Off Topic Garden Boundary

[Moggs]

Any landscaping gardeners out there? Having pulled up a couple of fallen willow shrubby tree thingies (I know, what a waste of pollen!) the front garden is a little exposed.

Need a neat and pretty low hedge boundary that could establish early but be easy to maintain (no quick growing monster hedges). Needs to look good all year round. About 10 - 15 metres x 0.5 metre width to be trimmed to about 0.6 metres high.

I thank you....

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

What's a metre?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Some kind of box maybe? or privet we used to have a lovely hedge of some kind of cotoneaster in a house we had years ago. you probably could get a copper beech type hedge (some don't shed their leaves until spring) depends how 'animal proof' it has to be, have you thought of a vigorous lavender or Lavender rosemary mix?

 

[alanf]

All year interest and minimal maintenance - how about yew? There are enormous examples at some NT properties but we have a self set bush that is trimmed only once a year to a roundish shape. As long as it's not going to be eaten by horses or other stock it's a practical dense hedge.

 

[enrico]

Yew or even good old privet. A nice slow growing variegated privet would be pretty.
E

 

[MuswellMetro]

I've just planted a hedge of american Lilac, hibicus and Mahonia, various subspecies of each plant with different growing heights, i will dig out any that grows to fast and replace it with a slow grower

 

[tonybloke]

how about a Hornbeam hedge? (it's what I planted in the front garden)
keeps it's leaves on new growth over-winter.

 

[Suzi Q]

Lonicera nitida? It is faster growing than yew, so will establish quicker, and you can close clip it into a nice shape. There's a varigated variety also. Or Hypericum if the site is sunny, lovely yellow flowers.

 

[Luminos]

Some kind of box maybe? or privet we used to have a lovely hedge of some kind of cotoneaster in a house we had years ago. you probably could get a copper beech type hedge (some don't shed their leaves until spring) depends how 'animal proof' it has to be, have you thought of a vigorous lavender or Lavender rosemary mix?

Lavender is good for bees, and evergreen, too

 

[Moggs]

Eek! Turn your back to do the Sunday dins and look what happens!

Thank you one and all! All sounds very nice. I'll look at the wibbly wobbly web at all of your suggestions.

Lavender sounds (and smells) nice.

What's a metre? New fangled thing. More importantly, what's afoot?

 

[pargyle]

I'd avoid Box ... there's a Box disease around that is killing box hedges all over the place. Yew is lovely but very slow growing - if you want a quick hedge then I'd go for Cotoneaster ... it grows quite quickly and will root from just about any cutting. There are a number of variagated varieties but the bog standard one will give you red berries in the autumn/winter which birds love.

Once it's established it can be clipped hard twice a year and that's about all the maintenance it will need. The more you trim it the thicker then hedge will become. Not fussy about soil quality either.

 

[Moggs]

All look very attractive. Certainly cotoneaster would be a keen contender. Thanks all. A trip to that well known garden centre with spidery connections may be in order ere long.

 

[Swarm]

Pyracantha is another option.

 

[madasafish]

Beech is nice and keeps leaves in winter if pruned once a year. Our 1 meter high beech hedge is 15 meters long and 0.75 meters wide and 44 years old...

Copper beech is quite distinctive...

 

[rayz_x]

Hornbeam (carpinus betulus) is very similar to beech but more disease resistant. We mixed it with field maple (acer campestre - good for heavy soil) and guelder rose (viburnum opulus - red berries after flowering) with a few wild rose (rosa canina) also put in a few hazel. All designed to be a native hedge that won't take over the whole street like leylandii.
Ray

 

[victor meldrew]

My apiary is hornbeam on three sides . I'm closing the fourth with something quick growing but can't make up my mind .trenches are dug . Just got to make the decision
VM

 

[BeeJayBee]

Need a neat and pretty low hedge boundary that could establish early but be easy to maintain (no quick growing monster hedges). Needs to look good all year round. About 10 - 15 metres x 0.5 metre width to be trimmed to about 0.6 metres high.

I'd be tempted to plant something like Yew as a main hedge, and plant herbaceous perennials in front of it for seasonal colour.

The give a definition to the boundary whilst the Yew is growing you could plant Lavender, which isn't particularly long lived, but with care should keep going for up to 5 or even 10 years.

The Yew could be clipped to whatever shape, design or pattern you want. It flowers too, which is a bonus.

 

[oliver90owner]

trenches are dug . Just got to make the decision

Daisies If deep enough - and the right people fall in?

 

[VEG]

Laurel makes a great hedge.

 

[theboynelson]

Laurel makes a great hedge.

If you mean Cherry Laurel it can get quite messy, if you want a decent example of it the cultivar 'Otto Luyken' is the one. Box is painfully slow. How about a native mix, especially hawthorn, good for all sorts of wildlife. Beech and hornbeam are excellent too.