When one wants to isolate visually a garden or part of it, generally the idea is to do it quickly, and thus people turn that which is most practical: a wall or metallic fence held up by posts on which climbing species can grow. But with a little patience and knowing which plants to choose, it is possible to create hedges or living partitions which, seen from inside or out, can become an important decorative element of the design of your garden.�

Before choosing the plants that are going to be part of the hedge wall, we need to decide what height we want them to have, their density with relation to the degree of privacy we need, the resilience of the leaves or lack thereof, and the style -formal, informal, modern, classical- depending on the garden and the home.

The many plants that can be used to form hedges include Cupressocyparis leilandii, Thujas, cypresses or yew, which achieve a good height but slowly.

Other species that form perennial hedges are Viburnum tinus, Prunus laurocerasus,� Ligustrum japonicum, bambu and in shady areas, Laurus nobilis and Ilex aquifolium.

Low hedges
When we speak of hedges, we generally think of high screens to create set-off areas, but there are others that are less tall which from time immemorial have been used in formal gardens: low hedges. These are best for dividing and organising spaces; setting off flower beds or paths; highlighting elements like ponds, sculptures or fountains; creating the borders of paths and walkways; hiding the thin bases of other hedges that are older and creating focal points because of their decorative value.
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The kind of hedge you choose depends on its location, the nature of that spot and the effect you want to achieve. Thus we will choose formal, informal, perennial or deciduous, depending on the idea we have.
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The best plants for low hedges are those which grow back quickly when pruned. To create a hedge one interesting species is the box plant (Buxus sempervirens) in all of its species. But the slow-growing variety suffruticosa is especially good, and it is worth waiting a couple of years to create a hedge with this species.
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Ligustrum ovalifolium grows fast, requires frequent trims and in winter shows a certain bareness as a semi-perennial.��Among plants that grow fast in warm weather is Lon�cera n�tida, a perennial with small leaves that requires frequent pruning.� In areas with a warm climate myrtle (Myrtus communis) is another special plant with a pleasant smell.

Other plants that are used include the shallot, (a perennial with pink flowers in summer), Euonymus pulchellus (prone to fungus diseases) and some aromatic herbaceous plants such as lavender, rosemary and thyme.