Our new house has several layers of fence erected by our elderly neighbour over the years. There is very old paling, another wooden (almost rotted layer) and last but the most attractive a metal farm type -fairly open fence. We dont want to offend him but it really spoils our plot. His late wife did not like hedges so they planted a varierty of trees and shrubs almost on the boundary which now over hang our garden . He doenst mind us cutting them back but would really like to put some sort of hedge, possibly informal the length of the boundary. There is beech in another part of the garden. The soil is neutral to alkaline flinty stuff.

Suitable Hedge

Reply from Marissa Zoppellini

Hi, if there is already Beech, then you could plant more of that, a beech hedge is lovely and holds onto its coppery leaves in winter. If you wanted a wildlife-friendly informal hedge, you could plant a mix of natives such as Beech, Hazel, Blackthorn, Hawthorn, Field maple etc. Or for an informal evergreen, how about escallonia (so long as it is a sunny spot)? Happy planting!Marissa

Cherry laurel hedge

Reply from Cris

If you have some space to play with have a look at Cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus). It can give you fairly quick cover. Although the plant can grow 6 metres high by 10 m wide I have seen this prunned back into a pretty good looking, 5 foot tall hedge in many a posh garden. It is a good wildlife plant, it's evergreen - so no more triple layer fence to look at! and it produces flowers from April until June. This plant will grow in shade or sun- so you can't go wrong!

I attached a quick photo for the web of someone's hedge to show you.

rosa rugosa

Reply from john king

why dont you plant rosa rugosa, cheap and very fragrant and I'm sure your neighbour wont object to a lovely display of roses, plentiful supply of rosehips which makes superb wine also a very effective deterrent to unwanted visitors to your garden

Thank you

Reply from Pauline Cobbold

Thanks guys for the ideas. Interesting that I have hedges of Laurel, rosa rugosa and escallonia in previous gardens. As I have just had a major operation have had to postpone planting until the autumn but will go and explore your plants further. Thanks.

MNH

Reply from Susie H.

Hi Pauline,
You say 'informal', have you thought of Mixed Native Hedge? Bare root plants can be purchased as cheaply as 20p each. Keep the roots in water until planting. Count on as many as 1/2 your plants dying, so the following year, replenish the gaps. Sounds to me like that would go well with the 'variety of trees and shrubs' and the hodge podge of fencing. You could either trim regularly, or trim it openly once a year to encourage wildlife. Susie

My suggestion to hedge

Reply from Mark Pumphrey

A great deal depends upon the style of hedge line you wish to create and the amount of work you wish to invest clipping the hedge. Beech will make a very attractive hedge infering a more formal look compared to the rosa rugosa which is very loose in appearance and best suited for cottage styles where the lack of a defined edge/face to the hedge is less important. The laurel will form a great hedge providing an evergreen barrier but the clipping of such a hedge should not be be done by a hedge trimmer as you cut the leaves which looks unsightly. You may wish to consider Viburnum tinus - though this can get affected by Viburnum fly and lead to leaf damage also worth considering would be yew it really is not as slow as people think.