Get to know Brent Markus - Nursery Management

Posted 31/03/2023

Through his passion for travel, Brent Markus was inspired to pivot his own production operation and launch his own finished hedge company, InstantHedge.

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Get to know Brent Markus

InstantHedge Featured in July GardenSmart Newsletter

Posted 18/07/2020

As experts in privacy hedging, we’ve heard it all. So many people are desperate for immediate privacy that can extend 10, 15, or 20 feet upward, but they become frustrated with the limited availability of hedge options that are both instantly thick and tall.

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Fast Growing Hedges for Privacy

InstantHedge Featured in Green Profit Magazine

Posted 03/07/2020

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Products retailers need and customers want

InstantHedge featured in RENTCafe Blog(Page 43)

Posted 09/06/2020

Can’t get out and enjoy nature right now? Bring nature in your home. You may not own your dwelling, but you can still find ways to bring the outdoors inside. Whether your space is large or small, gardening enhances both your health and happiness.

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How to Incorporate Nature Into Your Apartment

InstantHedge Featured in May Gardensmart Newsletter

Posted 18/05/2020

You may think it a known fact that evergreens make the best privacy hedges, but you may also think that you will have to forfeit that quality if you want seasonal color interest from a hedge. Think again!

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BEECH HEDGES FOR COLOR AND SCREENING

InstantHedge Featured in April GardenSmart Newsletter

Posted 17/04/2020

Boxwood (Buxus sp.) is a wildly popular evergreen shrub that has been used in landscapes for centuries. It fits in any garden style, from very formal (Versailles) to very casual. They are the go-to option for low-maintenance, evergreen hedges.

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BANISH BLIGHT WITH THIS BOXWOOD REPLACEMENT

InstantHedge Featured in March GardenSmart Newsletter

Posted 14/03/2020

A hedge is an essential component for almost every garden. These living walls are invaluable for their ability to provide privacy, noise reduction, habitat for wildlife, garden design, and a lovely green backdrop for the whole garden.

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HOW TO PLANT THE HEDGE OF YOUR DREAMS

InstantHedge in Lawn & Garden Retailer

Posted 05/03/2020

The best new ornamental plants, garden products and edible plants were recently given the prestigious 2020 Green Thumb Award, presented by the Direct Gardening Association (DGA). Winners in the Ornamental Seeds, Bulbs and Plants division were European Beech InstantHedge from InstantHedge and Clematis ‘Lady Kyoko’ from Spring Hill Nurseries. Recipients in the Gardening Tools and Accessories division were Garden Tutor Online Course and Kit from Botaniworld and the Vertex Wall Trellis from Gardener’s Supply Co. In the Edible Plants division, KangaRhu Rhubarb from Gurneys Seed and Treasure Island Sweet Potatoes from Concept Plants were winners.

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Green Thumb Awards Handed Out

InstantHedge Featured in Green Profit's Buzz

Posted 04/03/2020

That could have been another great name for the InstantHedge, a winner of one of the Direct Gardening Association’s 2020 Green Thumb Awards. These awards are chosen by garden writers who judge both plants and products on uniqueness, technological innovation, ability to solve a garden problem and their appeal to gardeners.

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Privacy, Pronto

InstantHedge Featured in February GardenSmart Newsletter

Posted 17/02/2020

or dense evergreen hedges with a lush, leafy look, people often reach for English laurels like the species Prunus laurocerasus or the Schip laurel. These hedges are useful in situations that need a fast-growing hedge and have a fair amount of space to fill, but sometimes a smaller, more manageable type hedge is needed. This is where their lesser-known cousin, Portuguese laurel, saves the day! It is a different species, Prunus lusitanica, native to the coast of Portugal and Northwestern Africa. Read on for five reasons why you might need a Portuguese laurel hedge of your own.

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5 Reasons Why You Need a portuguese Laurel Hedge

InstantHedge Featured in January GardenSmart Newsletter

Posted 19/01/2020

When the winter air is cold and the nights are long, it helps to start dreaming of spending warm summer days in the garden. Whether you like to keep it a private space for just you or a spot to host backyard bashes for the masses, this one element will make a huge impact on your outdoor living space: a thriving privacy hedge.

