Hedging

[maslinpan]

I finally dug out the old and dying shrubs in the front hedge. We hope that the remaining trees will have space to breathe now, and are looking for some fast growing hedging to fill in the gaps and screen us a bit. I don't really like laurel, a mix of plants would be good, we just need something quite robust. Any brilliant ideas?

Yew. It’s faster growing than it’s reputation would have you believe, as long as you dig in some composted manure into the planting hole, mulch to keep it clear of weeds around the base and water water water for the first couple of years. Then it will romp away. It’s evergreen, will grow anywhere even in full shade, and can be cut back hard if you ever need to.

Wrong time of year to plant hedging, you need to wait until early autumn really.

The trouble with fast growing hedging is that it doesn't stop when it gets to the size you want, it keeps on growing ever faster so bear that in mind.

You could look into a fedge - its a kind of living fence made of willow.mIt gives you structure for the first few years and then gradually fills in to form a hedge. You can grow other plants that need support through it too. We have a climbing rose which work pretty well

What about Kew Gardens rose by David Austin. A thornless repeat flowerer that is absolutely covered in the most gorgeous cream hydrangea like flowers. Planted mine in March and they are a really good size and flowering like mad already

I am not planning to plant yet, there's work for the tree surgeon to do and stumps to get out first. Just playing around with ideas so far. The hedge is on a narrow bit of pavement, so I want something I don't have to keep on pruning back, ideally.

All hedges need pruning, by their very nature. But most only require it once a year.

Beech is good for a tall narrow hedge, only needs cutting once a year and keeps its leaves in winter too.

Beech is lovely.
Red robin if you like the look of it (although grows a lot, not hard to keep in check).
I’ve seen Rosemary planted as a fairly tall and beautiful hedge, although obviously not going to go much above 4 foot really.