A well-chosen hedge can do a lot more than just look great—it can give you privacy, act as a windbreak, define garden spaces, reduce noise, or add year-round greenery. Whether you're looking to block out a view, frame your garden, or just create a lush backdrop, hedges are incredibly versatile.
One of the most underappreciated roles of a hedge? It makes everything in front of it—flowers, trees, garden art—look even better. Think of it as a green stage curtain that lets your garden stars shine.
Pretty much any shrub planted in a row can create a hedge, but the right plant depends on what you want it to do. Here are some of our top picks.
Evergreen Hedges - The Classic Green Wall
Botanical Name: Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd'
Cedar is a favourite for a reason. With its dense, year-round green foliage and low-maintenance nature, it's ideal for privacy. Depending on the type, cedars can grow between 9–14 feet tall, forming a living wall that blocks wind, noise, and prying eyes. It also makes a lovely backdrop for all your other plants.
Botanical Name: Ilex glabra
Looking for a Boxwood alternative? Inkberry Holly is a great choice—especially if you're concerned about Boxwood Blight. This broadleaf evergreen keeps its dark, glossy green leaves all year and can grow up to 8 feet tall if left unpruned. It loves full sun, wet soil, and even acidic conditions. You can trim it to keep it neat or let it grow naturally—either way, it makes a fantastic border or garden divider.
Botanical Name: Taxus cuspidata
With dense, dark green foliage that stays lush all year-round, Yews make excellent hedges for privacy, property lines, and garden backdrops. They’re incredibly versatile—leave them to grow naturally for a softer look or trim regularly for a crisp, formal shape. Yews respond beautifully to pruning, creating a smooth, tailored finish. Just be sure to wear gloves when handling them, and plant them away from children, pets and livestock, as all parts of this striking plant are toxic.
Deciduous Hedges with Drama and Colour
Botanical Name: Spiraea x vanhouttei
Graceful, arching branches that are completely covered in double-white blooms in the Spring make Bridalwreath Spirea a truly stunning hedge plant in the spring. After its spring show, small, glossy green leaves cover this plant until the fall, when its leaves take on beautiful autumn colours.
Bridalwreath Spirea grows to a mature height of 4-9 feet, can tolerate light shade as well as a variety of soil conditions and can be lightly pruned to shape. They are also deer-resistant.
Botanical Name: Cotoneaster lucidus
Peking Cotoneaster may not be flashy, but there are lots of reasons to love this shrub. Its smooth, dark green leaves create a clean, structured look that works beautifully behind flowering plants or along fences. In fall, the leaves turn a fiery red, and black berries appear, which birds snack on through the winter. Growing 5–7 feet tall, this shrub is also a great choice for wind protection and bird habitat.
Still not sure which plants to choose for your hedge? Stop in to see us at Eising Garden Centre and talk to one of our tree and shrub specialists - Zach, Sandy and Donna, or contact one of our landscape design specialists, Emily or Lucas. We’re here to help!
What’s the best way to brighten up your garden? Add lots of annual flowers in the Spring! Here in Southern Ontario, the May holiday weekend is usually safe from frost - and go time for planting tender annuals!
At Eising Garden Centre, you’ll find a wide array of beautiful annual blooms. Here are ten of our sun-loving favourites to try.
Cosmos
With daisy-like blooms in radiant shades of pink, red, and pure white adorned with mellow yellow centres—Cosmos are irresistible. They're perfect planted along a fence or at the back of a border, where they can lean on a little support. Depending on the variety, Cosmos can grow anywhere from 12 to 80 inches tall!
Zinnia
Bold, structured, and bursting with colour, Zinnias bring serious wow factor. Their cheerful blooms come in red, green, orange, yellow, purple, pink, and white. Depending on the variety, Zinnias grow between 6 and 36 inches tall and spread about 12 inches wide.
Calendula
Decorative and useful, Calendulas are edible flowers with culinary and medicinal value. Their soothing, antiseptic properties make them popular beyond the garden. Calendula come in gorgeous, bright shades of copper, orange, gold, and yellow blooms and grow 10 to 24 inches tall.
Marigold
Tough and reliable, Marigolds handle heat and humidity with ease, thriving even in the driest parts of your garden. They offer a beautiful range of bloom types—from large, ruffled flowers to small, delicate blossoms—and a palette of cream, yellow, orange, red, and bi-colours. Depending on the variety, Marigolds can grow from 6 to 36 inches tall.
Amaranth
If you're after drama, Amaranth is your plant! Reaching heights of 3 to 5 feet, these bold beauties flaunt long, rope-like clusters of maroon or red flowers. While low-maintenance, Amaranths may need a bit of support to stay upright as they mature.
Portulaca
Perfect for hot, dry, and neglected spots, Portulacas deliver a brilliant show of colour with minimal effort. Their rose-like blooms come in vivid shades of red, pink, yellow, white, orange, and purple. Low-growing at just 4 to 8 inches tall, they're ideal for the front of borders, or alongside driveways, and patios.
