Along the Edges of an Herb Garden: Hedge the Edge

A hedge around the perimeter of an herb garden is a definitive edge, a wall of green that can confer an invaluable sense of privacy and intimacy, a screen against the outside world that’s every bit as effective as a stone wall. Tall hedges such as the ancient, towering evergreen hedges of yew or box in older European gardens transform the garden into a quiet room of beauty and solitude for an afternoon cup of tea or a secret tryst. A lower hedge can visually frame the garden space as though it were a picture.

But a hedge contributes more than aesthetics. A tall hedge bordering the garden where it interfaces a street will help hide the sight and muffle the sound of traffic and other unpleasant reminders of the world outside the garden. And a hedge offers protection from the wind, enclosing and concentrating the scents of the herbs so that they don’t drift away on a passing breeze. Not only will the gardener enjoy the fragrances at their most potent here, but the calm, scented air will attract the butterflies, bees, and other insects that are among the garden’s most valued visitors.

Choosing plants for a hedge

Herb hedges are a long-standing tradition, best known in history in European knot gardens of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Many herbs lend themselves to low hedges, but few make decent tall or medium-sized hedges of 3 feet or more. In the mildest climates of the South or California, upright rosemaries serve well as intensely fragrant hedges (see photo above), to be lightly clipped or left to branch naturally, 6 feet or higher; myrtle, bayberry, or even bay may form a robust screen in mild climates. We who garden in cooler regions, however, have few options for tall evergreen herbal hedges. We must settle for herbaceous perennials which die down in winter, or look beyond the rather elastic category of “herbs”.

In choosing plants for a hedge, look around at hedges in your area and talk to other gardeners, local landscapers, extension agents, and the staff of garden centers. Tall hedges that are frequently used to enclose herb gardens include yew, holly, hemlock, boxwood, arborvitae, and lilac.