Hedging subjects can now be planted at almost any time of the year as they are grown and sold in containers. It is generally a bad idea to try and establish a hedge during the summer as you will have all kinds of watering problems to contend with, apart from which the purchase of container grown hedging is inordinately expensive compared with that of bare rooted stock purchased during the dormant season. Deciduous hedging is best planted during the winter, but broadleaved evergreens and conifers should be left until the spring.

Select plants that are well furnished to the ground and go for the smaller sizes as these are more manageable and easier to get estab­lished. Large plants seem to provide an instant barrier, but unless you are excep­tionally lucky they will tend to have naked lower parts and rarely fill out to make an impenetrable hedge. Plant between 30 cm and 50 cm (1 ft and 1 ft 8 in) apart depend­ing upon the habit of the subject, where space allows in an alternate triangular fashion. Naturally the closer the plants are set the more quickly the hedge will become serviceable. If time is not a serious consider­ation a good hedge can be made much more economically by spacing plants further apart and feeding them well to encourage rapid growth. Once successfully estab­lished, a young hedge requires considerable attention if it is to be an object of beauty in future years. It is always a mistake to let plants grow tall too quickly. Encourage dense bottom growth by keeping them low initially, otherwise they become top-heavy and unwieldy and can only be rectified by drastic pruning.

A modest form of built-in decoration is a simple coping placed on the top of the wall, often used to complement fine stone or brick. More of a feature can be made if tiles or slate are used to complement the fabric of the wall. Piers or columns are a means of creating a functional but decorative structure: they may be there primarily to support the wall, but they are also ornamental and can be used to break the monotony of a flat surface. Another way of decorating a wall is to create a small round or square window, which can be left as an open space or covered with a metal grill. This will allow a glimpse of the area beyond, encouraging the observer to explore further, while from a distance the feature will look like a picture hanging on the wall.

Fixed patterns and designs using different coloured bricks can be incorporated into the wall at the time of building, and certain bricks can be left slightly proud of the wall surface to form a raised pattern. A less subtle form of decoration is to use pierced concrete blocks in a geometric pattern. These can be used on their own or built on top of an existing low wall, their angular appearance used as an asset in a suitable, linear design, or softened by climbing plants.

Applied decoration does not need pre-planning and can be used to add variety to existing walls. Urns, balls, obelisks and finials all look effective placed on the tops of walls, and framing columns or piers next to gates or doorways can be highly decorative. A more creative approach is to attach items to the wall. These can be in the form of ready-made pieces of sculpture, such as decorative masks, or perhaps a few unique pieces found in an antique shop. Another possibility is to make a mosaic out of fragments of coloured tiles and porcelain embedded in cement.

None of these effects should be overdone or allowed to become too dominant; they need to be subtle in order to blend in well with the garden.