Artificial hedges & screening

Above: before artificial hedging is installed

Above: After artificial hedging is installed

Artificial hedging does four jobs well. It hides things: a crumbling wall, a rotten or mismatched fence, the side of a garage, the bins, a neighbour's shed. It screens: a balcony, a hot tub, a seating area, a boundary that's overlooked. It fills gaps where nothing will grow, like the shaded strip under a tree or the north side of a wall where a real hedge has gone bare at the base. And it creates features: a green backdrop to a patio, a hedge along the edge of decking, a low divider between the dining and lounging ends of a garden.

Once it's up there's nothing to do. No trimming, no feeding, no watering through a dry spell, no brown patches after a hard winter and no waiting three years for it to fill out. That's the whole appeal.

2. Real vs artificial: cost, time and effort

A real hedge is a wonderful thing if you have the time and the patience. Here's an honest comparison for a typical 1.8m-high boundary run.

Real hedges win on longevity and wildlife. Artificial wins on speed, on effort, and in the places a real hedge simply won't grow. Many people use both: a real hedge on the sunny boundary and artificial panels on the shaded, difficult wall.

3. Formats: tiles, panels, rolls, trellis and freestanding hedges

Artificial hedging comes in five main formats, and picking the right one for the job matters more than the foliage style.

• 50×50cm tiles. The most common format. Each tile has a flexible plastic mesh backing with clips along the edges so they connect into a continuous surface, and the mesh cuts with scissors. Four cover a square metre. Easy to post, easy to handle, and ideal for working round posts, corners and odd shapes. Sold in packs of 6 or 12.
• 1×1m panels. The same construction, four times the size. Fewer joins and faster to fit on long runs, but bulkier to handle. You can mix the two: large panels for the open stretches, tiles for the edges.
• Rolls (typically 3×1m). Foliage on a flexible mesh you unroll along a fence. Usually cheaper per square metre and quick to fit, but the foliage tends to be thinner than tiles and the mesh is less rigid, so they can sag on long runs without fixings every 30cm or so. Good for long low runs and for softening railings.
• Expanding willow trellis with leaves. A natural willow trellis with artificial leaves woven onto it, sold as 2×1m but stretching to 2.75×0.6m or anything in between. Very quick, very light and very cheap per square metre. Be honest with yourself about what it is: the coverage is partial (you can see through it to some extent, and the more you stretch it, the more you see), the leaves sit only on the front, and the willow itself weathers and greys over the years. Excellent for dressing a wall or softening a fence; not a privacy screen on its own unless you back it with shade netting.
• Freestanding hedges in troughs. A panel hedge pre-built onto a frame in a planter, typically 1m long and 25–35cm deep, in heights from 50cm to 2m. Nothing attaches to the building, so they're the answer for balconies, rented homes and anywhere you want to move the screen around. They weigh 3–10kg and need ballast (sand, gravel or a paving slab in the trough) in any exposed position.

4. Foliage types: boxwood, laurel, ivy, conifer, fern and mixed

Look carefully at the close-up photos before you order. From three metres away most artificial hedging looks convincing; the differences show up at a metre.

• Boxwood (box). Small, dense, dark green leaves that mimic a clipped box hedge. The most realistic, the most popular and, done well, the densest. The right choice anywhere people will get within a metre of it, and for formal or modern gardens.
• Laurel and large-leaf. Bigger, glossier leaves that read as a natural evergreen shrub rather than a clipped hedge. Good for softening walls and for the expandable trellis format. Looks best mixed with some real planting in front.
• Ivy. Trailing, cottage-garden feel. Suits brick walls, courtyards and railings; less convincing as a clipped boundary hedge.
• Conifer or fir. Needle-like foliage. It's cheaper than boxwood and covers large areas well, but up close it can look like an artificial Christmas tree. Best for big backdrops, behind existing planting, or anywhere nobody will inspect it.
• Fern. Feathery fronds with a softer, woodland look. Lovely under trees and in shade, where it also happens to be the one place a real fern would actually grow, which helps it convince.
• Mixed foliage. Panels combining grass, fern, moss, ivy and flowers. These read as a "living wall" rather than a hedge. Great as a feature panel behind a seat or a bar; too busy for a whole boundary.

If you're covering a whole boundary, use one foliage type throughout. Mixing styles on a small garden makes it look like a sample board.

