best evergreen hedging for the kitchen

Best evergreen hedging for fast growth

If you want an evergreen hedge and you want it pronto, then we’d recommend going for something like bamboo or privet. For bamboo, you want to pick a clumping, non-invasive variety like ‘Black Pearl’, whose jet black culms quickly add immense impact. As for privet, you can go for the classic Ligustrum ovalifolium, which boasts a growth rate of up to 40cm per year, or ‘Aureum’, which sports wonderful chartreuse foliage.

Best evergreen hedging for shade

For shadier gardens that don’t get too much sun, don’t worry, there are still plenty of options available to you. Spindle, yew and holly all grow nicely enough in partial shade, with certain cultivars even growing well in deeper shade. ‘Argenteo Marginata’, for instance, is a fabulous variegated holly that offers year-round interest and doesn’t mind the darker spots in the garden.

Best evergreen hedging for sun

On the other end of the spectrum, if your garden is something of a sun trap, then you’ll want an evergreen hedge made of plants like lavender, which makes a lovely low hedge, mahonia, photinia or pyracantha. Photinia ‘Red Robin’ is an eye-catching shrub whose vivid red young foliage grows beautifully when planted in full sun. The intensity of the red contrasts wonderfully with green foliage plants.

Best flowering evergreen hedging

Many evergreen hedging plants and shrubs have glorious flowers alongside their year-round foliage, and a particular favourite of ours is St John’s Wort (Hypericum × hidcoteense 'Hidcote') because of its stunning yellow blooms that emerge in the summer.

An alternative option is to use camellias. While we might think of these more commonly as standalone evergreen plants, they can most definitely be used to create a stunning flowering hedge. ‘Nuccio’s Pearl’ is a particularly stunning cultivar, boasting pink double blooms with a lovely gradient effect.

Best evergreen hedging for wildlife

For wildlife credentials, it’s hard to look past something like Viburnum tinus (or laurustinus). Its late winter and spring flowers are popular with pollinating insects like bees and butterflies (in fact, it’s been recognised by the RHS as one of its Plants for Pollinators). The evergreen foliage and black berries supply shelter and food for birds like blackbirds and thrushes.

Another good option is ivy (we particularly like ‘Clotted Cream’) whose dense evergreen foliage offers shelter to certain nesting birds (like wrens) and bats. While technically not a hedge as such, you can grow ivy through another hedge to bolster its foliage and wildlife appeal; the flowers are also frequented by pollinating insects, while the berries are a big hit with pigeons, finches and various other birds.

Best evergreen hedging for multi-season interest

While evergreens, by their very nature, always have a degree of multi-seasonality, there are still some plants more than others that really dazzle throughout the year, as opposed to all their impact being concentrated to one or two seasons. For this category, we’ve opted for Burkwood Osmanthus, Osmanthus × burkwoodii, an RHS-award-winning shrub with silvery evergreen foliage, fragrant white, springtime flowers and black autumn berries.

Best evergreen hedging for overall colour

This one is entirely subjective, of course, but I love the striking reds of photinia, the blue thimble blooms of ceanothus and the crimson culms of certain bamboo varieties, like Fargesia scabrida ‘Red Wonder’. Camellias, again, must get a mention here, their stunning flowers trussed up against a backdrop of wonderfully dark, evergreen foliage. ‘William Bartlett’ is a stunning variety, its pink flowers splashed with darker red flecks.

Best evergreen hedging for the kitchen

While most hedges with edible components fall into the deciduous category, there’s one evergreen herb whose foliage can take a lamb dish (and roast potatoes) from good to bloomin’ phenomenal, and that herb is, of course, rosemary. Another option is the strawberry tree; while its fruits are preferred by birds over human consumption, the funky berries can be used in liquors, and particularly in the Portuguese spirit Medronho (sometimes referred to as fire water).

Final thoughts

This piece has hopefully put to bed the idea of hedges being boring, because they’re most certainly not. Evergreen hedges are as versatile as they are varied, and can help frame any space in a visually-impactful way. While you’re here, make sure to check out our guides to planting and cutting hedges.