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Best Hedges & Shrubs of 2026

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Toby Butcher

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Hedges and shrubs are an essential part of any garden or outdoor space. They not only provide privacy and security, but also add colour and texture to your surroundings. Hedges can be used to create natural boundaries, while shrubs can be planted to fill in gaps and add depth to your landscape. There is a wide variety of options available, from evergreen to deciduous, low-growing to tall, and flowering to non-flowering. Whether you are looking to create a formal hedge or a more relaxed and natural look, hedges and shrubs are a great way to enhance the beauty of your outdoor space.

At a Glance: Our Top Picks

Top 7 Hedges & Shrubs

#TOP 1

Orange Azalea Japanese Evergreen Shrub in Pot

Orange Azalea Japanese Evergreen Shrub in Pot Cover

1 X Orange Azalea Japanese Evergreen Shrub Hardy Garden Plant in Pot

The Orange Azalea Shrub is a stunning addition to your garden, featuring vibrant reddish-orange flowers that bloom in Spring and continue into Summer. With a pot size of 9cm, it is easy to plant and maintain. This evergreen shrub boasts mid-green foliage that provides year-round interest. Over 10-20 years, it can reach a height and spread of 1.5 to 2.5 metres, making it a great choice for creating hedges or enhancing garden borders.

9.9
FTB Score

What We Like

  • Vibrant spring blooms
  • Evergreen foliage
  • Easy to maintain
  • Long-lasting growth
  • Ideal for hedges
#TOP 2

GardenersDream Cordyline Kiwi Indoor Plant

GardenersDream Cordyline Kiwi Indoor Plant Cover

GardenersDream Cordyline Kiwi Plant in Pot - Healthy Air Purifying Indoor Plant - Low Maintenance Colourful Evergreen Plants - Live Indoor Plant for House or Office (30-40cm incl. 12cm Pot)

The GardenersDream Cordyline Kiwi is a vibrant indoor plant that brightens up any space with its stunning foliage featuring bright green, light yellow, and pink-tipped leaves. This air-purifying plant enhances your home’s atmosphere by removing harmful pollutants, contributing to a healthier living environment. As an evergreen, it maintains its lively colours year-round, ensuring your indoor space remains attractive. With low maintenance needs, requiring only bi-weekly watering and occasional misting, this plant is perfect for busy individuals or those new to caring for houseplants.

9.8
FTB Score

What We Like

  • Beautiful, vibrant foliage
  • Improves indoor air quality
  • Evergreen for year-round appeal
  • Low maintenance care required
#TOP 3

GrowOn Shrubs Lithodora Diffusa 'Heavenly Blue'

GrowOn Shrubs Lithodora Diffusa 'Heavenly Blue' Cover

GrowOn Shrubs [1 Litre] Lithodora Diffusa 'Heavenly Blue' | Evergreen Shrub | Outdoor Garden Ready Plant | Spring and Summer Flowering | Deep Blue Flowers

The GrowOn Heavenly Blue Shrub is a delightful evergreen plant, ideal for groundcover and adding colour to your garden. Its small, star-shaped deep blue flowers bloom in spring and summer, creating an attractive display above its lush green foliage. This hardy shrub thrives in well-drained, acidic or neutral soils and can withstand cold winter temperatures down to -15 degrees Celsius. Perfectly suited for full sun, it grows to a height of around 20cm and a spread of 40cm, making it a versatile choice for beds, containers, and rock gardens.

9.6
FTB Score

What We Like

  • Attractive deep blue flowers
  • Hardy in cold winters
  • Ideal for groundcover
  • Low maintenance shrub
  • RHS Award of Garden Merit
#TOP 4

10 Cherry Laurel Evergreen Hedging Plants 2-3ft

10 Cherry Laurel Evergreen Hedging Plants 2-3ft Cover

10 Cherry Laurel Hedging 2-3ft Evergreen Plants Bare Root Multi Stem A+ Grade

The Cherry Laurel Hedging offers a fast-growing, thick screen hedge standing 2-3ft tall, perfect for adding privacy and greenery to your garden quickly. With a growth rate of 3ft per year, you’ll enjoy a dense hedge in no time. Planting every 50cm ensures instant, full coverage, saving you time and effort in filling gaps. This pack contains 10 individual evergreen plants, giving you a convenient and effective way to establish a lush hedge with ease.