5. How to tell a good panel from a cheap one

The photos all look similar. The specification is where the difference shows, and a good listing will give you numbers rather than adjectives. Look for:

• Shading percentage. How much of the backing the foliage covers. Quality boxwood tiles state 95–98%. If no figure is given, assume less.
• Strands or stems per tile. Around 400 strands per 50×50cm tile is a dense panel. Budget tiles may have half that and show mesh between the leaves.
• Leaf layers. Good tiles use multi-layer leaves (four layers on the best boxwood) so the foliage has depth and casts shadow on itself. Single-layer leaves look flat.
• Depth. Around 5cm of foliage in front of the mesh is a proper hedge; 2cm is a green mat.
• Colour variation. Real hedges have two or three tones of green and the odd lighter tip. A panel in one flat shade is the biggest giveaway of all.
• The backing. Rigid enough to hold flat, flexible enough to bend round a corner, with proper male-and-female clips on all four edges so tiles connect without gaps. Cheap backing is brittle and snaps when you cut it.
• Material and UV treatment. Panels are made from PE (polyethylene), PVC or PU. All three can be good. What matters is the phrase "UV-stabilised", meaning the inhibitors are mixed into the plastic and can't wear off, rather than "UV-coated" or "UV-resistant" alone, which may mean a surface spray that lasts a season. A listing that names the material and says UV-stabilised is telling you it was made for the outdoors.
• A stated lifespan. Good manufacturers will commit to a figure, typically 5–8 years outdoors. If a listing won't say, that's an answer too.

Our bestselling boxwood tiles, for reference, are 98% shaded, 400 strands per tile, four-layer leaves, 5cm deep and UV-stabilised, with a stated outdoor life of five to eight years. Use those figures as your benchmark whatever you buy.

6. Privacy: how much can you see through?

Two things surprise people. First, hedge panels are single-sided: the foliage faces one way and the back is bare mesh. Second, even a 98%-shaded panel lets light through the mesh, so against the sky or a bright background you'll see a glow of daylight through it, and from the neighbour's side they'll see the mesh.

If the panels are going onto an existing solid fence or wall, none of this matters. If you're building a freestanding screen, topping a fence, or dressing a railing or glass balustrade, decide how private it needs to be:

• For a visual softening, a single layer is fine.
• For genuine privacy, fix a layer of dark shade netting (80% or 98%) or a solid board behind the panels, or use a two-sided freestanding hedge.
• For a screen seen from both sides, fix panels back to back on a frame, or accept that one side shows mesh and face the foliage towards whoever matters most.

7. Measuring up and how many to order

Measure the width and height of the area in metres. Then, rather than simply dividing the area by the tile size, work out how many tiles fit across (rounding up) and how many fit up (rounding up) and multiply. Offcuts from one edge rarely fit another, so a part-tile counts as a whole one. A 2m-wide by 1.8m-high fence, for example, is 3.6m² on paper but needs 4 tiles across and 4 up, so 16 tiles, not 15. Our simple calculator above will help you do the maths.

Order everything you need in one go, plus one or two spares. Colour can vary slightly between manufacturing batches, and a mismatched tile in the middle of a run shows. Spares also let you repair a damaged tile years later. A 12-pack of 50cm tiles covers 3m²; a 6-pack covers 1.5m².

If you're covering a whole fence, decide now whether the panels go over the posts too (cleaner, uses more tiles) or stop at each post (cheaper, and a visible post every 1.8m can actually help the illusion by breaking up the run).

8. Fixing to fences, walls, railings and frames

Panels are light (a 50cm tile weighs a few hundred grams) but a whole fence of them adds up, and they catch wind. Before you start, check the fence, posts or wall are sound; whatever you fix to carries the load. Then join tiles into larger sections on the ground first, check the foliage all "lies" the same way (most panels have a natural direction), and fix as follows:

• Timber fence. Galvanised U-nails or heavy-duty staples through the mesh backing into the timber, every 25–30cm around the edges and a few through the middle. Fast and very secure. Cable ties through gaps between boards also work on featheredge.
• Wire mesh, chain-link, railings and trellis. UV-rated black cable ties straight through the mesh, every 20–30cm. The quickest method of all. Packs usually include some ties; buy more, because you'll want them.
• Brick, block or rendered wall. You can't fix panels directly to masonry. Screw treated timber battens horizontally to the wall with plugs, every 40–60cm, stretch galvanised mesh across the battens and staple it, then cable-tie the panels to the mesh. The battens also hold the panels off the wall so air circulates behind them.
• Freestanding screen or decking edge. Build a simple frame from treated timber or post-and-rail, set the posts in the ground or bolt to the decking, fill with galvanised mesh, then fix panels to the mesh. For a hedge along decking, a low frame 60–90cm high with a planter-style board along the base looks best.
• Balcony rail or glass balustrade. Cable-tie to a metal rail; for glass or where you can't tie, clamp a slim batten frame to the balustrade and fix to that. Never rely on adhesive fixings at height.

