Planting a Hedge

While we have our pruners out this spring, it's a good time to take a look at those shrubs we planted to give ourselves some privacy. Personally, I like the look of a mixed shrub border, with some evergreens, some spring flowering shrubs and some fall color. But if you'd like a more formal look or year round privacy, you probably want a hedge. Hedges don't just happen. You can't plant some evergreens tightly together and assume they'll form a wall. They take a little training and a bit of patience. David Beaulieu, over at About Landscaping, has been there and done that. He'll give us the skinny on what shrubs work well as formal or informal hedges and how to achieve the look we're after in Selecting Suitable Shrubs to Make Hedges.

Photo: © Marie Iannotti (2008) licensed to About.com, Inc.