Think I've chosen the wrong hedge. What should I do?!

[SunnyUpNorth]

Have been looking for a hedge for a while for our front garden to go between the pathway and the drive.

I was set on laurel and then changed my mind as on another thread I had started, a poster said laurel wouldn't go with lavender, which I want along the driveway facing part of the flowerbeds.

So I had in my mind a hedge I quite liked, I spoke to hedges direct and they suggested it was lonicera nitida. So I went with that, it arrived and I have planted it but now I just don't think I like it and keep wishing it was laurel.

I only planted it yesterday and most of the labour was digging the trench, weeding and preparing the soil. So it wouldn't be too big a deal labour wise to replace it. But I am just not sure what to do as it seems a total waste of money and shrubs to replace the lonicera.

Any advice?

RHS website says evergreen, drought resistant and easy care. Who could want more?! I don't get laurel not going with lavender - in what way?

Anyway, I'm sure this'll look nice and be a bit different. It's actually given me some inspiration for hedging at the top edge of our terraced garden which is long and needs breaking up a bit.

I would leave it a few days and see what you think then, unless the supplier will take back the plants and swap them for you?

Laurel is toxic to everything else ime and doesn't nicely coexist with other species; we ripped out laurel & planted deciduous more traditional hedging species like rose hips-hazel-hawthorn etc.

I find lonicera nitida ugly, too, but probably less ugly than laurel.

Thanks for your replies.

Fudge - I think the thinking was that laurel is a reasonably contemporary look whereas lavender is more traditional? I'm not sure!

I can't get much to grow near next door's laurel (plus imho it's not very attractive) so I think you were wise to avoid.

I just googled the lonicera and a mature hedge of it looks fairly nice? What is it you don't like? Any chance hedges direct will let you swap it for something else? If you only planted it yesterday chances are you would be able to get the plants out and back into the pots.

For future ref it's prob a good idea to line the pots up and keep looking at them in situ before committing to putting them in the ground

I'm desperate to get rid of the laurel in my front garden - it's horribly toxic.
I had a small lonicera in my old garden, not nitida, I think. It grew through other shrubs.
Can you get some slonicera fragrantissima or something similar to grow in/over the lonicera you have?

I'm currently taking out five leylandii and will be putting in some hazel, hawthorn, birch, beech and rowan.

Thanks both. I had already planted it, but I just wasnt sure about it. It has had a few days of rain now and is looking quite green and much better. I will probably just stick with it and hope for the best!

Laurel is great for privacy but grows really huge unless you are prepared to prune twice a year. I got 2 laurels last year and they are already 10-12 ft (great for me as they are for privacy!).

Think you've made a good choice - the lonicera will work much better with lavender.