Easy to grow, the Golden Privet is a very pretty evergreen with bright gold oval leaves with a green centre. Ligustrum ovalifolium 'Aureum' makes a lovely plant in the border and if left untrimmed, it has clusters of white flowers in summer, followed by black berries in autumn, attracting birds, bees and butterflies. It's a perfect hedge plant too, with a dense form that makes it easy to trim and keep neat. It is fast growing and resistant to drought and has been awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit. Height and spread: Up to 4m (13').
Grow it as a hedge or as a single plant in the border: Privet is a tidy evergreen, and very easy to grow. It has small oval leaves, and as a hedge it is easy to trim so that it always looks neat. Left untrimmed, it will stand alone as a feature in the border: the dark leaves a backdrop to clusters of creamy white flowers in summer, followed by black berries, attracting bees, butterflies and birds. Ligustrum ovalifolium is happy in sun or deep shade, tolerates drought and pollution, and is generally untroubled by pests and diseases. Height and spread: 3m (10').
Privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium) or Golden Privet is robust and very popular choice for topiary and hedging, and this golden form 'Aureum' is a colourful variation of the more usual green plants. Easy and reliable, privet is fairly quick growing and soon forms a decent hedge and will grow virtually anywhere from sun to shade. The glossy leaves are edged in golden-yellow and stay on the plants all year, except during periods of extreme heat or cold - so Aureum is a semi evergreen in nature although soon bounces back to lush growth in the spring, coming back bigger and bushier. When plants are allowed to grow untrimmed, they produce pretty creamy clusters of fragrant flowers in summer as an added bonus, which are attractive to butterflies and birds and these are followed by glossy black berries. The densely packed, small leaves mean that it is easily trimmed into shape so ideal for different shapes and sizes of hedge - trim it a couple of times during the summer to encourage the formation of a dense, formal garden hedge. The slim branches also mean that you can run over it with a pair of shears or light cutting equipment to get it into shape. Plus, if you leave your hedge and it gets out of hand, you can give it a good chop back and it quickly recovers. Privet will grow well virtually anywhere (although dislikes sitting in wet soil) and is suitable for coastal situations (although it may defoliate a bit in winter). Plants are resistant to pollution and so a really great choice for town gardens where other plants may not thrive so well. Supplied as 3 x established plants in 9cm pots, ready to plant out. For hedges plant 40cm (16') apart