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Enjoy Privacy in Your Garden This Spring

InstantHedge featured in December GardenSmart Newsletter

Posted 12/13/2019

Many popular hedges are deciduous, with a lovely fall color display, and some may even hold their dormant leaves throughout the winter for added screening (like European beech). Still, for full, thick winter privacy your best bet is an evergreen hedge. Some evergreens go off color in winter, but the list below contains the best hedges to pick for optimum winter color and interest.

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Best Hedges for Winter Privacy

InstantHedge featured in November GardenSmart Newsletter

Posted 11/18/2019

When fall hits, we often find ourselves in a frenzied state of cleaning up our gardens. Raking leaves, spreading mulch, removing spent plant material, tucking away gardening hoses, etc. has us thinking about putting the garden to bed. Usually planting anything is far from our thoughts until the first taste of spring the next year. However, fall is really one of the best times to plant trees and shrubs, and it's the ideal time to install a new hedge! Here are a few reasons why:

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Why fall is the best time to plant a hedge

InstantHedge Featured in October GardenSmart Newsletter

Posted 10/11/2019

A cottage garden is an experience. It engages all the senses and invokes a feeling of strong connection to both the past and the present. It creates an ecosystem where pollinators, birds, and other creatures thrive. The best part is that they are easy to create and maintain if done right.

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How To Build a Cottage Garden

InstantHedge Featured in GardenSmart September Newsletter

Posted 09/13/2019

When that first scent of fall reaches our noses, it signals our brains to reach for everything cozy and comforting. We start to slow down after the rush of summer and ready ourselves for the dark, short days of winter. Plants make similar changes, with annuals and perennials shutting down, evergreens slowing growth, and deciduous shrubs and trees beginning to abscise and drop their leaves.

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Hedges with Brilliant Fall Color

InstantHedge in August GardenSmart Newsletter

Posted 08/16/2019

For centuries, people have been shaping hedges into crisp lines and geometric patterns to create breathtaking formal garden designs. By studying the elements of formal gardens, we can take away some tips and tricks for installing them at home.

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HOW TO CREATE A FORMAL GARDEN WITH HEDGE

InstantHedge in July Gardensmart Newsletter

Posted 07/12/2019

"Landscaping a small space is a special challenge. They often require extra privacy since a small yard typically means close proximity to neighbors, but there simply isn’t much room for screening plants.

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Hedges for Small Spaces

InstantHedge in June Gardensmart Newsletter

Posted 06/10/2019

"This is a message for those living in a cold climate who have given up hope of being able to grow an interesting hedge: you have options! Yes, cherry laurels, yew, and beech are extremely popular in the Zone 5 and up crowd, but don’t think for a moment that there aren’t beautiful choices for the Zone 4 and below folks as well.

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Cold-Hardy Hedges

InstantHedge is Luxury Pools' Product We Love!

Posted 05/28/2019

"InstantHedge is revolutionizing landscapes. With refinished, live options in three different sizes and over 25 varieties

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InstantHedge in May GardenSmart Newsletter

Posted 05/18/2019

"I need a privacy hedge but my yard gets a lot of shade. Is there anything I can grow? I'm desperate!" Sound familiar? This is a very common question, so you are not alone.

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InstantHedge in May GardenSmart Newsletter

InstantHedge in April GardenSmart Newsletter

Posted 04/16/2019

Picture this: It's late March. Shrubs and trees stand leafless under a gray sky. You turn your eyes and suddenly notice that the landscape is lit by a bright stretch of golden hedge. Upon closer inspection, you see that the gold hue comes from tiny flowers covering the branches of a Cornelian cherry.

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InstantHedge in April GardenSmart Newsletter

InstantHedge in UpShoot Press Release

Posted 03/19/2019

March 2019 — InstantHedge took the design/build market in the United States by storm in 2018, debuting 20 varieties of precision-trimmed and packaged, ready-to-plant 3-4’ and 5-6’ hedges. In the fall the company expanded with a line of 18” boxwood panels for instant borders, knot gardens and patios.

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Instant Appeal and Infinite Possibilities

InstantHedge Article in March GardenSmart Newsletter

Posted 03/14/2019

Creating a garden that is either beautiful or utilitarian is simple. Creating a garden that is both beautiful and utilitarian is tricky. There is a key secret for making this possible, and I'm about to let you in on it: use hedges to create garden rooms.

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Garden Rooms for Maximum Impact

InstantHedge in February GardenSmart Newsletter

Posted 02/19/2019

With living spaces getting smaller and smaller, while our need for plants growing around us gets greater and greater, container gardening has become an extremely important landscaping tool.

