What Can I Plant Instead of a Box Hedge? The Best Box Hedge Alternatives in Australia
This one is particularly good for Plant Hub because we have Aussie Box™, Grey Box™ Westringia, Goldie Box™ Westringia, Mundi™ and Japanese Box in the range, and it catches people who already know exactly what they want their garden to look like — they just need the right plant to achieve it.
What Can I Plant Instead of a Box Hedge? The Best Box Hedge Alternatives in Australia
There was a time when the answer to almost every small hedge question was:
Box.
Need something around the roses?
Box.
Little hedge beside the path?
Box.
Formal garden?
Box.
Want to surround a completely unrelated object with a tiny green rectangle for reasons nobody can quite explain?
BOX. 😂
And look — there's a reason.
Traditional box hedging can be beautiful.
It's dense, small-leaved, clips beautifully and gives gardens that lovely sense of structure.
But it isn't automatically the best plant for every garden.
Maybe you want something tougher.
Maybe you'd prefer an Australian native.
Maybe you don't want to spend your weekends clipping tiny green walls.
Maybe your garden is hot, exposed or coastal.
Or maybe you simply want that neat, structured hedge look without using the same plant everybody has used for generations.
Good news.
We've got options.
But before we start replacing box hedges, we need to understand what we're actually trying to replace.
What Makes Box Such a Good Hedging Plant?
This is the bit people often skip.
If you want an alternative to a particular plant, don't simply look for something approximately the same height.
Ask:
What job was that plant doing?
Traditional box works well for low hedging because it has relatively small foliage, dense growth and responds well to clipping.
That combination allows it to create a very defined shape.
So if you love the look of box, what you're probably actually looking for is:
A relatively compact plant.
Dense foliage.
A defined edge.
Something that can be repeated.
Potentially something that tolerates clipping.
And preferably something that doesn't eventually become a four-metre shrub you've sentenced yourself to controlling forever.
Once we know that, the alternatives become much easier to compare.
1. Aussie Box™ Westringia — The Obvious Native Alternative
Let's start with the one whose name gives away the assignment.
Aussie Box™ Westringia.
If you love the structured look of traditional box but would prefer an Australian native option, this is exactly the sort of plant worth investigating.
Westringias are already brilliant landscape plants.
They're widely used because selected varieties can handle tough Australian conditions while providing dependable evergreen structure.
But here's where varieties matter.
Saying:
“I'll plant a Westringia.”
isn't enough.
Different Westringias can have completely different mature shapes and sizes.
Some spread.
Some form broader shrubs.
Some stay lower.
Some are much more suited to compact structured planting.
Aussie Box was selected for exactly the sort of neat, compact role we're talking about here.
That makes it useful for:
Low hedging.
Borders.
Formal repetition.
Pathways.
Structured native gardens.
And anywhere you want that little green punctuation mark without necessarily planting traditional box.
2. Grey Box™ Westringia — When You Want Structure Without Dark Green
This is where replacing box gets more interesting.
Because you don't necessarily have to replicate it exactly.
Grey Box™ Westringia gives you compact structure but with grey-green foliage.
And changing the foliage colour changes the whole garden.
Traditional dark green hedging can create a strong visual boundary.
Grey foliage tends to feel softer.
Put it beside grasses.
Deep green shrubs.
Purple foliage.
Stone.
Charcoal paving.
Suddenly the hedge itself becomes part of the colour palette rather than simply the border around it.
That's something worth thinking about.
A hedge doesn't have to disappear.
It can contribute texture and colour too.
3. Goldie Box™ Westringia — Structure With a Bit More Life
If grey isn't your thing, go the other direction.
Goldie Box™ Westringia brings brighter golden-green foliage into the garden.
And this is why I love having several plants that can perform a similar structural job.
You're no longer choosing:
Hedge or no hedge.
You're choosing what you want that structure to contribute.
Deep green gives one effect.
Grey-green gives another.
Golden foliage changes it again.
Plant Goldie Box beside darker foliage and both suddenly become more noticeable.
Repeat it through a garden and you create little flashes of brightness even when nothing is flowering.
Which brings us to one of my favourite gardening rules:
If your garden only has colour when it's flowering, you're making the flowers work too hard.
Foliage matters.
Especially in a hedge, because there's rather a lot of it.
Do You Actually Need a Hedge?
Now I'm going to slightly ruin the premise of my own article. 😂
Because before replacing your box hedge with another hedge...
Ask whether you need a hedge at all.
Sometimes we inherit a design idea without questioning it.
Path = hedge.
Front garden = hedge.
Rose bed = hedge.
But perhaps what you're really trying to achieve is repetition and structure.
Those things don't necessarily require one continuous clipped line.
You could repeat compact rounded shrubs with small spaces between them.
Use a low spreading plant.
Alternate structural plants with grasses.
Create groups rather than a solid hedge.
You still get rhythm.
You still get order.
But the garden feels looser and potentially requires less clipping.
That's particularly useful in contemporary and native gardens where a perfectly formal hedge may feel slightly out of place.
4. Mundi™ Westringia — What If the Hedge Went Sideways?
This is where plant shape completely changes the conversation.
Mundi™ Westringia isn't simply another compact box-shaped shrub.
It has a much broader, lower-growing habit.
And that means it can perform some of the same visual work as a low hedge — defining spaces, repeating through a landscape and creating evergreen structure — without necessarily becoming a conventional clipped wall.
This can look fantastic along:
Paths.
Garden edges.
Larger borders.
Slopes.
Open landscape areas.
Instead of forcing every plant into a rectangle, you're letting its natural shape become part of the design.
And that's often where lower-maintenance landscaping starts.
Not with finding plants that tolerate constant pruning.
