Pleached hornbeam avenue - for the penurious amateur

[NotEnoughMud]

I visited a garden today and saw a stunning pleached hornbeam avenue leading from one bit of the garden to another. I'd love to recreate it at home on a shorter scale but I have some issues:
I can't afford mature hornbeams and don't want to wait years for the effect
I'm scared of the topiary upkeep

What can I do to give the same effect? That of clean lines, being able to see through the lower part of the trees etc, but without mega bucks, a gardener and acres of time?

It's better not to buy mature pleached trees, so you're doing the right thing.

If you want something really fast-growing, cherry laurel would be quicker than hornbeam, and it is also very forgiving. Or you can pleach hazel - the red-leafed varieties are very pretty, and they grow fast, and are not so expensive. Pleaching isn't hugely time-consuming in terms of upkeep once you're set into it.

You want to buy a load of 'maiden' or 'whip' trees (you can likely get six foot ones quite easily) and then train them. At first, of course, they will look more delicate, but they'll be pretty. I would probably try to buy them either wholesale (depending how many you need) or as hedging plants, which ought to work out cheaper.