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Hedges in Containers

InstantHedge used in This Old House

Posted 01/21/2019

In partnership with the talented architects at Union Studio, the incredibly gifted craftsmen of Sweenor Builders, and our valued Sponsors and Contributors, we are excited to unveil our 2018 TOH Idea House in Narragansett, Rhode Island. This 2,700-square-foot Craftsman-style cottage features abundant built-ins, a guest quarters over the garage, and dreamy spaces for outdoor “staycation” living. Scroll down to take a video tour, check out inspirational galleries, enter the Idea House Sweepstakes, and read more about the products and services you’ll find inside and outside this beachtown bungalow.

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2018 Idea House

Article Featured in GardenSmart January Newsletter

Posted 01/18/2019

A great knot garden is like a great wine: nice at first, but as it matures it takes on complex, sometimes unexpected characteristics that enchant and delight the senses. Do you dream of having one of these charming gardens, but you're not sure where to start? We are here to guide you, step by step.

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How to Build a Knot Garden

InstantHedge Featured in Washington Gardener

Posted 12/17/2018

The December 2018 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine is out.

Inside this issue:
  • 25+ of the Best Japanese Maples for Winter Interest
  • Visiting the North Carolina Arboretum
  • Your Garden Task List
  • Fabulous Flavorful Fava Beans
  • Trees Matter to Bees and Local Business
  • DC-MD-VA Gardening Events Calendar
  • Meet Joe Howard: The Big Tree Man
  • And much more….

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Digger Magazine Features InstantHedge

Posted November 26, 2018

Living screens are as versatile as they are varied. They hide the neighbors, block ugly views, provide backdrops and create garden rooms.

Originally, though, screens were used to hem in livestock. When humans made the leap from hunter-gatherers to start an agrarian lifestyle, they prevented animals from wandering by using living screens left behind as they cleared the land for planting. In ancient Roman times, the practice became more structured as farmers planted their own shrubs to mark property lines and keep animals in line.

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Trees for Screens

InstantHedge featured in Garden Center Magazine

Posted November 9, 2018

Each InstantHedge is an evergreen or deciduous hedge sold in panels of four trees that have been pruned multiple times each year using GPS tracking equipment to provide extraordinary density. Revolutionary technology ensures precision, accuracy and delivery of a consistent product. The hedges look like they’ve been growing in place for years, not just dropped in the ground.

InstantHedges arrive on site in sturdy biodegradable cardboard boxes ready to plant, and easy to maneuver with loading equipment. The result? Instant privacy and design features in 3-4' and 5-6' heights.

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Garden Center Magazine

InstantHedge Article in GardenSmart Newsletter

Posted November 9, 2018

Evergreen: check. Deer resistant: check. Full sun: check. Full shade: check. Hardy to Zone 4: check. Easy to maintain: check. Can be pruned to any shape: check. What more could you ask for?

The above cannot be said for many plants! For these reasons, boxwood (Buxus sp.) has remained the most popular shrub grown in the U.S. and worldwide for centuries. Boxwoods can tolerate a wide variety of growing conditions. They are slow growing and have lush, easy-to-shape evergreen foliage, making them especially useful for low borders, knot gardens, and topiaries.

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InstantHedge in the Hartley-Botanic Magazine

Posted October 15, 2018

Recently, while walking through the aisles of the Independent Garden Center trade show in Chicago, I discovered a product I’d never seen before—containerized hedges. A row of neatly sheared plants outlined the booth. Clearly, they were field-grown and root pruned, their branches naturally intermingling. It was a living privacy wall you could buy.

It would take years and plenty of effort to grow a hedge like this. This one could be delivered to your doorstep and, depending on the length, planted in an afternoon. For everyone whose back garden has suddenly been invaded by a towering house next door, or for those who need the design control of a clipped boxwood right now, here was the answer. I had to know more.

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Instant Privacy Hedges - Now You Can Buy Time

Horticulture Magazine Newsletter Features InstantHedge

Posted October 10, 2018

What if you could instantly enjoy privacy, instantly create an evergreen screen, or instantly plant a knot garden that’s garden-tour ready? You can! Introducing InstantHedge: real living, thriving trees, sold in pre-formed, pre-spaced panels for easy planting.

