Hedge Help

[hawleybits]

I have a long piece of garden that I'd like to screen off with a hedge, rather than a wooden fence. I'm guessing it's 50 feet or so.

So what I'd like advice on is, something that can grow fairly tall (6ft) but isn't going to be too wide. Not conifers or anything that's likely to become a pain. Just a nice tall, slim screen, that needs minimal attention.

I realise I might be asking the impossible.

Something like this might do - Lonicera Nitida

There are different variations of it, but it is a member of the honeysuckle family (which I didn't know before!). Small plants are relatively inexpensive, and a big bonus of it is that when it grows enough to cut it over, the cuttings can be stuck in the ground, and with luck, will grow into a new plant.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonicera_nitida

www.hedgesdirect.co.uk/acatalog/lonicera_nitida_.html

Study the 'Hedges Direct' article carefully, as it details sizes and prices.

If you are confused, come back and I'll try to clarify; but the information is there, if you read it carefully.

How wide do you want it ?

Go and measure some hedges that look " slim " to you . Add on enough space each side to cut it

If you want it to be bushy , you usually plant a double row of hedging plants

I'm not sure if lonicera nitida grows to 6ft

Some hedging plants are fussy about soil conditions , aspect etc

Have a look at hornbeam. It keeps its leaves in the winter, so you still get privacy - then you get a flush of the most lovely green in the spring. It is highly trainable, so you can do all sorts of things with it - arches, pleaching, standards...

I am going to replace my horrible privet hedge in the front garden with this next autumn.

I love purple beech, it's a good background for richly coloured flowers. Lovely russet leaves hang on in the winter too - gorgeous in low winter sun. Like hornbeam it can be trained/pruned to your will.