Salvia
With tall spikes of bold purple, red, blue, pink, or white blooms, Salvias are garden standouts. Growing 8 to 24 inches tall and often blooming continuously, they quickly become must-haves for flower beds or large containers.
Geranium
Drought-tolerant and tough as nails, Geraniums have long been a gardener’s favourite. Regular deadheading (removing spent blooms) will reward you with non-stop flowers until frost. Their lush foliage and bright flowers—ranging from salmon, white, purple, violet, and orange to red and pink—also shine in mixed containers. Geraniums typically grow between 8 and 24 inches tall.
Petunia
It’s no surprise Petunias have remained beloved for generations. They grow quickly, bloom prolifically, and require little care. Available in mounding or trailing forms—and sometimes carrying a heavenly scent—Petunias are perfect for flower beds, hanging baskets, pots, or window boxes. Growing 6 to 18 inches tall, they come in white, yellow, pink, purple, red, bi-colours, and even black!
Dahlia
Dahlias can become a full-on passion project—and it’s easy to see why. Their breathtaking blooms come in a stunning range of sizes, shapes, and colours. While Dahlias can be a bit particular (they love rich, well-drained soil and plenty of water, but hate soggy conditions), they are absolutely worth the extra attention.
Sunshine + Food + Hydration = Success
All of these annuals thrive in full sun and will reward you with even more blooms when given consistent water and fertilizer.
Adding a continuous-release fertilizer to your soil at planting time—or feeding weekly with a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer—makes it easy to keep your garden thriving all summer long!
*TIP: Check our handy Plant Finder for more details! https://plants.eising.ca/11110015/
Growing Vegetables in Pots!
A few years ago, I was walking through town with a friend as we discussed planting vegetables in our tiny front gardens. It seemed like an unusual idea until we spotted not one but two front gardens with pumpkin vines rambling amongst the shrubbery. What a novel way to cover the ground without mulch and have the bonus of showy, bright blossoms and bold foliage! Of course, this is eventually followed by the standout feature of brightly coloured pumpkins. It’s built-in fall decorating!
Right now, everyone is looking for ways to reduce grocery bills, and growing a few vegetables amongst the flowers and shrubs can make a big difference. If your garden is on a patio or balcony, there are lots of ways to add edible plants to maximize your space and beautify it at the same time. Who says vegetables can’t be ornamental and beautiful?!
Gaps and Small Spaces
If you have a new shrub and flower garden that has gaps or there’s a space in your garden where you’re not sure what to plant, consider tucking in a potted vegetable. In a cool, shady space, try some luscious lettuce bowls. Shade allows lettuce to grow more slowly in the heat of the summer. Keeping lettuce in a cool, shady spot will prevent it from bolting and becoming bitter.
If you have a small garden, a patio or a balcony, pots with compact varieties and hanging baskets are a terrific alternative for growing vegetables, herbs, and some fruits. These are some of the options we offer at Eising Garden Centre (based on availability) that can be purchased fully planted, or you can grow your own from seed if you have time, space and lights.
Trellised Planters and Patio Pots
For patios, balconies, or even a gap in the garden, there are lots of vegetables that can be grown in a trellised planter.
Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and eggplant all love warm soil and growing in pots provides the heat to help them thrive. Eising trellis pots are planted with specific varieties that are smaller but pack a flavourful punch.
Sweet Snackabelle, Candycane Chocolate Cherry or Red, Mocha Swirl and Fresh Bites peppers.
Little Sicily, Patio Hybrid, Candyland Red, Rapunzel and Tidy Treats tomatoes.
Eising Greenhouse also carries eggplants in trellised pots - a patio pot with Patio Baby eggplants is a perfect choice if ratatouille is on the menu!
All of Eising's trellised planters would look lovely plopped into one of our decorative outdoor cover pots!
Herb Planters
Many herbs thrive in a sunny and warm spot with well-drained soil, making a pot the perfect container for them. Herbs also make great companion plants with other vegetables and can be tucked into other pots. Most herbs also love to be harvested frequently, especially when they’re given these ideal conditions.
Lettuce Bowls
Lettuce bowls are a great way to grow greens in small spaces. Our 10” bowls are chock full of a variety of lettuces and are never boring!
👍Tip: Try the “cut and come again” method for harvesting lettuce, which prolongs the plant’s life. Simply pinch off the outer, mature leaves each time you pick the lettuce and leave the centre of the plant to keep growing.
Hanging Baskets
If there’s a spot to hang a basket or place a shepherd’s hook, you will want to grow one of the edible options we offer.
Topsy Tom tomatoes.
Pot-a-Peno and Peppers From Heaven peppers.
Tomatoes, peppers, and strawberries are all available in hanging baskets. Our deliciously sweet everbearing strawberries are also available in 4.5" pots and bareroot, which are great options for window boxes.
👍Tip: Pick strawberries as they ripen to encourage your plants to produce more. Also, remove runners as they grow to allow your plants to send energy into growing fruit instead of bigger plants. Painting rocks to look like strawberries is said to deter birds from feasting on ripe berries.