They are truly instant, living hedges! Each InstantHedge is a lush, evergreen or deciduous hedge sold in panels of four trees that have been pruned multiple times yearly via GPS tracked equipment to provide extraordinary density. Revolutionary technology from the Netherlands ensures precision, accuracy, and delivery, of a consistent, thriving product. Once they’re in your garden, the hedges look like they’ve been growing in place for years, not just dropped in the ground, and they’re ready to hit the ground running, continuing to grow and thrive for years.

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Landscaping

UpShoot Blog Post Features InstantHedge

Posted 10/10/2018

October 2, 2018 — The spring 2018 introduction of InstantHedges was a smash hit, with retailers, designers, and homeowners clamoring for delivery of the 13 different varieties of grab-and-go (literally) four-unit pre-trimmed hedges.

Since 2014, owner Brent Markus and his team have planted 500,000 trees, filling 81 acres with plants precision-trimmed multiple times per year with GPS-driven technology. Hedges are then dug in groups of four, packed up, and shipped for planting at homes, commercial properties, and for use at restaurants, museums, and shopping areas as movable screens.

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Press Release: Instant Hedges For Fall And Winter Accents And Screening Now Available

InstantHedge Article Featured on GardenSmart

Posted 10/12/2018

A hedge is a natural way to define space in a garden without the expense and labor involved in building a fence or wall. Planting shrubs such as boxwood and laurel can create green "rooms" that provide beauty and privacy in a landscape.

Have you considered a hedge for your garden, but didn't want to wait the mandatory 4 to 5 years for the plants to fill in? With InstantHedge, you can have a lush, finished hedge in just one day.

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Hedges Create Living Rooms

InstantHedge Featured in the Nursery & Landscape Insider Newsletter

Posted 10/10/2018

It’s been a while since I mentioned InstantHedge, which is such a clever and simple solution to implement instant landscape gratification. Last time I mentioned it, they only had a few options plant-wise and were looking for distributors to assist in getting material into the hands of landscape contractors and retailers.

A lot has changed in the past year and InstantHedge is now offering boxwood (Green Mountain boxwood, to be exact) and 18 other taxa including my favorite plant in their lineup, Ilex xaquipernyi Dragon Lady. More importantly for those who want to get their hands on these marvels, the product line is now available via both Fast Growing Trees and Wayside Gardens.

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The October 10 Nursery & Landscape Insider Newsletter

InstantHedge on Garden Time TV

Posted April 2018

RECORD BREAKING WEATHER. A few weeks ago all we thought about was the cold and not the heat. This winter was pretty mild, but then we got hit with a few days of frost and cold, and all those plants we thought would survive, didn’t! It doesn’t matter now. The heat returned and all is forgotten! The spring rains may come and go, but the warmth will probably remain. Still, that doesn’t mean that you should put out all your tender plants yet. Keep an eye on the weather forecast and maybe wait another week or so to make sure that these temps are not going south any time soon.

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Garden Time Episode 471

InstantHedge Featured in The Hampton Gardner

Posted 3/12/2018

Hedges have been an important part of Hamptons landscapes for as long as I can remember, and I feel pretty certain that if you visited the East End a century ago, the village areas of Westhampton, Southampton and East Hampton would look very familiar, not just for the architecture and seascape but for the hedges as well. The vast majority of these hedges, probably hundreds of miles and thousands of linear feet of them, are the ubiquitous privet hedges. The hedges are primarily used as privacy screens and windbreaks, and while some property owners let them grow somewhat wild, most have them sheared and shaped two to four times a year to keep them symmetrical and dense.

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Hedges in an Instant

InstantHedge Featured in Digger Magazine

Posted 2/23/2018

Brent Markus, owner of Rare Tree Nursery in Silverton, Oregon, has introduced a new line of conveniently packaged, pre-formed hedges under the brand name InstantHedge. The new line has been in the works since 2014, after Markus was inspired by a visit to QuickHedge farm in the Netherlands. Markus then planted rows of evergreens and deciduous trees on more than 80 acres of land in Canby, Oregon. The resulting hedges are now ready for sale and shipment this spring.

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InstantHedge introduces ready-to-plant hedges

INSTANTHEDGE FEATURED IN THE GROWER TALKS NEWSLETTER

Posted 2/23/2018

If you attended MANTS, and during the horticultural overload period managed to stop and look at the Rare Tree Nursery booth, you may have seen the display of InstantHedges. Before I go further, let me thank the marketing folks of InstantHedges for keeping the "T" in Instant!