Work from one corner, keep the top edge level with a string line, and fix each panel before clipping the next. Trim to fit round posts and corners with strong scissors or secateurs.

9. Wind and exposed sites

A well-fixed panel doesn't act as a sail because it can't flex away from the surface. Failures happen when a corner lifts, wind gets behind it and the load multiplies from there. So on anything exposed, including the top strip of a fence, a rooftop or a coastal garden:

• Fix every corner first, then the top edge at every mesh intersection, roughly every 25cm.
• Use more fixing points, not stronger ones: eight to ten per tile rather than four.
• Prefer tiles over rolls on exposed runs; the rigid backing holds flat.
• On high balconies and roof terraces, consider open-weave ivy or trellis formats that let air through, or a freestanding hedge you can move under cover in a storm.
• Walk the garden on a windy day. Corners of fences and gaps between buildings funnel gusts; give those spots extra fixings.
• Check all fixings after the first storm and again each spring.

Freestanding hedges in troughs need ballast in any breeze: a paving slab, a bag of sand or gravel in the base. On a balcony, place them against the balustrade rather than mid-floor, and bring them in when gales are forecast.

10. Making it look like a hedge, not a wall

A real hedge grows out of the ground and has a top, a bottom and a slightly uneven face. A panel is a flat green rectangle. Closing that gap is mostly about the edges.

• Give it something to grow from. Hedging that appears to sprout straight out of paving or decking is the most common giveaway. Run a planter, a raised bed, a gravel board painted dark, or a strip of real low planting along the base so the "hedge" has roots to come from.
• Finish the top. Stop the panels 5–10cm below the top of a fence and the fence reads as a support behind a hedge; run them over the top and the illusion depends entirely on the panel quality. Alternatively cut the top edge slightly uneven, or fix a strip of offcuts along the top at a slight forward angle to give it a clipped-hedge profile.
• Use the offcuts. Cable-tie spare pieces over the top of thin patches and over the joins, slightly proud of the surface, to add depth and break up the grid.
• Break the flatness. A real hedge has things in front of it. A pot, a bench, a climber on a wire, a fern in a shaded corner: anything that casts a shadow on the panel makes it look deeper.
• Mix in real plants. A few real evergreens in front (pittosporum, euonymus, hebe) tie the artificial panel into the garden and give you the movement and scent that plastic can't.
• Turn corners properly. Bend the mesh round an external corner rather than butting two cut edges together, and overlap foliage on internal corners to hide the join.

11. Heights, neighbours, leases and planning

Artificial hedging is generally treated as a minor, reversible alteration, but three rules catch people out.

• Height counts. For planning purposes, anything fixed to a fence counts towards its total height. In England the permitted limit without planning permission is 2m from ground level, or 1m where the fence is next to a road or its footpath. A 1.8m fence with 30cm of hedging above it is a 2.1m structure and needs permission. Rules differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and listed buildings and conservation areas have their own restrictions.
• Whose fence is it? You cannot fix anything to a neighbour's fence without their consent, even on your side; doing so can count as trespass or criminal damage. Ownership is shown by T-marks on the deeds or title plan, not by which side the posts are on. If it's theirs, ask in writing; if they say no, a freestanding frame just inside your boundary gives you the same result.
• Leases and tenancies. Many flat leases allow planters and screens but forbid fixings into the building or the balustrade, and some restrict anything visible from outside. Check, and ask your managing agent or landlord in writing. Clamp-on frames and freestanding hedges keep you on the right side of most leases.

Real hedges, incidentally, aren't subject to planning height limits at all, but evergreen hedges over 2m can be the subject of a complaint under the High Hedges legislation. That doesn't apply to artificial hedging, which is treated as part of the fence.

12. Fire safety: what you need to know

Artificial foliage is plastic, and plastic burns. For a panel on a garden fence this is no more of an issue than the fence itself, but there are situations where it matters and it's better to know.

