Garden hedging ideas for every garden need

Want to create privacy in your garden but not keen on fencing or erecting a wall? Try garden hedging. Nature meets the call for privacy and much more with varieties of hedging. Join us as we showcase various types of hedges and compact growing plants perfect for any need.

Wrap your head around hedging

A hedge (or hedgerow) is an artificially created boundary of living plants. They are often made up of closely spaced shrubs or trees that are planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area. The best picks include a line of thick, woody bushes that do not die down in winter. Explore local small and medium-sized garden hedging through this great reference site.

Hedging uses

Various uses for shrubs and garden hedging include:

Backyard features
Entryways and archways
Windbreaks
Privacy and screening
Adding colour
Attracting bees
Soundproofing
Security and protection (with thorns and spines)
Providing a habitat for wildlife

We share some of our local favourites by category below. Browse by what you need, or, read through each one for an informed decision.

Topiaries and decorative hedging

Greet visitors with an enchanting array of hedging, ranging in size and creative shapes.

Buxus microphylla ‘Faulkner’

A must-have for any garden – meet the number one hedging and shaping plant in the world. It has a compact growing habit, glossy evergreen foliage that takes on a tinge of bronze in winter. Their mature plant size varies due to growing conditions and climate.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus ‘Ginger’)

An exceptionally neat and vigorous shrub that needs full sun. It can be easily shaped, clipped and trained into different formations. It has a distinctive ginger taste and smell that is great for cooking or a cup of tea.

Protective hedges

These plants pack a punch with naturally occurring thorns and spines that act as a deterrent for unwanted visitors.

Golden dewdrop

Flowering quince

Large num-num (Natal Plum)

Thorny roses

Windbreak hedging

Confetti bush

September bush

Bottlebrush (Callistemon endeavour)

A fiery red bush with large brush-like blooms that covers up to three metres in spring and summer. It has green lanceolate (lance-like head) leaves and is a compact evergreen shrub. It is an easy and fast-growing tough plant that also attracts bird life.

Hedging that attracts the bees

A garden is better with more bees in it. Invite pollinators with this category of hedges.

Lavender (Lavandula dentata var. ‘Elegans’)

This bushy shrub has fragrant dark green leaves and dark purple flowers from spring to summer. It is an excellent cut flower and great for potpourri.

Hardy hedging

Great for areas that experience drought and rugged conditions.

Cape Honeysuckle (Tecoma capensis Red)

An excellent evergreen hedge plant that tolerates salt spray and is drought and wind-resistant. This indigenous shrub flowers red blooms from spring to autumn and is a big attraction for all birds and butterflies.

Tecoma capensis ‘Orange’

An excellent evergreen hedge plant that tolerates salt spray and is drought and wind-resistant.

This indigenous variety has deep orange-coloured blooms that flower from spring to autumn, also a big attraction for all birds and butterflies.

Plumbago auriculata Royal Cape ®

Clusters of vivid bright blue blooms that flower from late spring to autumn. Excellent indigenous hedge plant that not only is water-wise but also attracts birds.

Abelia Lemon & Lime

An ideal shrub for hedges and topiaries. This lime foliage turns to a rich golden yellow colour with reddish undertones in cold temperatures.