Flowering Eco Hedge Collection for Clay Soil

This is a collection of 10 varieties of shrubs, with either deciduous or evergreen foliage, selected for their tolerance to heavy soils. They allow you to easily create a flowering hedge from February to September, diverse and changing with the seasons, even in clay and compact, limestone or non-limestone soil. They are also perfect as a privacy screen during the summer. A kit of 10 plants in pots allows you to create a hedge of approximately 10 metres (33 feet) in clay soil.

The collection consists of:

- 1 Carpinus betulus - Common Hornbeam: approximately 2.50 metres (8 feet) in height and 2 metres (7 feet) in width. The foliage is neither deciduous nor evergreen, it is marcescent, and remains attached to the branches until the new spring growth. It is composed of toothed leaves, light green in colour, turning yellow-orange in autumn. The female catkins and leaves appear at the same time, in March, while the male flowers, in pale yellow catkins, appear in autumn. The pendulous clusters of fruits are green and turn yellow-brown when mature, in late September.

- 1 Lonicera fragrantissima - Winter Honeysuckle: approximately 2.50 metres (8 feet) in height and 2.75 metres (9 feet) in width. The foliage is dense, more or less evergreen in winter depending on the climate, often falling in January-February. Winter flowering, from December to March depending on the region. The small white flowers are very nectar-rich and fragrant, giving way to small reddish fruits, ripe in late spring to early summer.

- 1 Cornus alba Elegantissima - Variegated Dogwood: deciduous, approximately 2 metres (7 feet) in all directions. Its grey-green foliage is marginate and variegated with cream white, turning pink and yellow in autumn before falling, revealing its dark coral red branches. Cream white flowering in May-June, in small flat heads, followed by small round fruits which are a bluish-white colour.

- 1 Cornus sanguinea Winter Beauty - Bloodtwig Dogwood: approximately 2.50 metres (8 feet) in height and 1.20 metres (4 feet) in width. Deciduous foliage, absent in winter. Young twigs are shiny, almost fluorescent in winter, in shades of yellow, orange, and red. Its autumn foliage is another feature and is yellow to yellow-orange, sometimes slightly silvered. Flowering in May-June, white and slightly fragrant, is greatly appreciated by pollinating insects. Small round berries that turn dark violet in summer.

- 1 Philadelphus coronarius - Mock Orange: between 2 and 3 metres (7 and 10 feet) in height, almost the same in width. Deciduous foliage, turning yellow in autumn before falling. Flowering in May-June depending on the climate, with numerous cup-shaped white flowers. Their scent is very pronounced, releasing delightful orange blossom aromas that attract pollinating insects.

- 1 Deutzia crenata Pride of Rochester - Deutzia: approximately 3 metres (10 feet) in height and 2 metres (7 feet) in width. Deciduous foliage, absent in winter. Its arching branches bear a generous pinkish flowering in buds, opening into double corollas of white-pink.

- 1 Physocarpus Dart's Gold - Ninebark: approximately 2 meters (7 feet) in height and 1.50 meters (5 feet) in width. A deciduous shrub with decorative golden-yellow foliage from spring to autumn, which falls at the end of the season. Its white flowers are grouped in clusters in May-June, followed by small red fruits tinged with green in late summer-autumn.

- 1 Weigela Bristol Ruby: approximately 2.50 metres (8 feet) in height and 2 metres (7 feet) in width. A large, ramified bush with arching branches, adorned with beautiful funnel-shaped flowers in two shades of red. They bloom abundantly from May to June and then more sporadically in summer. Its deciduous foliage is composed of dark green leaves, which fall at the end of the season.

- 1 Spiraea nipponica Snowmound - Japanese Spirea: deciduous, approximately 2 metres (7 feet) in height and 2.50 metres (8 feet) in width. Very generous flowering from May to June, covering the shrub with countless small white clusters that attract many insects and butterflies. Its foliage is glossy, composed of small dark green leaves on top and bluish underneath, turning golden in autumn before falling.

- 1 Ligustrum vicaryi - Golden Privet: approximately 2 metres (7 feet) in height and 1.75 metres (6 feet) in width. Its foliage, more or less evergreen in winter, consists of glossy leaves that are yellow-gold in spring and then bright green in summer. In June-July, small cream-white flowers appear, very fragrant and nectar-rich, giving way to small spherical black berries that persist into winter.

Plant these hedge bushes in full sun or partial shade, mixing and spacing them 1 to 1.20 metres (3 to 4 feet) apart depending on their future growth. They thrive in any well-prepared garden soil, improved with leaf compost. Once established, they do not require watering in summer. 

Tip: Do not prune at the beginning of the season to fully enjoy the flowering! If possible, do not prune at the end of summer either to enjoy the fruits and feed the garden birds in winter.