What Is a Hedge Maze?

Long Mazes

• Aficionados of the Harry Potter movies are familiar with the long, dark frightening tall hedge labyrinth which leads to the untimely demise of one of the lead characters. In the real world, long mazes like that at Longleat Park -- despite having a sign that says children lost in the maze will be sold into slavery -- are usually traversed in under an hour, creating a pleasant outdoor pastime for visitors. The world's longest permanent hedge maze is located at the Dole Plantation in Wahiama, Hawaii, according to the Guinness Book of World's Records. The Dole Pineapple Maze covers over 3 acres, with a path approximately 2.5 miles long.

Low Mazes

• Hedge mazes need not tower overhead to create a fun pathway for outdoor enjoyment. Children's mazes, such as those at the South Dakota State University McCrory Gardens, often consist of hedges cut low enough for children to see over them, thus enjoying the puzzle of finding their way through the maze without getting frightened of getting lost. The McCrory Gardens hedges, planted in a shrub variety called Nugget Ninebark with golden-bronze leaves, do reach 6 feet tall in the center of the maze, but are trimmed to 3 feet tall along most of the labyrinth paths. Low-growing mazes recall the herb garden mazes of the Middle Ages and Renaissance eras, when hedges of lavender or hyssop were cut a few feet high so that their patterns and scents could be enjoyed by those walking through them, the South Dakota State University reports.

Historical Hedge Mazes

• Mazes mown into tall grass, as well as walking patterns installed in stone on church floors or lawns, are traditions dating back to at least the fourth century, according to Lee Krystek at the Museum of Unnatural Mystery. True hedge or topiary mazes consisting of tall dense shrub plantings are first mentioned in 13th-century Belgium, and appear on estates throughout Europe in the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries. Estate hedge mazes often included a tower or nearby hillside seat from which visitors could observe the pattern of the whole maze, which could not be seen while walking through it. A popular modern version of the hedge maze is a corn maze, in which farmers, primarily in the American Northeast, cut a maze through their standing feed-corn fields in the late autumn, just before harvest.

Hedge Maze Design

• Mazes may take any outside shape, but are classified as either unicursal or multicursal, meaning one path or many paths, according to Lee Krystek at the Museum of Unnatural Mystery. A unicursal hedge maze is more a pleasant walking path, with no means of getting lost as you traverse from one end of the path to another, while a multicursal hedge maze may have dead ends and blind alleys as well as multiple routes from one point to another. Planting options include privet or yew, which are slow-growing, advises the University of Vermont Extension, while fast-growing shrubs like honeysuckle are useful but require much pruning. For a hedge effect in a narrower space, grow dense vines on fence wire, the University of Vermont suggests. Draw your design out on paper first, then scale it up for planting. Consider making a special space in the center of the maze, with a fountain, sculpture or place for visitors to rest.