Calling any gardeners

I know nothing about gardens so keep that in mind with any answers you hopefully have.

I want to grow a small hedge along the front of my garden, this is only about 13ft. Im looking for something quite dense to create sonme privacy. I know a conifer of some decription will do it but Im not too keen. Anything you can recommend I look at?

Ive not got a clue what soil I have (its black) and its quite open with quite alot of sunlight.

Thanks in advance

 

Traditional hedge for gardens is Box (buxus), makes a thick compact hedge but takes time to grow.
You can use Beech (Fagus) this makes a nice hedge, not as dense as box, it keeps hold of dead leaves during winter. The dead leaves have a nice rusty gold colour. Again it takes time to grow.
A hedge can be created with native trees like Hawthorn (Crateagus), field maple (Acer) etc, this would make a hedge simillar to a farm hedge, but can be kept compact with regular trimming.
Wild rose will also form to a hedge with pruning, quicker growing and you get flowers.

The quickest way is conifers, but they are horrible things. If you do decide to go this route be sure you obtain the right variety. Many unscrupulous garden centers will sell immature conifers saying they are a dwarf variety, in 10 years youll have a 30 foot hedge and a bill for 300 notes from a tree surgeon.

Try to buy plants from a nursery and not a garden center, better quality and advice aswell as cheaper.

Plant trees/whips in winter, not summer. Keep well watered. Dont prune for the first year. Double row planting will get a thicker hedge.

 

Very popular on the Continent are various Thujas. Ours is thuja occidentalis "brabant" - it's on this list, near the bottom, under "Cedar/Arborvitae - Pyramidal":

http://www.jcbakker.com/catalogue/evergreens/

It's quite fast-growing (in a nice, sunny location, ours went from 30cm to 3M+ in about 8 years), but takes a while to thicken up.

 

eew conifers.

Tones is right tho, they are effective, but again care must be taken with variety

 

Thanks for the replies. Im trying to keep away from conifers I dont like the standard varieties. I know what you mean by the dwarf varieties, my parents back garden has been landscaped with an oriental theme to try and integrate with a rather large koi pool, one of the trees was suppose to be a dwarf variety and is not well over 8ft (from 24" in 10 yrs).

I'll have a look round the nurseries over the weekend. I have an idea in my head what I'd like. Ive got to see I quite like the whole plant/garden thing, I never thought Id say that!

 

http://www.millfarmtrees.co.uk/

Have some nice hedge packs with flowering varietes and winter colour.

 

I only need bout 5ft high by the way

 

Hedgeing trees can be kept low with attention

 

Thats a great link penance, very good prices indeed. I'll have a good look at those trees over the wkend at my local nurseries and take it from there. It seems okay to mix the trees, would I have any problem mixing say a rose variety with another leaf only? Im thinking larger, darker leaves to bulk the hedge then planting some flowering trees in them.

 

Shouldn't be any problems. So long as both types can tolerate the soil it should be fine

 

Mixing is OK except perhaps aesthetically - after a long period you might find the one type crowding out the other, or you think it just looks visually weird if for example you have alternated bush-types and one grows stronger than the other; you get a hedge that looks like battlements or stripes. For privacy may I instead suggest vertical blinds?

 

Ive got verticals in my lounge Im not sure about them planted in the front garden.

 

How about Privet or holly. Roses are good for security as is pyracantha. Nothing looks better than Yew, but it's slow growing and gets quite big. Aucuba looks very good, but again it gets bigger than 5 feet

 

Yew is a no-no if young kids are around.

Bob

 

Doesn't Ash make a hedge??

 

Ash will make a hedge, not so good for domestic hedges tho, and it self seeds like a rampant rabbit.

 

Round here (Shropshire) Hazel's very popular (ooh er) for hedging. It grows very quickly, with decent dense foliage.
It does however require a bit of efort to make a hedge, i.e. plant about 30cms apart, leave for a couple of years, then put stakes in and wind the hedge around them.
You can also do the same with willow - you can buy purpose grown willows which are designed to be plaited together to make a hedge (or any other shape you like). That's probably the quickest method to make a hedge...