Hedges may be used to guide traffic, to delineate, to screen an undesirable view, or to lessen that nagging afternoon wind that cools our Humboldt gardens. The main requirements for selecting shrubs are good-looking, dense, healthy foliage and, if they are to be pruned to a certain height or shape, a toleration of continued clipping. The easiest hedges to maintain are those allowed to keep their normal shape. In other words, you should choose shrubs which, when mature, have the desired height, width, and appearance, with almost no pruning. Of course, they have a rather billowy look instead of being rigidly trim, but in many situations this is preferable, or at least desirably attractive.
Evergreens are excellent for hedging, since they remain beautiful even in winter.
Either narrowleaf or broadleaf kinds can be used. Planting time is the same as for shrubs used for other purposes. When shopping, remember that you do not need the biggest, most shapely, and thus the most expensive specimens. Since hedge plants are grown to become interlocking masses of foliage, you can start with small-size plants. The number of plants to buy is figured on the basis of the size the shrubs attain when mature.