Hedging advice please

[MrBirling]

I am trying to get my garden secure for my dogs. They're only small and not very athletic. I plan on putting in a small picket type fence but I want to plant along it to make it extra secure. It will be about 15 feet long. I need cheap plants that will grow densely so they can't get close up to the fence. The fence will only be 2-3 feet tall so final height for the plants will be a little above that. Any suggestions appreciated.

A mix of native hedges would work, and be great for wildlife as well. Beech, rowan and blackthorn are fast growing so would be good.

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2023/05/best-hedge-plants/

I meant to add, I'd avoid box

How often will you want to cut the hedge? A lot of hedging plants are fast growers, and tend to be fairly thin at the base and bushy higher up, so not really all that much good for what you want.

@TentEntWenTyfOur I don't mind a bit of pruning but yes I definitely want it to be dense at the bottom. Id like to avoid the dogs getting up to it at all if possible. My dogs are very lazy so they're not motivated to push through leaves etc. Do you think a line of shrubs would be better?

A hedge is a line of shrubs, planted more closely than usually so livestock can’t push between them. For extra strength, they can be laid, ie the trunk is cut part way through, so it can be bent sideways and secured in place by an upright. Not suggesting this for you!Not suggesting this for you!Not suggesting this for you!

Basically, you need to decide what shrubs you need to make your hedge. Main point is that there is no shrub which will grow like a rocket to 3ft or 4ft or 6ft and then stop. So you need to decide whether being quick growing is more important then not having to cut it regularly.

For a small low growing hedge I'd go for things like euonymous, hebe, dwarf photinia, dwarf escallonia, and lavender would probably work too. I have box hedging and no issues with it so far.

What about attaching wire mesh or chicken wire to the picket fence and then putting plants in front.
The wire will give instant security but will be hidden by the plants when they grow. You can then think more the plants' aesthetics rather than just density of growth.

I love a good hornbeam hedge

The best time to plant hedges, whatever you decide on, is now and make sure you water it during summer dry spells for the first couple of years to give it the best possible chance

I have a short native hedge with blackthorn, hazel, guelder rose, hawthorn in it.
It is a nightmare to keep to an acceptable size as they all want to become trees.

Also, blackthorn is very, very spiky.

If I were to do it again, I would just use a mix of low shrubs. Out the front I’ve got St Johns wort, pink snowberry and spindle and they are all very polite and easy to trim, although the berries are poisonous.

Snowberry isn’t polite! It suckers, and it grows so fast you need 3 cuts per year. Is the pink hybrid noticeably more restrained?

Yes it is. It’s also very easy to chop to a shape without doing it harm, it’s quite hardy.
I do have a single white snowberry out the back too but it’s not dominant, it has to cope with hawthorn next to it!

I’d avoid blackthorn as it suckers everywhere.

Euonymus Emerald 'n Gold would be ideal. It will stay dense at the bottom with annual trimming and doesn't grow too fast. Evergreen too.

I have a hawthorn hedge with a 3-4 metres of snow berry hedge as one end. I’m not sure the hawthorn is winning!

Oh I read the title as "Hedgehog Advice Please" and thought you were making your garden dog safe but with hedgehog highways.................then realised it was plants Gets coat .

We planted a mixed hedge a few years ago, lots of the usual mixture (Beech, Hornbeam, Elder, Hawthorne etc) but also mixed in a fair bit of Holly.
Holly is great because it is relatively slow growing, evergreen (makes a nice contrast in the winter), dense, prickly and of course there are the lovely red berries.