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Screening and Hedging: Best Plants and Design Tips
Whether it’s screening to create privacy, a hedge to create a formal garden or simply establishing clear borders for your garden beds, there are ample plants and design ideas to create a garden to makes us feel relaxed and inspired at the same time. The type of plants you choose for hedging and screening can make all the difference in utilising your garden space well and making an impression that lasts for all the right reasons.
In this blog we take a look at some of the best plants for screening and hedging that grow well in South East Queensland and Northern New South Wales. From bird attracting Lilly Pilly’s to vibrant Heliconias for tropical screening, whatever your design preferences and gardening abilities are, there are plenty of options to choose from.
Screening and Hedging Design Tips
Hedging and screening plants are typically grown in a line and are best used to create privacy and barriers, to reduce wind and noise to hide surfaces or for ornamental purposes.
Hedges can be formal and neatly clipped, or informal with more natural shapes and movement. Screens are usually informal and are allowed to grow more naturally with vines and creeping plants able to add a touch of romance and movement to your garden. Below are a few basic design tips to help you get started.
Look and Feel
Keep in mind what plants will suit your garden including style, leaf colour and shape, stem colour, and movement.
Size and Position in Garden
For a low compact hedge, small leaf varieties are more suitable. Taller, larger hedges can be more forgiving with larger leaf varieties.
When choosing a plant variety, consider the final height and width you want the hedge at its final size and choose a plant variety which will match this. Consider the position of your hedge in the garden too and be sure to read the plant’s label for preferred growing conditions.
Remember Maintenance is Key
Be mindful of how quickly your hedging and screening plants grow. Fast-growing plants may give you a hedge or screen quickly, but can also end up needing more regular pruning and therefore more maintenance in the long run.
Hedging and Screening Plants
Here is a selection of our favourite hedging and screening plants available at Sunshine Coast Plants to elevate your garden and create the privacy, visual interest and aesthetic to suit your unique style and location.
Lovely Lilly Pilly’s
Characterised by their fast growth and tolerance to many pests and disease, Lilly Pilly’s thrive in most conditions and make wonderful additions to create a formal garden as hedges or left wild and woolly.
You can expect birds to frequent these trees with their rich floral blooms and red toned berries. The rich tight green glossy foliage provides the perfect screening solution, and a striking backdrop for any garden. Also suited to growing in pots. Supplied in a premium potting mix with slow release fertiliser. Most varieties of Lilly Pilly grow up to around 4m to 5m, so it’s important to factor in your garden space and positioning carefully.
Check out our favourite Lilly Pillys below.
Lilly Pilly Syzygium Australe Resilience
Characterised by its fast growth and resilience to many pests and disease, this plant thrives in most conditions. Growing up to about 4m to 5m, it's rich tight green glossy foliage, the Lilly Pilly Syzygium Australe Resilience provides the perfect screening solution, and a striking backdrop for any garden. Also suited to growing in pots. Supplied in a premium potting mix with slow release fertiliser.
SHOP SYZYGIUM AUSTRALE RESILIENCE
Lily Pilly Resilience
Like the Australe variety this ever-popular Australian native is the all round perfect hedging and feature plants. The Lilly Pilly Resilience has slightly broader leaves than the Australe and is also tough against bugs and disease, thriving in most conditions part shade or full sun and growing up to around 4m to 5m. Make this a bird attracting feature tree or create structured borders with a manicured hedge
Lilly Pilly Syzygium Australe Winter Lights
With its beautiful red new foliage contrasting with older green Winter Lights is a new psyllid resistant variety of Lilly Pilly. Growing to around 3m tall, it provides a lower hedging and screening option than some of its counterparts.
SHOP SYZYGIUM AUSTRALE WINTER LIGHTS
Create Heaven on Earth with Heliconias.
When it comes to screening and hedging, but with a tropical garden theme, there’s an abundance of standout plants which make wonderful screens to enhance your garden. One of the most striking tropical plant varieties available are heliconias. With a diverse range of heights, huge glossy leaves and magnificent vibrant flower bracts, they really pack a punch as must have elements to create perfect screens and dramatic effect in your tropical garden.
Heliconia Hot Rio Nights
Hot Rio Nights is a tropical clumping plant with large, red coloured bracts. One of the most popular landscaping as it maintains its bright green foliage all year round. Growing to around 4m tall, it's a great choice for introducing a tropical vibe to your garden where a screen is required. This plant prefers full sun to 50% shade.
Heliconia 'Kawauchi'
An excellent understated landscaping heliconia, this variety is perfect for screening where height is required. The Kawauchi maintains a tight clump over its lifetime without thinning out with beautiful red and yellow tipped bracts flower during the summer months. This is a great choice if you are looking for a point of difference over Hot Rio Nights. This plant grows to 3m to 4m tall and prefers full sun to 30% shade.
Heliconia 'Jacquinii'
Another phenomenal landscaping heliconia which is perfect for screening where height is required. Enjoy its beautiful red and yellow coloured bracts flowering in Summer. This plant grows to 3.5m to 4.5m tall and prefers full sun to 30% shade.
Sweet Symmetry with Cordylines
For creating low maintenance symmetry in your garden, why not plant a range of cordylines as border accents to help define garden bed spaces and different layers of plantings?
With its striking burgundy tones the Cordyline Firestorm is an ideal variety to add depth and interest to a garden which is predominately formed of green shades.
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NEED MORE GARDENING TIPS?
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