Box, Buxus sempervirens, is a British native tree, most commonly used for hedging and topiary thanks to its small, evergreen leaves and dense growth. In April and May, it produces insignificant yellow flowers, that are nonetheless rich in nectar and popular with bees. Left untrimmed, a box plant can reach 5m tall, but most never reach this as they are clipped regularly.
Box is synonymous with formal gardens, particularly parterres and knot gardens, and can be clipped into all manner of shapes. It’s beautiful, versatile and useful, but in recent years, it has suffered the double whammy of box blight and box tree caterpillar, both of which weaken and can kill the plants. This means box is no longer the hedging or topiary plant of choice in many areas of the UK, and it’s best to grow alternatives to box such as Lonicera nitida to avoid these problems.
How to grow box
Grow box in moist but well-drained soil in full sun or shade. Prune from mid- to late summer to keep in shape and keep an eye out for box blight and box tree caterpillar, both of which can harm the look and health of your box plants.
More on growing box:
Alternatives to box
How to make a box ball
How to shape box topiary
Growing box: jump links
Planting box
Caring for box
Pruning box
Propagating box
Growing box: problem-solving
Best box to grow
Where to grow box
Plant box in any moist but well-drained soil in sun or shade. You can also grow box in containers – it looks especially good shaped as topiary.
How to plant box
Box hedge plants are usually bought in pots and can therefore be planted at any time of year, as long as the ground isn’t frozen. The best time to plant, however, is spring or autumn. Dig a generous hole, adding plenty of well-rotted compost
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Common beech (Fagus sylvatica) is one of the most majestic of European native trees, yet also makes an excellent formal hedge as it tolerates regular clipping. Although deciduous, beech is still good to use as a screening hedge as growth is dense, twiggy, and the dead leaves usually remain on the branches for much of the winter, often until the new leaves appear in spring. There are both green and purple-leaved varieties of common beech which are suitable for hedging. The purple-leaved form (Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea’ is commonly known as copper beech. To grow as individual trees, the common beech species becomes too big for all but the largest gardens, but there are columnar (fastigiate) and weeping forms of beech that are much more compact in size.
Transforming your flat’s balcony into a lush, herb-filled oasis is easier than you might think, even if you’re a complete novice. With a bit of know-how and enthusiasm, you can enjoy the freshest flavours right at your fingertips. Let’s dive into how to get started on this rewarding journey.
Common juniper (Juniperus communis) is one of only three conifers native to the UK. It’s a member of the cypress family and grows on chalk or limestone in lowland areas, and moors, woodland and cliffs in northern Britain. Juniper is in decline in wild populations and has been designated a UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority species. This special tree has disappeared from several areas in the south of England. Many remaining colonies are so small that they’re considered functionally extinct. Scotland is now the stronghold for 80 per cent of the UK’s juniper trees.
They say that you can tell a surprising amount about a gardener by the kind of potatoes they grow. Some of us, for example, are traditionalists who’ll plump for the floury, fluffy ‘British Queen’ (colloquially known as ‘Queens’) every time. Others are passionate foodies who prefer the firm, waxy, flavoursome, yellow flesh of a salad potato such as ‘Charlotte’, or the heirloom ‘La Ratte’. Individualists, meanwhile, often like to seek out unusual kinds, such as the dark magenta-fleshed ‘Vitanoire’, or the knobbly ‘Pink Fir Apple’, the heritage variety famed for its more-ishness.