Citrus and Figs
Consider growing a beautiful and fragrant lemon, orange, fig or grapefruit tree in a patio pot. Just keep in mind that it will need to come indoors in the fall.
Container Plant Care
Whether you’re growing edible plants in the garden, a pot or a hanging basket, don’t forget to give them the care they need to maximize productivity:
- Water regularly, deeply and in the heat of the summer, frequently. Watering early in the morning is ideal. Pour water on the soil, not the foliage to prevent diseases like powdery mildew.
- Feed your vegetables and fruits throughout the growing season with fertilizer or compost.
- Remove dead foliage and prune plants as needed. Especially herbs.
Once you start foodscaping by including vegetables with your flowers and ornamental plants we’re sure you’ll want to keep looking for innovative ways to grow your own food! Who knows, maybe even pumpkins by the front porch!
We love decorating for Canada Day, but lately we’ve been compelled to avoid buying disposable plastic decorations, and instead look for eco-friendly alternatives. We figured, what better way to show your Canadian pride than through your garden? A red and white décor colour palette is so timeless and beautiful, and it’s all the more festive once July 1st rolls around!
Want some intel on the best new annuals to plant in your Canada Day themed garden? Here are some of our favourites for summer 2020 here in Simcoe. Our online store is now up and running, so if you don’t feel like swinging by the garden centre, you can order these beauties for citywide delivery!
Red Annual Plants And Flowers For Canada Day
Red is such a powerful, vibrant colour that makes a strong impact, yet it’s so versatile and classic. Plant these fire ultra-red flowers and plants in your yard, for a gorgeous pop of colour that brings to mind that big, bright red maple leaf we all know and love.
Whopper Begonia: Bronze Red
This shade-tolerant flower never fails to brighten up the darker corners of our yards, bursting with red blossoms reaching up to 3 inches wide. The bronze leaves kind of have a warmer, reddish cast to them too, so they’ll really help to create a streamlined, consistent colour scheme. Grow them with ease in garden beds or containers, and they’ll treat you with blossoms from spring until fall.
Coleus: Red Wizard
This high-impact foliage plant is perfect for Canada Day—candy apple red with a skinny white trim! Ideally, some morning sun and dappled afternoon shade will help your coleus to grow lush and bright, and you’ll need to water them extra often if they’re in a container. Coleus are fun to grow, because you can propagate them by simply placing cuttings in a cup of water, so you can easily turn one plant into several to give away to friends and family.
Crimson Mandevilla
These romantic vining plants grow so rapidly, by the end of the summer their volume and size is colossal. They’re often grown in containers or hanging baskets, but if you want a really impressive display that boasts Canada’s colours, grow them on a tall, white trellis so they can climb right up. We recommend growing them in full sun, near a wall to give them some protection from the wind.
Red Impatiens
Shade-tolerant, low-maintenance, and self-cleaning—there’s just so many reasons why these annuals remain to be some of the most popular flowers year after year. Impatiens grown in containers will probably need daily watering, but if you have a shaded garden bed with a layer of mulch, you can get away with watering them about twice per week. For ultimate blooming action, add water soluble fertilizer every two weeks until the end of summer.
White Annual Plants And Flowers For Canada Day
White flowers and icy, frosted foliage are so incomparably elegant and lovely in the garden, and they always match your home’s outdoor colour palette, whether it’s cool or warm. Try some of these creamy white flowers and foliage plants in your Canada Day garden!
Helichrysum: Silver Spike
The silvery white, slender, spiky leaves of this plant look like a burst of fireworks—extra appropriate for this national holiday! They’re especially beautiful in mixed container arrangements, bringing contrasting colour and texture that really stands out among ruffly flowers in ultra-rich hues. Plant in full sun!
White Heliotrope
These clusters of little white blossoms look just like scoops of vanilla ice cream, and the best part is, they smell like it too! You can enjoy the flowers of this continuous bloomer all the way until the first frost of winter. It gets its name from the Greek words “helios” (sun) and “tropos” (turn) because the flower heads turn to face the sunlight!
Hypoestes: White Splash
Also known as the Polka Dot Plant, this variety of hypoestes is totally covered in white speckles and splotches. It likes full sun, lots of water, weekly fertilizer in the summer, and fast-draining soil. They look especially cute as potted plants, and since it’s rare for one plant to survive more than a year, we recommend propagating a cutting so you can enjoy it as a houseplant at the end of the growing season.
Nonstop Begonia: White/Bronze
The massive double flower heads on this gorgeous annual flower are just like big, fluffy clouds. Through summer until mid-autumn, you can enjoy these long lasting blooms that sit in a bed of dramatic, dark foliage—deep greenish-bronze with hints of red. Partial shade is totally comfortable for this variety, but try to avoid complete shade if possible.
Have a happy and safe Canada Day, from all of us at Eising Greenhouse and Garden Centre! If there are any tools or supplies you need in time for your backyard barbecue party, we’ve got you covered. Visit us in-store or shop online for all your backyard entertaining needs.