Low maintenance low "hedge" to put round edge of open garden

[WaxOnFeckOff]

Looking for ideas to form an edge to our open plan garden, it's two sides, one borders the pavement, the other our neighbours shared driveway. We don't want anything too high (about knee high would be fine) or that needs a lot of work as we aren't gardeners :) The soil is clay and garden faces east and will get sun up until late afternoon. It's fairly exposed and we'd want it to stop people using the garden as a shortcut. So, not for security, just as a deterrent, therefore, wouldn't be overly upset if it had thorns...

Following!

We don't use the front garden at all so at the moment it's just grass with a cherry tree in it. Though DH is saying the cherry tree will likely need taken out at some point as he's been pruning it but probably started too late so it's looking a bit gappy at the bottom. There is a very high bush that is at the very edge but the rest is fair game. Our cat likes sitting under the big bush.

Sea buckthorn grows quite high, I thought?

How about cotoneaster? Evergreen, tough, white flowers the bees love, red berries the birds love, indestructible and just needs a good snipping whenever you think it needs it.

Hardy fuchsia?

Rosemary?

Was trying to attach a drawing but the mobile app doesn't seem to be playing ball :(

I'll give those suggestions a google, thanks :)

Rosemary?

Escallonia pink Elle will grow to about a metre or so tall, and will form a nudge. Flowers in May/June with lovely pink flowers and is evergreen.

Berberis - attractive foliage & flowers, and nice and prickly

Ilex crenata - looks like box but doesn't get box blight.

Euonymus - variegated and bushy, easy to trim.

Shrubby honeysuckle (lonicera nitida) - tough as old boots and will grow from cuttings as soon as look at you.

Hebe! Evergreen and many varieties and colours of flowers

Ooh you could have Christmas Box (sarcococca confusa) and or daphne for lovely scent in winter.

Sea Buckthorn, you say Bunting?

is it easy to grow? Do birds eat the berries?

I'd love to try it.

Thanks all some lovely suggestions, while googling i ended up down a rabbit hole - as you do - and saw somewhere that did mixed packages of shrubs as hedging and I quite like that idea, so maybe have a look as some of your suggestions and mix it up a bit. I don't want to spend a fortune and its possibly about 8 meters at a guess so maybe some cheaper things with some nice foliage or flowery options mixed in? I'm not big on the smell of lavender which seems to be what a few local people have done but they look keener gardeners than me so they've possibly treated the soil.

That sounds like a great idea.

Make sure you pay heed to the ultimate size information when you arrange them. Otherwise you will overcrowd!

Plant a berry producing hedge if you can so birds have autumn and winter food. Double stagger the plantings to create hedge depth. Consider if you want evergreen like holly.

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yes, berries for the birds definitely. We have the bit under the end of the roof tiles full of house sparrows, The mixes I saw had a choice of bees and butterflies or birds, I'll look to see what plants they had in them and do a mixture I think. Thank you for all your hints and tips. Once I get my house sorted out then I think I could start to think more about spending time in the garden, for now, low maintenance it has to be but it doesn't have to be boring right?

Am I too late for this year do you think? Time it for spring (if we get one) I'm in Scotland so despite the fact we've had a couple of mild days, it has already been getting cold.

Here's a load of planting advice

www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=237

Definitely hebe. Dozens to choose from, different heights, different colours, whites, pinks, purples, tough as old boots. Survive neglect. Survive being cut back hard. And grows easily from cuttings.

Patio roses would be very pretty. Called patio as they are meant for patio tubs, I think, as they are small compared to ordinary roses.I'm not sure if they have thorns or not. Probably not. But I planted some in DDs clay soil garden and they did well. Lovelyrepeat flowers .
Might need a bit of clipping if they sprawl onto the pavement but I doubt people would walk on them. Check the final size to decide spacing.

Can people recommend anything edible that could be used as or instead of a hedge? Thinking about post-Brexit, when we are short of fruit and veg.

Don't recommend eating anything from front garden where cars pass. Particulates.

We are on a cul de sac without much traffic. I'm thinking about planting a small quince tree hedge. Just looked it up Edible, but probably not too tempting to passers by.