Plants and hedges around a lawn can help bring the finishing touches to a garden. They are a great way to help personalise your home to help make it unique from the other houses on your street. They can be used to help soften edges around the garden and lawn while providing a contrast in texture and colour.
While the choices are endless when it comes to choosing plants, we have put together a list of our favourites. These are Monkey Grass, Agapanthus, Magnolias, and hedges.
Key considerations
But first, just like lawns, different plants will grow better in different conditions. Some things to consider are:
- What are your garden design goals?
- What are you wanting to achieve? Privacy barrier, visual border, separation between different levels etc.
- How much sunlight does the area receive?
Monkey Grass
Monkey grass is a great plant for creating borders around your lawn. This perennial grows 12 inches tall and is best suited for part shade part sun areas. This is a low maintenance clumping plant and will not spread to other areas of the garden and lawn.
Agapanthus
If your area is in full sun and are after a plant that can withstand heat and drought, agapanthus is a great choice! They have dark green strap-like foliage and usually grow in clumps. Their flowers come out in spring in several shades blue and white. There are many varieties available, with each growing at different heights and different colours.
Magnolias
Magnolia trees will grow great alongside a fence line. They will come to bloom in spring, with either pink or white flowers that have a sweet fragrance. Their leaves are large and oval shaped with smooth edges. Magnolias prefer part-shade to full sun. Planting near a house or fence will allow then to get both sun and shade throughout the day.
Hedges
Hedges are one of the more popular options when it comes to planting around a lawn. As there is a huge range of plants to choose from when growing a hedge, there is bound to be an option that suits your gardens needs.
Small hedges
Low growing hedges are great for edging around paths, garden features and add another visual layer between the lawn and other high growing plants.
Buxus
Buxus is a popular choice when it comes to hedging. It has small leaves, allowing its foliage to grow compact and dense. This growing habit allows it to shaped and sculpted, making it an ideal edging and border plant as it can be sculpted to fit in all areas of the garden.
There are a few different varieties of Buxus available on the market. To see which is best for you and your garden, have a chat to your local garden centre.
Dwarf Nandina
Nandina is a small and compact plant with beautiful leaf colours year-round. In winter, there colour even becomes brighter and more vibrant! This is a hardy plant that can survive heat and low temperatures. There are a few different varieties of Nandina available, with different colourings and growing habits.
Larger hedges
Larger hedges are a great to help block out wind and even noise! They also help provide more functional benefits in creating separate areas within a garden and privacy from neighbours and your street.
Lily Pilly
Lily Pillies are popular option when it comes to larger hedges. As they are native plants they do grow best in the Australian environment. In summer, Lily Pillies will produce a bright white flower that will later grow into a berry. Their thick glossy foliage makes them a great option for hedging.
Murraya
Murraya is another popular hedging option across Australia. Its white flowers have an orange scent and bloom in late summer early autumn. Their flowers can also appear after periods of heavy rainfall. Murraya has a dense growing habit and has dark green foliage, perfect for providing a privacy screen.
For more information on choosing the best plants for your garden, have a chat to your local garden centre.
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