Advice needed on hedging

Kashkai

Now that my garden is finally finished, there are two areas that are completely open -
- one that gives us an uninterupted view of my neighbours cowshed (not nice) and
- the other lets people walking through the forest at the back of my garden a full view of the garden/house (this appears to be becoming a popular spot for people to stop and look/point at my house and garden and is ruining my nude sunbathing moments

Anyways, what would the recommendations be for hedging to place in these areas that would ensure privacy and in the case of the forest, would assist in some level of security (I'm thinking thorny bushes here).

The cowshed side is in semi shade/sun depending on time of day while the forest side gets full sun all day. There is also a mound of earth here about 4 feet tall that I had placed to close off the open access from the forest into my back garden so would it be a good idea to plant on top of this mound (I'm thinking water will flow downwards and thus the roots of any hedging might not be able to get enough moisture.

A local wholesale nursery is doing a special on trees/hedging at the moment with very good pricing (compared to the garden centre prices) so I'd like to get cracking on this as soon as possible. They recommended whitethorn or blackthorn while I was think laurel hedging.

Thanks in advance.

Gordon Gekko

Prosperous Dave wrote: »

They recommended whitethorn or blackthorn while I was think laurel hedging.

I'd go with their recommendation, particularly where you're concerned about security. Whitethorn/blackthorn are also native so good for wildlife, and will be far cheaper to buy in bulk than laurel. Only downside is they're not evergreen - although that may not be such a problem at the forest side as you probably wouldn't get as many walkers during the winter.

Otherwise, how about any of the following: holly, berberis, pyracantha or rugosa roses? All of these have thorns/spikes so would be great for security and they all make great hedges. They all also produce berries (hips in the case of the roses) which are loved by birds. The pyracantha and rugosa roses would do particularly well in the full-sun aspect. Maybe try hornbeam or beech? They retain most of their leaves during winter and make excellent hedges.

Planting a hedge on the mound wouldn't pose a problem, and in fact would help as it would mean the roots wouldn't be sitting in water the whole time.

Ellechim

Hi Dave,

I just wanted to vouch for Laurel - we have it in our suburban garden both front and back and most of it has been there for 47 years (when the house was built) however there was a large gap (about 5ft wide) which apparently never grew. LAst year we dug out the area and got some new laural plants, they were I think about €15 ea for the taller ones (4 or 5 ft tall). We planted them and did pay them a little attention but really not much and they have already grown to the height of the rest of the hedge (about 8ft) and have filled out and already you wouldn't know they weren't as mature as the rest. There is fairly intensive hedge shearing twice a year which is a bit of work.

However I think we should also be doing some other maintenance in terms of weeding at ground level and fertiliser, am not sure, so whatever you do get do check that out. Also, we have a neighbour on one side who has tons of ivy in his garden, it has grown through the hedge and is choking it - we are at a loss as to how to get it all out as the hedge is about four feet wide and are at risk of losing it - so watch out for that.

I must say it is a great background to our garden and we have had all sorts of bird nests in it so I do recommend it............

Best of luck! (weren't you the one with the problematic landscaper? Has it all worked out?)

Kashkai

Yes, I had the problematic landscaper and it did work out in the end. Amazing what holding back money will do to make a contractor carry out the agreed works. It took him 8 weeks to complete the job in the end which was a bit longer than the planned 2 - 3 weeks.

We too have laurel on one side of our site and it does give a dense hedge. However, like you, there was a gap of about 10 feet where the laurels kept on dying for some unknown reason (they were in full sunlight).