Boxwood has become fundamental to formal garden design, but it also comes with many issues. Both box blight and the box tree caterpillar can completely strip its bark, leaving a weak, skeletal hedge that suddenly makes a pristine border look unloved. But, there is an alternative shrub that provides the same neat greenery with far less fuss: inkberry holly.
It's not just a boxwood alternative that provides the rich evergreen color and architectural shape, inkberry holly is native to North America, is pest and disease-resistant, and can be easily pruned for topiary and boundaries. Experts even note it's the shrub replacing boxwood in formal gardens because it thrives in poorer soils than box, making it much more versatile to work with.
