Front garden hedge help!

[RestorationInsanity]

I can't find many pictures of what I'm thinking, or similar threads, so am hoping someone will have some helpful ideas!

We have a dilapidated wall in our front garden (some parts have already collapsed so we've had to temporarily remove our gate) other parts are stable but with large cracks, and the wall is made of 70s hollow concrete blocks made to look like stone. Yes, it's as beautiful as it sounds.

I am a bit obsessed with hedges, we've planted about 40 m of mixed native hedge in the back garden and have plans for adding some copper beech hedging elsewhere this autumn/winter.

I had a brain wave, instead of replacing the wall with another wall, we could plant a hedge. We won't be able to get the wall replaced until early next year, and as the whole front garden needs looking at (paths relaid, drive done as it's currently mud with two lines of bricks for tyre paths) we'd ideally like to have it done all as one big job, so are looking at spring-summer next year at the absolute earliest.

What I was thinking is we could buy hedging plants this year, plant them behind the old wall, and then when they've established a bit, take the old wall down completely. As it's planting, rather than hardscaping, it would also be much easier to work with when we come to do the paths etc.

Is this a mad idea? Current thoughts for options are a holly hedge, or cotoneaster lacteus, Portuguese laurel, or golden privet.

Help!

If you are going to do this, make sure you dig a decent sized trench and fill it with good soil/compost as the soil near wall foundations will be very poor.

It's worth considering bare root hedging at this time of year. Sometimes slips grow more quickly in the end than pot plants - though this is generally more true for deciduous hedges.

The plants you mention are quite slowgrowing, especially the holly. The privet would probably be the quickest and densest.

If I was planting an evergreen hedge I would plant escallonia, and let it flower each year, just cutting back hard in September.

@OrangeGeckoWithBlackSpots thanks for your reply. Growth rate is definitely a consideration however I think I could live with the wall far longer to allow the hedge to establish (assuming it doesn't fall over of it's own accord). The wall is really only one block/brick deep, so was planning to plant about 30/40 cm away fronm it so that as the hedge thickens, the front really only begins to touch the boundary, as it fronts a pavement. Definitely see your point about adding a lot of compost etc. Perhaps even digging the trench, digging in plenty of organic matter and then leaving it to 'sink' before topping up and then planting.

I will look at escallonia. I definitely want something with more interest if possible, but it needs to be something that can be kept reasonably tidy as the front of the house looks (or would look if tidy!) quite formal.

I may be mad and should just go with a new wall, perhaps lower, and some iron railings etc and then plant hedge behind it. Our existing gates etc are all the original iron. Was just hoping to think of a solution that meant we could get cracking sooner!

We have Portuguese laurel, it grows fast and looks lovely op. I’d recommend.

I would plant the hedge in the next few weeks and see how it takes. It should be fine. I like the idea of your mixed hedge - I had one, grown from a random mix of native plants and I loved it, but it got about 20 feet thick and I hated cutting it because of the wildlife.

Holly takes years to grow. Laurel and griselina look terrible when just cut (the cut leaf edges go brown). Privet is practical but boring, though I agree the golden one can be nice. Evergreens in general are difficult as they tend to be slow to start and then go bananas

My mum has a lovely dark pink escallonia hedge. It's about 25 years old and is now 8 feet high. She cuts it every year in the first week of September so it looks neat until about May. Then it flops about a bit, but looks lovely, until she clips it again.

Thanks @Bluntness100. Portuguese laurel is still up there, not least because the house was originally (100+ years ago) called Madeira cottage.

The native hedge has done really well. Planted in January this year as we only moved in last spring but it's looking good. We bought it from Habitat Aid.

Finally some pictures so you can why I need to do something! Although the don't garden hasn't been helped by the rampant destruction by the scaffolders!

Have had a look at escallonia hedging. Looks lovely. I love the white one, an apparently very popular with bees and butterflies which is very important to me!

I actually think your front garden looks lovely, and I don't even mind the wall. Have you considered just working with it, and the brick paths (though they do look a trifle uneven ) and filling the beds with a selection of shrubs that could be loosely clipped so they don't spill out onto the road? I'g get rid of the conifer though, and make the whole thing into a cottage garden - but then I like wild looking front gardens with loads of flowers, rather than the standard lawn-with-a-single-green-hedge-and-gravel-path that everyone around here seems to have.

Oh thank you. It has a lot of potential!
The problem with the wall really is it can't be repaired because it's hollow concrete block and they don't sell it anymore (1970s). But could definitely just put up a new wall. We will have the path relaid (it has no membrane or any sand left between the bricks). And the overall style will stay, the curved bed beneath the window etc. We've been planting cottage style sortof so probably need to embrace it. It may be that I'm just being impatient trying to force things to happen quicker as we can't afford to do all the hardscaping until next year (not long to wait I know but it feels an age!) Yes I think the yew needs to go, it hasn't been well treated and is knocking the wall over too.

I'd be tempted to rebuild the wall with the existing blocks. Mad though that sounds.

A hedge will need a certain height, and the openness at the front is very attractive. I'd put a variety of cottagey shrubs behind it, rather than a hedge.

I'm not sure it will be possible to rebuild with existing blocks. You can't really tell from the photos but many have cracks all the way through held together with cement etc. A lower wall maybe, with shrubs behind definitely sounds like a good option though. And less waiting for hedging to achieve a certain level of density to show a clear boundary.

It's a really lovely look at the front. And has so much potential for some lovely plants and bushes of mixed sizes. Can I recommend a coronilla? It has leaves and tiny yellow flowers all year, on and off, and a beautiful honey scent. It's like a teeny sweet pea flower and has a lovely fragrance even in the winter.

I've just struck a few because my shrub is a bit old and unshapely. They taken well, so you'll be able to replace it every few years as you need to without much trouble.

They look lovely. Have a nice sheltered spot by the front door where would get the full scent!