Forget the formal gardens of Italy or the ornate boxwood parterres of Versailles, says Roger Mann, when the ancient Romans came up with the idea of edging gravel paths with dwarf box hedges, their aim was strictly practical. A nyone who has ever triedto clean gravel after loose soil, mulch or manure has spilled onto it from an adjacent planting bed will appreciate both the problem and the aptness of the solution. Tough, long-lived and dense with twiggy growth, box (Buxus sempervirens) makes a perfect barrier and filter for this situation, neatly controlling the tendency of both bed and gravel to spread into each other. Should you plan your garden around crisscrossed gravel paths, you could have the perfect European formal layout with box-rimmed planting beds and all.
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