What hedge should I plant?

[Blankiefan]

We have a bed across the front of our house - probably about 10m long. I hate it - it's got roses and other random plants in it I don't like. I've just spent two hours ripping out the obvious weeds. I need something lower maintenance. (We're putting our effort into the back garden where we actually spend our time)

So - my plan is to take everything out of the bed and plant a hedge. I'd like something evergreen. What's the best plant? I want something to grow about a meter high - I'd like to buy something already quite mature so it doesn't take years to grow. Any tips?

If clay, then do make sure to give it as much organic matter as you can manage at the time of planting, and as awfulcurtains says, planting on a ridge to improve drainage is a good plan too.

Thanks, awful! Definitely not clay, very friable. But I could put some pebbly stones underneath to make sure drainage is good. is there a best time of year to go in?

Unless you're on clay, I wouldn't bother with stones. Plenty of compost and/or horse poo if you can.
I put mine in in early autumn but tbh I usually work on the premise that the best time to plant stuff is when I can find the time to do it.

That works for me!
Thanks.

Best planting season late October - February. If you know what you want to plant, you may be able to get bare root plants which would be less expensive (but only get them from a reliable source)