But back to the topic—it’s pretty ingenious, especially considering its simplicity. The concept revolves around providing what consumers want. You ask, "What is that?" Instant gratification, of course. That’s why they hire a landscape contractor in the first place!

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Grower Talks Newsletter

INSTANTHEDGE FEATURED IN THE FLORAL DAILY NEWSLETTER

Posted 2/22/2018

“Nursery offers finished hedges in a day”

Designers, landscapers, and contractors now have an instant option for privacy, screening, and aesthetics with InstantHedge.

Marrying custom, patented technology with decades of horticultural experience, we have created beautiful, high-quality hedges for any landscape. Rather than waiting years for a traditional planting to grow together to form a screen, our InstantHedge provides immediate gratification as a ready-made solution for privacy and design," says owner Brent Markus.

Example of having an Instant Hedge installed in a landscape

Each InstantHedge is an evergreen or deciduous hedge sold in panels of four trees that have been pruned multiple times each year using GPS tracking equipment to provide extraordinary density. Revolutionary technology ensures precision, accuracy and delivery of a consistent product. The hedges look like they’ve been growing in place for years, not just dropped in the ground.

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Floral Daily Newsletter

INSTANTHEDGE FEATURED IN THE GREEN PROFIT NEWSLETTER

Posted 2/22/2018

“Hedges In a Day!”

When I saw a press release come into my inbox this week with the subject heading “Finished Hedges in a Day!,” I was skeptical. I’ve seen those “hedges” that are actually stiff plastic look-alikes—that’s got to be what the release was referring to. Right?

Wrong! InstantHedges are the real chlorophyll-filled deal. According to the release, these hedges look like they’ve been growing in place for years. In fact, they have been growing in place for about four years, at the 80-plus acre Oregon nursery owned by InstantHedge creator Brent Markus. Using patented technology and GPS tracking equipment, the nursery’s rows of trees are meticulously trimmed to create a dense and consistent hedge. That hedgerow is then dug up in 40-inch sections, shipped in a sturdy cardboard box and are ready to plant. “We don’t ship plants,” says Brent. “We ship plantscapes.”

Brent got the idea for InstantHedge while on a trip to Holland in 2012. In 2014 he planted more than 400,000 plants. Now with some of them topping 6 ft., it’s time to dig and ship. Brent has 13 different evergreen and deciduous varieties to choose from in zones ranging from 2-9, heights from 3-6 ft. and from full to partial sunlight. In the fall they plan to start selling 18-inch lengths of boxwood hedging.

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Green Profit Newsletter

InstantHedge Featured in Lawn & Landscape

Posted 2/21/2018

InstantHedge offers 13 varieties of ready-to-plant hedges, covering hardiness zones 2-9, heights of 3-6 feet, and full to partial sunlight requirements. Hedges currently ship in biodegradable cardboard boxes with a plastic fabric pot version under development. In addition to the large hedges, they are also releasing an 18" boxwood hedge in fall 2018. Each InstantHedge is an evergreen or deciduous hedge sold in panels of four trees that have been pruned multiple times each year

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InstantHedge Product Page

INSTANTHEDGE FEATURED ON LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT.NET

Posted 2/21/2018

InstantHedge, a nursery based in Canby, Ore., will release its live, ready-to-plant hedges in spring 2018. “Rather than waiting years for a traditional planting to grow together to form a screen, our InstantHedge provides immediate gratification as a ready-made solution for privacy and design,” said Brent Markus, founder of InstantHedge.

Each panel—consisting of four trees—is 40 inches and is available in heights of 3 to 4 feet or 5 to 6 feet and a thickness of 16 inches.

The hedges are delivered in plantable, biodegradable cardboard containers. There are three units per pallet and 90 units per truckload.

The trees have been cultivated for more than five years by experienced hands and precision-agricultural technologies, said the company.

Local satellite, high-frequency GPS guides InstantHedge’s patented equipment for planting, watering, root pruning, delicate sculpting and harvesting, ensuring uniformity and consistent quality.

InstantHedge currently offers thirteen varieties of evergreen and deciduous trees in heights ranging from four to six feet. The hedge units can be planted in any configuration and can conform to any landscape design.

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Landscape Management Article
As Seen on This Old House!

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InstantHedge spotted with celebs at the 2019 James Beard Foundation Awards