Hedge vs. Fence — What's the Difference?
By Urooj Arif & Maham Liaqat — Updated on March 11, 2024
A hedge is a living boundary formed by closely planted shrubs or bushes, providing natural beauty and habitat for wildlife, while a fence is a man-made structure built to enclose or separate areas.
Difference Between Hedge and Fence
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
hedge comprises living plants, typically shrubs or bushes, grown closely together to form a dense barrier. It serves as a natural boundary that not only demarcates property lines but also adds aesthetic value to the landscape. On the other hand, a fence is a constructed barrier made from various materials such as wood, metal, or vinyl. Fences are designed to provide privacy, security, or to simply mark boundaries, and can be installed relatively quickly compared to the growth time of hedges.
The function of hedges extends beyond mere boundary marking; they can also play an ecological role by providing habitats for wildlife, such as birds and insects, and contributing to biodiversity. Hedges can act as windbreaks and help in reducing noise pollution. Whereas fences primarily serve functional purposes like security and privacy, they can be designed in various styles to enhance aesthetic appeal but do not offer the same environmental benefits as hedges.
Hedges require ongoing care and maintenance, including watering, fertilizing, and pruning, to ensure their health and desired appearance. This can be labor-intensive and time-consuming but rewarding for those who appreciate gardening and landscaping. Fences, depending on the material, may require less maintenance but can need repairs and treatment to protect against weathering, decay, or rust.
The choice between a hedge and a fence can also be influenced by the desired level of privacy and security. A dense, tall hedge can provide significant privacy and act as a deterrent to trespassers due to its natural thickness. A fence's privacy and security level can vary widely depending on its design, height, and material, with options ranging from decorative picket fences to robust security fences.
Culturally, hedges have been used for centuries in landscaping and agriculture, notably in Europe, where they have historical significance in rural areas for marking land boundaries and controlling livestock. Fences have a more universal application, used worldwide in various forms to meet practical and decorative needs in both urban and rural settings.
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Comparison Chart
Composition
Living plants (shrubs, bushes)
Man-made materials (wood, metal, vinyl)
Function
Boundary marking, aesthetics, habitat for wildlife
Privacy, security, boundary marking
Maintenance
Regular pruning, watering, fertilizing
Occasional repairs, painting, or treatment
Environmental Impact
Enhances biodiversity, acts as windbreak
Varies, can be minimal or negative depending on material
Installation Time
Growth time can take years
Can be installed relatively quickly
Compare with Definitions
Hedge
A dense row of shrubs or bushes planted closely together.
The hedge along the property line bloomed with beautiful flowers in spring.
Fence
An erected structure made from materials like wood or metal.
The wooden fence around the yard provided privacy.
Hedge
Enhances landscape beauty with natural growth.
The meticulously trimmed hedge added elegance to the garden.
Fence
Offers protection and delineates property boundaries.
The tall metal fence deterred trespassers effectively.
Hedge
Needs regular pruning to maintain shape and health.
Trimming the hedge every few months keeps it dense and neat.
Fence
Can be erected much faster than growing a hedge.
The new fence was installed in just a couple of days.
Hedge
Provides habitat for wildlife and contributes to biodiversity.
The hedge in our backyard is home to various bird species.
Fence
Available in multiple styles for different needs.
The picket fence added a charming touch to the cottage.
Hedge
Can reduce wind speed and noise pollution.
The tall hedge effectively blocked the noisy street winds.
Fence
Requires treatment or repairs depending on the material.
The vinyl fence was chosen for its low maintenance requirements.
Hedge
A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges used to separate a road from adjoining fields or one field from another, and of sufficient age to incorporate larger trees, are known as hedgerows.
Fence
A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length.Alternatives to fencing include a ditch (sometimes filled with water, forming a moat).
Hedge
A row of closely planted shrubs or low-growing trees forming a fence or boundary.
Fence
A structure serving as an enclosure, a barrier, or a boundary, usually made of posts or stakes joined together by boards, wire, or rails.
Hedge
A line of people or objects forming a barrier
A hedge of spectators along the sidewalk.
Fence
An adjustable guide with a flat edge used on a table saw and positioned parallel to the plane of the cutting attachment in order to keep the board properly positioned for the cut to be made at the correct distance from the board's edge.
Hedge
A means of protection or defense, especially against financial loss
A hedge against inflation.
Fence
One who receives and sells stolen goods.
Hedge
A securities transaction that reduces the risk on an existing investment position.
Fence
A place where stolen goods are received and sold.
Hedge
An intentionally noncommittal or ambiguous statement.
Fence
(Archaic) A means of defense; a protection.
Hedge
A word or phrase, such as possibly or I think, that mitigates or weakens the certainty of a statement.
Fence
To surround or enclose with a fence or other barrier.
Hedge
To enclose or bound with or as if with hedges.