But with choosing plants whose natural mature shape is already close to what you want.
5. Low Horizon™ Westringia — Go Lower Again
Want structure but don't want much height?
Now we're talking Low Horizon™.
This is another example of why you shouldn't buy plants based solely on their genus.
A tall screening Westringia and a low spreading Westringia might share a name on the label...
but they have completely different jobs.
Low Horizon stays very low and spreads wider.
That makes it useful where a conventional little hedge might actually be too upright or formal.
You can use a low plant to define the edge of a garden without creating a visual wall.
And particularly in smaller gardens, that can help the space feel more open.
6. Japanese Box — Sometimes the Original Idea Is Still the Right One
We should probably say this.
There is nothing inherently wrong with box.
😂
If you've got suitable growing conditions, you're happy with the maintenance and you genuinely love that traditional clipped look, Japanese Box may still be exactly what you want.
The point isn't that everybody should stop planting box.
The point is:
You have options now.
And knowing those options means you can choose based on the garden you're actually creating rather than simply planting box because that's what a low hedge has always looked like.
Formal Garden vs Natural Garden: Your Hedge Should Know Which One It's In
Here's where things get interesting.
Imagine exactly the same house.
In Garden A, we plant a perfectly clipped low hedge.
In Garden B, we repeat compact rounded native shrubs.
In Garden C, we use low spreading Westringias with grasses weaving through them.
Same function.
Completely different feeling.
If you want formal:
Choose plants that respond well to clipping and create strong, defined lines.
If you want contemporary:
Consider repeating compact plants in simple groups and allowing their natural form to show.
If you want native:
Combine compact Westringias with Dianellas, Lomandras and native groundcovers rather than trying to recreate an English garden using Australian plants.
If you want low maintenance:
This is the important one.
Choose the finished size before choosing the plant.
If you want a 50cm hedge, don't plant something that desperately wants to become two metres tall and then declare war on it every month.
Start closer to the size you actually want.
Your future self will be enormously grateful.
How Far Apart Should I Plant a Hedge?
There isn't one universal hedge spacing.
And anybody giving you one number without knowing the plant variety probably needs to put the tape measure down.
😂
Spacing depends on:
- the mature width of the variety
- the size of plant you're starting with
- how quickly you want the hedge to close
- how dense you want the finished hedge
- growing conditions
- whether you're creating a clipped hedge or natural repeated planting
Plant closer and you'll generally achieve visual closure sooner, but you'll use more plants and potentially create greater competition.
Plant too far apart and you may spend years staring at individual green dumplings waiting for them to shake hands.
Use the mature dimensions of the actual variety you're planting.
Not “Westringia.”
Not “box.”
The actual variety.
That distinction matters.
How Do I Make a Hedge Look Expensive?
I'm going to save you some money here.
It isn't buying more plant varieties.
It's usually repetition and restraint.
A beautiful run of one plant can look far more considered than six different shrubs alternating down a path.
If you want more interest, add it behind the hedge.
Imagine:
Low Grey Box hedge.
Then repeated Lomandra behind.
Then a feature flowering shrub appearing occasionally.
You've now got layers.
Or:
Goldie Box repeated through the front.
Dark green foliage behind.
Purple flowering groundcover spilling between sections.
Again:
Structure.
Contrast.
Repetition.
The individual plants don't have to be extraordinary.
The combination does the work.
Should I Use Native Plants Instead of Box?
Not automatically.
“Native” doesn't mean suitable for every Australian garden any more than “European” means unsuitable.
Australia is enormous.
A plant that loves one part of the country may be completely inappropriate somewhere else.
Choose according to:
Climate.
Sunlight.
Soil.
Drainage.
Available space.
Desired height.
Maintenance expectations.
Then consider whether a native option meets those requirements.
Where it does, native alternatives such as selected Westringias can be fantastic because they allow you to create structured gardens while still using Australian plants.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best alternative to a box hedge in Australia?
There is no single best replacement because it depends on climate, desired hedge height, available width and style. Compact Westringia varieties such as Aussie Box™, Grey Box™ and Goldie Box™ may be worth considering where their growing requirements suit the site.
What Australian native can I use instead of box?
Selected compact Westringias can provide the dense evergreen structure people often want from box-style planting. Different varieties have different growth habits, so check mature dimensions before choosing.
Can Westringia be used as a low hedge?
Yes, selected Westringia varieties can be used for low hedging or structured planting. Variety selection is important because Westringias vary considerably in mature size and shape.
What is a low-maintenance alternative to box hedge?
Look for a plant whose natural mature dimensions are close to the height and width you want. This can reduce the amount of pruning required to maintain an artificial size. Compact Westringias and naturally low-growing landscape plants may be suitable depending on the site.
What can I use instead of a formal hedge?
You can create structure using repeated compact shrubs, low-growing plants, grasses or groundcovers rather than a continuous clipped hedge. Repetition can provide visual order without creating a formal wall.
How far apart should I plant Westringia for a hedge?
Spacing depends on the specific Westringia variety, its mature width and how quickly you want plants to meet. Always use the recommendations for the actual cultivar rather than applying one generic Westringia spacing.
Is Japanese Box still a good hedge?
Japanese Box can still be an excellent choice where growing conditions are suitable and a traditional clipped hedge is desired. Alternatives simply provide more options for different garden styles, conditions and maintenance preferences.
Before You Replace Box With Something Else...
Don't start with the plant.
Start with the job.
Do you want a clipped little wall?
A repeated row of rounded plants?
Something grey?
Something golden?
Australian natives?
Something that stays naturally low?
Or do you simply need structure and you've assumed that means you need a hedge?
Because sometimes the best alternative to a box hedge...
isn't another hedge at all.
And once you realise that, the garden gets considerably more interesting.