Box plants clipped to form evergreen hedges or other geometric shapes are the essential part of many formal garden designs. Box parterres and knot gardens are at the heart of many classical gardens and modern formal gardens.

Dwarf box (buxus sempervirens 'Suffruticosa') is the classic plant for box parterres, especially where the ultimate evergreen hedge height is low. Common box (buxus sempervirens) is also often used in box parterres and box knot gardens, particularly where the plants are slightly taller.

The framework of evergreen hedging can either be surrounded by gravel, or a similar inert ground covering, or be interplanted with flowers, vegetables or herbs.

Evergreen box topiary plants can also be combined with the evergreen box hedging, to provide more varied architectural evergreen forms.

Evergreen box hedging provides structure and definition for a vegetable garden or potager, or for a herb garden. The box can either be planted as edging around the vegetable beds, or can be used to subdivide as well as border the beds.

Either common box (buxus sempervirens) or dwarf box (buxus sempervirens 'Suffruticosa') can be used as evergreen hedging for this purpose. Dwarf box is generally used for particularly low evergreen hedges, and common box for slightly taller hedging.

Common box (buxus sempervirens) is an excellent evergreen hedging plant for low and medium height formal evergreen hedges. Common box can also be used for taller hedges up to 2 or 3 metres tall, although it takes several years for the plants to attain these heights.

As well as the low evergreen hedges in box parterres and knot gardens, box hedges can also be used for or take the form of boundary hedges, mazes, cloud hedges or hedges bordering shrubberies, buildings or garden walls.

Box plants grow well in shade or sun, thrive in containers and can be clipped to form dense evergreen topiary, so box is widely used for evergreen topiary, especially geometric shapes such as balls, cones and cubes.

Most dark green evergreen box topiary is common box (buxus sempervirens), although nearly all box species and varieties make good topiary plants. Buxus sempervirens 'Elegantissima' (silver variegated leaves), buxus sempervirens 'Rotundifolia' (large leaves) and microphylla var. japonica 'Faulkner' (bright green leaves) are also quite often sold as topiary shapes. Also buxus sempervirens 'Suffruticosa' and other dwarf box plants, such Buxus 'Green Velvet' are suitable for forming compact smaller shapes, especially box balls.

Box topiary plants are often grown in groups of different forms, such as cones and balls, or the same shape in the same or different sizes. Also shapes such as cones or balls can be grown in lines, similar to hedges, or as focal points at the corners and/or within conventional clipped box hedges.

Since box thrives in sun or shade, grows well in containers, and forms compact evergreen shapes, it is very suitable for patio gardens.

Low box hedges and topiary can be grown in the ground, or in planters and/or troughs as required.

Box plants grow wild under deciduous trees and in full sun. So all the different varieties of box will grow in sun or shade in mixed plantings with trees, shrubs and flowers.

Box is particularly suitable as an underplanting in deciduous woodland.