Do you want an elegant, regular and geometric hedge, or an informal one, with a free and spontaneous appearance? Follow all the instructions to choose the right plant, based on your tastes, the characteristics of the garden, the terrain, the climate, the exposure, but also its size and style.
For hedges of regular geometric shape, evergreens are ideal. An elegant hedge must always be kept tidy and is recommended in small gardens. Spontaneous and informal hedges instead can be mixed, composed of evergreens and stripping species. Much importance will have shapes and colors of leaves, berries and blooms. A hedge of this type is best appreciated in large areas, where plants can grow according to their natural shape.
For hedges that shield from noise and smog you can orient on species with dense foliage, such as the privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium) and large, such as the laurel (Prunus laurocerasus), while for hedges defensive they are excellent holly (Ilex aquifolium) , piracanta and berberis (Berberis x stenophilla and B. darwinii), very thorny plants.
If the garden is tight, it is better to give up a free hedge and opt for a compact and geometric hedge: it will be much easier to keep it compact and tidy. Among the species advisable for this use are the boxwood, the privet, the piracanth.
For hedges full of flowers and berries you can choose between spirea (flowers), kerria (flowers), berberis (flowers and berries), viburnum 'Pallon di maggio' (flowers), piracanta (flowers and berries), weigela (flowers).
For hedges in shady locations, the best species are Aucuba japonica, with yellow-spotted leaves, Fatsia japonica, with palmate leaves, Mahonia aquifolium, with blue berries. Among the most reliable evergreen hedge shrubs Viburnum tinus (4), which creates dense screens, Photinia x fraseri (5) with green and red leaves; Nandina domestica (6) with a light bearing. Unbeatable for vigor and elegance, the evidia and the eleagni, especially in the variegated forms.
Source Promogiardinaggio