Fence
To separate or keep out by means of a fence or other barrier
Fenced off one field from another.
Fenced out the deer from the garden.
Hedge
To hem in, hinder, or restrict with or as if with a hedge.
Fence
To sell (stolen goods) to a fence.
Hedge
To minimize or protect against the loss of by counterbalancing one transaction, such as a bet, against another.
Fence
To ward off; keep away.
Hedge
To plant or cultivate hedges.
Fence
To defend.
Hedge
To take compensatory measures so as to counterbalance possible loss.
Fence
To practice the art or sport of fencing.
Hedge
To avoid making a clear, direct response or statement.
Fence
To avoid giving direct answers; hedge.
Hedge
A thicket of bushes or other shrubbery, especially one planted as a fence between two portions of land, or to separate the parts of a garden.
He trims the hedge once a week.
Fence
To act as a conduit for stolen goods.
Hedge
A barrier (often consisting of a line of persons or objects) to protect someone or something from harm.
Fence
A thin artificial barrier that separates two pieces of land or forms a perimeter enclosing the lands of a house, building, etc.
Hedge
A mound of earth, stone- or turf-faced, often topped with bushes, used as a fence between any two portions of land.
Fence
(informal) Someone who hides or buys and sells stolen goods, a criminal middleman for transactions of stolen goods.
Hedge
(pragmatics) A non-committal or intentionally ambiguous statement.
Weasel word
Fence
(by extension) The place whence such a middleman operates.
Hedge
(finance) Contract or arrangement reducing one's exposure to risk (for example the risk of price movements or interest rate movements).
The asset class acts as a hedge.
A hedge is an investment position intended to offset potential losses/gains that may be incurred by a companion investment. In simple language, a hedge is used to reduce any substantial losses/gains suffered by an individual or an organization.
Fence
Skill in oral debate.
Hedge
Used attributively, with figurative indication of a person's upbringing, or professional activities, taking place by the side of the road; third-rate.
Fence
The art or practice of fencing.
Hedge
(transitive) To enclose with a hedge or hedges.
To hedge a field or garden
Fence
A guard or guide on machinery.
Hedge
(transitive) To obstruct or surround.
Fence
(figuratively) A barrier, for example an emotional barrier.
Hedge
To offset the risk associated with.
Fence
A memory barrier.
Hedge
(ambitransitive) To avoid verbal commitment.
He carefully hedged his statements with weasel words.
Fence
(transitive) To enclose, contain or separate by building fence.
Hedge
(intransitive) To construct or repair a hedge.
Fence
(transitive) To defend or guard.
Hedge
To reduce one's exposure to risk.
Fence
(transitive) To engage in the selling or buying of stolen goods.
Hedge
A thicket of bushes, usually thorn bushes; especially, such a thicket planted as a fence between any two portions of land; and also any sort of shrubbery, as evergreens, planted in a line or as a fence; particularly, such a thicket planted round a field to fence it, or in rows to separate the parts of a garden.
The roughest berry on the rudest hedge.
Through the verdant mazeOf sweetbrier hedges I pursue my walk.
Fence
To engage in the sport of fencing.
Hedge
To inclose or separate with a hedge; to fence with a thickly set line or thicket of shrubs or small trees; as, to hedge a field or garden.
Fence
To jump over a fence.
Hedge
To obstruct, as a road, with a barrier; to hinder from progress or success; - sometimes with up and out.
I will hedge up thy way with thorns.
Lollius Urbius . . . drew another wall . . . to hedge out incursions from the north.
Fence
(intransitive) To conceal the truth by giving equivocal answers; to hedge; to be evasive.
Hedge
To surround for defense; to guard; to protect; to hem (in).
Fence
That which fends off attack or danger; a defense; a protection; a cover; security; shield.
Let us be backed with God and with the seas,Which he hath given for fence impregnable.
A fence betwixt us and the victor's wrath.
Hedge
To surround so as to prevent escape.
That is a law to hedge in the cuckoo.
Fence
An inclosure about a field or other space, or about any object; especially, an inclosing structure of wood, iron, or other material, intended to prevent intrusion from without or straying from within.
Leaps o'er the fence with ease into the fold.
Hedge
To protect oneself against excessive loss in an activity by taking a countervailing action; as, to hedge an investment denominated in a foreign currency by buying or selling futures in that currency; to hedge a donation to one political party by also donating to the opposed political party.
Fence
A projection on the bolt, which passes through the tumbler gates in locking and unlocking.
Hedge
To shelter one's self from danger, risk, duty, responsibility, etc., as if by hiding in or behind a hedge; to skulk; to slink; to shirk obligations.
I myself sometimes, leaving the fear of God on the left hand and hiding mine honor in my necessity, am fain to shuffle, to hedge and to lurch.