• Ordinary gardens. No regulation applies. Just treat hedging like any other combustible garden material: keep barbecues, fire pits, chimineas and patio heaters well away from it, and don't fix it above or beside a barbecue area.
• Balconies of flats. Fire services and insurers actively discourage decorative plastic foliage and artificial grass on balconies, because a dropped cigarette from above is the commonest cause of balcony fires and plastic screening adds fuel. For residential buildings with a floor 11m or more above ground (roughly four storeys), the Building Regulations restrict combustible materials on balconies and external walls, and your building's fire risk assessment or lease may prohibit them outright. Check with your managing agent before buying, and if you go ahead, use a freestanding hedge you can remove rather than fixed panels.
• Commercial, rented and shared premises. Pubs, restaurants, hotels, offices and any enclosed public space may need hedging with a tested reaction-to-fire classification under EN 13501-1 (typically Class B). Two things to know: the classification must be for the specific product with test documentation, not a vague "fire-retardant" claim; and it was almost certainly tested on a non-combustible backing such as cement board or masonry. Fix the same panel to a timber fence and the classification no longer applies. If a landlord, insurer, architect or fire officer has specified a fire class, ask the supplier for the certificate and the tested fixing method.

13. A word about wildlife

A real hedge feeds and shelters birds, hedgehogs, insects and a great deal else, and no artificial panel does any of that. If you're replacing a living hedge with panels, you're removing habitat. We'd suggest keeping some real planting somewhere in the garden, even a couple of shrubs or a climber in front of the panels, and if you're taking out a real hedge, doing it outside the March-to-August nesting season. Artificial hedging is at its best covering things that were never alive: walls, fences, garages and the patches of ground where nothing would grow anyway.

14. Cleaning, care and storms

Hedging collects dust, pollen, cobwebs and, near roads, a grey film. Once or twice a year, brush off loose debris with a soft brush, rinse with a gentle hose from the top down, and wipe stubborn grime with a damp cloth and a drop of washing-up liquid. Avoid pressure washers, which can strip leaves off the strands, and avoid hot water and solvents. In winter, avoid bending or cutting panels in freezing weather when the plastic is brittle.

After a storm, walk the run and check for lifted corners, snapped ties or panels that have pulled away from the mesh. Re-fix promptly; a loose panel is the one that gets shredded in the next gale. Freestanding hedges are best moved under cover when a named storm is forecast.

Our guide to cleaning outdoor artificial flowers covers the detail.

15. Artificial hedging for businesses

Hedge panels are the standard way to screen a beer garden, divide a terrace, dress a shopfront or hide a bin store, and freestanding hedges in troughs are the cheapest movable divider you can buy for a café or event space. For commercial premises, three extras:

• Fire classification. Ask your insurer and check your fire risk assessment before buying (see section 12). If a class is required, buy certified panels and fix them the tested way.
• Fixing and inspection. Use more fixings than you think you need, set a twice-yearly inspection, and fix freestanding units to the ground with ground anchors or pipe brackets in any public space.
• Pavements and highways. Screens on or over a public pavement usually need council consent, and anything projecting over a footway must leave clear headroom. Freestanding hedges on your own forecourt usually don't.

16. How long will it last?

Quality UV-stabilised panels on a fence in UK conditions should look good for five to eight years, and often longer on a shaded or north-facing wall. Budget panels and expandable trellis typically hold their colour for three to four years before greening pales; the willow on trellis products weathers to silver-grey sooner than the leaves fade. South- and west-facing positions are the harshest. An annual UV-protection spray extends colour life, and keeping a few spare tiles from the original batch means a tired or damaged section can be swapped rather than the whole run replaced.

17. Buyer's checklist

Before you click "buy":

• Have you measured across and up, rounded each up to whole tiles, and added spares from the same batch?
• Does the listing give a shading percentage (95%+), strands per tile (300+), leaf layers and depth?
• Is the material named and described as UV-stabilised, with a stated outdoor lifespan?
• Have you seen a close-up photo of the actual foliage, not a garden-wide shot?
• Right format for the job: tiles or panels for fences and walls, freestanding hedges for balconies and rentals, trellis for softening rather than screening?
• Do you need it to be private? If so, what goes behind the panels?
• What are you fixing to, and do you have U-nails, UV-rated cable ties, battens and mesh as needed?
• Is the fence yours? Will the total height stay under 2m (or 1m by a road)?
• If it's a flat, does the lease allow it and is the balcony below 11m?
• If it's a business, has anyone specified a fire class?
• What will the base look like: planter, raised bed, gravel board or real planting?
• Is there a barbecue or fire pit anywhere near it?

We hope this helps you choose and fit the right hedging for your space. If you have a question we haven't covered, get in touch and we'll be glad to help.

FAQs