9.6
FTB Score

What We Like

  • Fast growing
  • Thick, dense screen
  • Evergreen all year
  • Pack of 10 plants
  • Ideal spacing for instant results

GrowOn Shrubs Photinia 'Little Red Robin' Evergreen

GrowOn Shrubs Photinia 'Little Red Robin' Evergreen Cover

GrowOn Shrubs Photinia x Fraseri 'Little Red Robin' | Evergreen Shrub | Outdoor Garden Ready Plant | Spring Flowering | Creamy White Flowers

The GrowOn 'Little Red Robin' is an attractive evergreen shrub that thrives in your garden. With its compact and bushy form, it is ideal for creating boundaries or low hedging, making it a versatile choice for containers or borders. The shrub features stunning foliage, with new growth emerging in vibrant red, which then matures to a glossy deep green. Additionally, you can enjoy creamy white flowers in spring, followed by delightful red berries, adding seasonal interest to your outdoor space.

9.4
FTB Score

What We Like

  • Attractive bushy growth
  • Vibrant red foliage
  • Spring flowering
  • Hardy in cold conditions
  • Ideal for containers or borders

GrowOn Shrubs Dwarf Japanese Azalea Collection

GrowOn Shrubs Dwarf Japanese Azalea Collection Cover

GrowOn Shrubs [x4] Dwarf Japanese Azalea Collection | Variety-Pack | Evergreen Shrubs | Outdoor Garden Ready Plants | Spring Flowering | Red, Orange, Purple, White Flowers

The GrowOn Dwarf Azalea Collection features stunning varieties that will fill your garden with vibrant blooms each Spring. You will appreciate the hardy, compact Japonica varieties, ideal for small gardens and containers. These plants thrive in moist, well-drained acidic soils and can withstand cold winters, making them suitable for most of the UK. They prefer full sun to part shade, providing flexibility in your garden design. Protecting the flowers from late frost ensures you enjoy their beauty for longer.

9.2
FTB Score

What We Like

  • Vibrant spring blooms
  • Hardy and compact varieties
  • Suitable for small gardens
  • Withstands cold winters
  • Ready to plant immediately
#TOP 7

You Garden Daphne 'Perfume Princess' Evergreen Shrub

You Garden Daphne 'Perfume Princess' Evergreen Shrub Cover

YouGarden - Daphne 'Perfume Princess' in a 13cm Pot - Fragrant Spring Flowering Evergreen Shrub, Hardy, Easy to Grow

The You Garden Daphne Shrub is a beautifully scented, fragrant addition to any garden. Known for its intoxicating spring aroma, this shrub produces the largest and earliest flowers of any Daphne. With purple buds that open to stunning pink flowers, it will delight you from March until the end of April. As an evergreen shrub, it offers year-round greenery and is perfect for patio pots or borders. Its easy-care nature means you can enjoy its beauty with minimal maintenance.

9.2
FTB Score

What We Like

  • Intoxicating spring fragrance
  • Large, attractive flowers
  • Hardy evergreen plant
  • Low maintenance requirements
  • Suitable for various garden settings

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is shrub and hedge?

Shrubs or bushes differ from trees in the aspect that besides being shorter in size, they have multiple root systems growing in the ground versus a single trunk. ... Hedges, which are normally used for aesthetic landscape design or to provide homeowner privacy, is just a tightly planted cluster of hedges or bushes.

2. What is the easiest hedge to maintain?

Low Maintenance Hedges - Easy To Maintain Hedging Plants And Shrubs.. Leylandii Hedging (Cupressocyparis Leylandii)Griselinia Hedging Plants.Amelanchier Hedging.Blackthorn Hedging.Guelder Rose Hedging.Pear Hedging.Perovskia Hedging.Rosemary Hedging.

3. What is the fastest growing shrub for a hedge?

Forsythia is a great choice for fast-growing hedges. It's one of the hardiest fast-growing hedges, being tolerant to both drought and salt and hardy from zones 5 through to 8. It will reach heights of up to 10 feet and will grow approximately two feet per year.

4. What plant is best for hedges?

Top 5 hedging plants:. Conifer: Taxus baccata (yew)Large evergreen: Prunus lusitanica (Portugese laurel)Low growing: Lavandula angustifolia.Native: Carpinus betulus (hornbeam) Seaside garden: Rosa rugosa.

Editor's Notes

During our hedges & shrub research, we found 306 hedges & shrub products and shortlisted 7 quality products. We collected and analyzed 68,503 customer reviews through our big data system to write the hedges & shrubs list. We found that most customers choose hedges & shrubs with an average price of £12.82.

The hedges & shrubs are available for purchase. We have researched hundreds of brands and picked the top brands of hedges & shrubs, including GardenersDream, GrowOn Shrubs, Sunnyside Nurseries, YouGarden.

Written by

Toby Butcher Avatar

Toby Butcher

Toby Butcher is a Horticulturist, and he earned his title as a Master Gardener in 2016. Toby has acquired a 25-year experience as a home gardener planting, designing, grooming vegetables and flowers. He is the leader of a plant group in Durham. Toby owns a blog where he publishes articles on growing and growing your flowers at home, in a vase, or in a garden.