Ivy Screens....?

[BornStroppy]

I want to put up some screening, we're in a cul de sac and have no fence or anything, and need some privacy!

Anybody tried Ivy screening? Does it look really contrived or would it ever grow wild? and...can i use it as a support dor climbing plants? Dont really wnt visible fence posts.

Im kind of shocked at the price - would prefer somthing cheaper but needs to be instant and green, and screens ar my only option i think.

Are you meaning real ivy? Or manufactured screening? I'd be wary about introducing a large amount of ivy, it can become unmanageable very quickly. It roots underground and can come up in lawns and flowerbeds. As a support for other climbers, - it would soon overgrown and choke them.
How about growing shrubs such as escalonia or laurel. Both grow quite quickly.

Hi JT, its these www.hedgesdirect.co.uk/acatalog/Ivy_Screens.html

a non aggressive ivy apparently

Id really like an instant hedge, but they're so expensive
I have no privacy whatsoever, people park right outside my window all the time, its getting so annoying

Thanks for the link Born. It looks very interesting. There is slow growing ivy, so I suppose they use that. I'm biased as I have a permanent battle with the everyday common stuff.
You could buy a couple and leave a gap between where you put a large pot of bamboo, it grows fast.

hmmm, after realising it would be c. £200/metre, I decided to go and get the bigest laurel plants i can find - so my 10 metre hedge will now cost me about £500 instead - relief all round.

And yes, i had a terrible battle with ivy in my last house, I even came from from my honeymoon to find it pushing its way through my window frame!

Is this for the front of your house? Can you describe your front garden a bit more?

I'd be cautious about shoving up a really high hedge in a front garden, especially if the street vernacular is open spaces. It can look really odd and feel a bit anti-social. Sometimes a well-placed shrub or two can achieve the same kind of effect without the severity.

My front garden is 37 metres long.....and five metres deep! It's awful, have absolutely no privacy whatsoever as we are also raised up a slope. There are only three houses in our cul de sac but any visitor always parks outside my lounge window and always on the pavement as the road is narrow.

I'm only hedging up to my front path I think, so about ten metres, just want an enclosed area so I can enjoy my front garden a bit, at the moment im never in it.

We are opposite somebody's side fence and there's hedges etc all around.

Im going to get the laurel put in and thin it from our side. i also think a hedge would offer the garden some depth, when ive been driving about, there are many many houses with a shallow front garden, and a hedge makes it seem less so. obscures the shallowness.

I'm looking at laurel hedging too at the moment. Do you mind my asking how big are the ones you found (and cost?)

Yes! They're big (2m) and £50 each from Evergreeen hedging.

evergreenhedging.com/hedging-store/laurel-hedging-2/laurel-hedging-plants-6ft-7ft-tall.html/

they're also very helpful, i called them and they were amazing.