Honeysuckle, box leaved   /   Lonicera nitida

Guide to making
a Border hedge

List of honey
producing plants

List of ground
cover plants

Topiary
Art

Area of origin: China.

Adult Dimensions: Height up to 1.2m (3.9') width up to 1m (3.3').

Foliage: Evergreen.

Soil Type: All.

Hardiness: Hardy to -17°C.

Exposure: Semi-shade to full sun.

Plantation density: 4 / m².

Characteristics and Uses:
Excellent ground cover. It is used to stabilise banks, in low hedges or in flowerbeds. It can be cut to shape. It is used to great effect within the garden.

List of Lonicera:
Honeysuckle Edible, May Berry (Lonicera kamtschatica), produces edible blue berries...
Honeysuckle Fly (Lonicera xylosteum), much used within country hedges...
Honeysuckle Goldflamme (Lonicera heckrottii Goldflame), tubular, vivid red shaped flowers, reveal a yellow-orange centre...
Honeysuckle Hall's prolific (Lonicera japonica Hall's prolific), very fragrant flowers, creamy-white to start with then yellow...
Honeysuckle Tellmanniana (Lonicera Tellmanniana), golden-yellow flowers...
Honeysuckle Shrubby (Lonicera fragrantissima), small white flowers heavily scented and full of nectar...

Other plants used for hedges compositions:
Abelia grandiflora, beautiful pinkish white blossom throughout summer
Common Box (Buxus sempervirens), shiny green foliage, long life expectancy, ideal in low hedges
Common Gorse (Ulex europaeus), abundant and fragrant blossom, ideal for defensive hedges, dislikes chalky soil
Common Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus 'Rotundifolia'), bright green foliage, white blossom in clusters, dislikes chalky soil
Common Yew (Taxus baccata), dark green foliage, toxic red berries and foliage
Dwarf Japanese mock orange, height up to 1m. White flowers, with the fragrance of orange blossom, dark bright green foliage, hardy to -10°C
Eleagnus ebbingei (Elaeagnus ebbingei), extremely fragrant white flowers from September through to December, silvery green foliage
Escallonia 'Iveyi'), fragrant white blossom from July through to September, hardy to -10°C
Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), extremely beautiful marcescent foliage
Japanese Mock Orange (Pittosporum tobira), white flowers, with the fragrance of orange blossom, dark bright green foliage, hardy to -10°C
Laurustinus (Viburnum tinus), evergreen foliage, white blossom from November through to April
Lawson Cypress (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana), conical shape and dense foliage, its bark smells like citronella, dislikes chalky soil
Leyland Cypress (Cupressocyparis leylandii), rapid growth, extremely hardy
Oval Leaved Privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium), white flowers in July, in panicle, semi-evergreen foliage, hardy to -30°C
Photinia x fraseri 'Red Robin', juvenile red shoots, white umbrella shaped blossom in spring, dislikes chalky soil and harsh frosts
Portugal Laurel (Prunus lusitanica), white blossom in June, shiny green foliage
Red Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii 'atropurpurea'), crimson foliage and yellow flowers with hints of red in the spring, ideal in protective hedges, deciduous