Fence
Self-defense by the use of the sword; the art and practice of fencing and sword play; hence, skill in debate and repartee. See Fencing.
Enjoy your dear wit, and gay rhetoric,That hath so well been taught her dazzing fence.
Of dauntless courage and consummate skill in fence.
Hedge
To reduce the risk of a wager by making a bet against the side or chance one has bet on.
Fence
A receiver of stolen goods, or a place where they are received.
Hedge
To use reservations and qualifications in one's speech so as to avoid committing one's self to anything definite.
The Heroic Stanzas read much more like an elaborate attempt to hedge between the parties than . . . to gain favor from the Roundheads.
Fence
To fend off danger from; to give security to; to protect; to guard.
To fence my ear against thy sorceries.
Hedge
A fence formed by a row of closely planted shrubs or bushes
Fence
To inclose with a fence or other protection; to secure by an inclosure.
O thou wall! . . . dive in the earth,And fence not Athens.
A sheepcote fenced about with olive trees.
Hedge
Any technique designed to reduce or eliminate financial risk; for example, taking two positions that will offset each other if prices change
Fence
To make a defense; to guard one's self of anything, as against an attack; to give protection or security, as by a fence.
Vice is the more stubborn as well as the more dangerous evil, and therefore, in the first place, to be fenced against.
Hedge
An intentionally noncommittal or ambiguous statement;
When you say `maybe' you are just hedging
Fence
To practice the art of attack and defense with the sword or with the foil, esp. with the smallsword, using the point only.
He will fence with his own shadow.
Hedge
Avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues);
He dodged the issue
She skirted the problem
They tend to evade their responsibilities
He evaded the questions skillfully
Fence
Hence, to fight or dispute in the manner of fencers, that is, by thrusting, guarding, parrying, etc.
They fence and push, and, pushing, loudly roar;Their dewlaps and their sides are bat ed in gore.
As when a billow, blown against,Falls back, the voice with which I fencedA little ceased, but recommenced.
Hedge
Hinder or restrict with or as if with a hedge;
The animals were hedged in
Fence
A barrier that serves to enclose an area
Hedge
Enclose or bound in with or as it with a hedge or hedges;
Hedge the property
Fence
A dealer in stolen property
Hedge
Minimize loss or risk;
Diversify your financial portfolio to hedge price risks
Hedge your bets
Fence
Enclose with a fence;
We fenced in our yard
Fence
Receive stolen goods
Fence
Fight with fencing swords
Fence
Surround with a wall in order to fortify
Fence
Have an argument about something
Common Curiosities
How long does it take for a hedge to establish?
The time for a hedge to fully establish can vary widely, from a few years to several, depending on the plant species and growing conditions.
Can hedges provide security?
Yes, a dense and tall hedge can offer a significant level of privacy and security, acting as a natural barrier to intruders.
Can a fence offer ecological benefits like a hedge?
Generally, fences do not offer the same ecological benefits as hedges, which can provide habitats for wildlife and contribute to biodiversity.
Are there any low-maintenance fence options?
Yes, materials like vinyl and certain treated woods offer low-maintenance fencing options that resist weathering and decay.
Can a fence be installed by a homeowner, or does it require professionals?
Many fence types can be installed by homeowners, especially those designed for DIY installation, but professional installation may be recommended for more complex or durable designs.
How do hedges affect local wildlife compared to fences?
Hedges can provide food, shelter, and breeding grounds for wildlife, positively impacting local ecosystems, unlike most fences.
What is the main purpose of a hedge?
A hedge serves as a living boundary that can provide privacy, reduce noise, and support wildlife.
Do all hedges need to be trimmed regularly?
Most hedges require regular trimming to maintain their shape and density, but the frequency can vary based on the plant type and desired appearance.
Are hedges more expensive than fences?
Initial costs can be similar, but hedges may incur higher long-term maintenance costs, whereas fences might need less frequent but potentially higher-cost repairs.
What is the best type of hedge for privacy?
Densely growing, evergreen shrubs like laurel or privet are popular choices for privacy hedges.
Can fences be environmentally friendly?
Yes, fences made from sustainable materials or recycled plastics can be more environmentally friendly.
What is the most durable type of fence?
Metal fences, such as those made from aluminum or wrought iron, are typically very durable and resistant to many environmental factors.
Are there legal restrictions on hedge or fence heights?
Yes, many areas have regulations on the maximum height for hedges and fences, so it's important to check local ordinances.
How can I choose between a hedge and a fence for my property?
Consider factors like maintenance, privacy needs, aesthetic preference, and ecological impact to decide which is more suitable for your situation.
Can I combine a hedge and a fence for more benefits?
Yes, combining a hedge with a fence can offer the benefits of both, enhancing privacy, security, and aesthetic appeal.
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Written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
Co-written by
Maham Liaqat
