Best low level flowering hedge

[inkblackheart]

our house is on a hill but we are trying to create a bit of a barrier when viewed from the bottom of the slope and so are looking for a low level hedge. Probably only about a metre tall required.

If you were putting in a low level flowering hedge what would you choose? Im wondering about escallonia?

I would look at roses personally - you can get a thick hedge in a year or so, and they will flower all summer if you get the right variety.

Roses would be lovely but probably cost prohibitive. The stretch is about 20m

If its sunny with well drained soil I'd do something like rosemary or english lavender- then you won't have to spend time hedge trimming as it'll grow to about the right height anyway (maybe a smidge under a metre for lavender) and attract tons of pollinators.

Just looking at roses and rosa rugosa alba would be affordable. Looks like I can get bare root plants for about £2 a piece. I'm wondering whether it might look a bit unkempt

There are also some queen elizabeth bare root bundles (pink shrub rose)

It’s at the front of the house unfortunately which is north facing. It’s far away enough from the house that it gets afternoon sun but I think lavender would struggle there.

Rosemary is pretty tough and can take some shade, so that could work okay. You can eat it too, which is a bonus.

Blackthorn? You get pretty white spring blossom, sloe berries in autumn and it's spiky, but you can prune ruthlessly.

Hebes are lovely, you can get ones with tiny leaves and flowers, beloved by bees and insects, evergreen hebe rakaiensis.

Rosa rugosa make a lovely hedge imo but I think they're more like a couple of metres tall?

I've seen choisya looking good in hedges but probably expensive to do the whole thing... would a mixed hedge work?

Ideal if you actually want barbed wire! I've known a couple of people get spiked and have quite nasty infections from blackthorn so personally I'm wary of it.

Blackthorn suckers and the thorns are wicked, so I'd avoid that one.

The Range had some lovely roses two for £6.

If the hedge is at the bottom of a slope is the ground there likely to get very wet? Escallonia like free draining soil and in my experience does better on dry sandy soil than wet clay, it get's very ropey and sparse in those conditions.

Rosemary or rosa rugosa are great suggestions.

Sorry I might not have been clear. The house is at the top of the hill and the hedge will be in front of the house in between the house and the front garden (which is on the slope) IYSWIM.

So it will go (from top of hill to bottom) House, parking area, new hedge, garden, existing hedge which isn't tall enough, road.

At the moment people walking past at the bottom of the hill can see the house because the hedge that separates the house from the road is at the bottom of the hill and the house stands above it. That hedge is a mixed native hedge which does have blackthorn and various other stuff in it but it's straggly.

I had considered trying to boost the straggly hedge instead but it's in full shade and it's difficult to grow anything there.

The ground is quite sandy and its acidic soil.

Compulsory MN diagram for confusing situations

You could chop any hedge down to a meter tall?

I'd be wary of 100% rose hedge as that will look straggley: it's not dense enough.

Hebe is a nice idea as @Tiddlywinks63 suggested.

You could get lavender plug plants (like £1.50 each) if you want lavender but without the cost?

Or you could do a different type of classic hedging plant, eg: holly, guelder rose, yew, dog rose, blackthorn, hawthorn, wild plum, wild cherry, crab apple (all of these except holly and yew have lush blossom).

Just remember to keep pruning whatever you choose into the shape you want!

Oo, for a lovely neat hedge, have you thought about espellier fruit trees?

Lavender won't work there since it isn't sunny enough.

I have a mixed rosemary and lavender hedge at the back of the house which is south facing though.

Is it windy? If not, a Daphne might be good.

Prevailing wind comes in from the west and travels east but it isn't a particularly windy location.

Scratch that, just remembered sarcococca confusa. They like full shade or partial shade and have a lovely scent in winter. I could smell them from a few metres away at the garden centre last weekend.

OP, your diagram is my favourite think on MN today.

Escallonia sounds like a good idea.

This is a good idea. It's not cheap but you can take cuttings so could expand your crop if you were prepared to play the long game over a couple of seasons.

I'm busy googling the various suggestions..