Low growing hedging plants
Browse our selection of the best low growing hedging plants, including a mix of evergreen and deciduous varieties with a range of different features including variegated foliage, spiny stems, showy flowers, glossy berries and fabulous fragrance. Smaller hedges are typically grown from slower growing hedging plants to form a hedge of 1 metre or less. Low hedges are generally – though not always – grown from smaller leaved plants so everything is kept in proportion. Some of the varieties on this page could ultimately grow much taller but their slow growth rate combined with a trim once a year will keep them happy and healthy at a more modest height. Low hedging may be foliage plants such as box and English yew; produce attractive flowers like ceanothus, spiraea and weigela; or have spiny stems such as berberis and pyracantha. Low hedging is best planted closer together than taller hedges to avoid gaps at the base, which are more noticeable and tend to close more slowly in hedges of smaller stature. Smaller hedges are normally used as decorative feature inside the garden, rather than as a perimeter hedge. They may delineate different parts of the garden, line paths and walkways, or even create an intricate knot garden (usually from box plants) if you have the space.