"Tim Watts" wrote in message
...
On 07/04/15 22:42, Spider wrote:
On 06/04/2015 20:25, kev wrote:
We are planning to plant a hedge of Leylandii and will let them grow to
about 6-7'. What would be an ideal distance from the boundary 16-18"?


I confess I agree with the others: Leylandii and Lawsonii make good
masters but poor servants. You'd be better off planting a Yew hedge.
It's evergreen. It's one of the smartest hedges there is. It can be
clipped tightly without going brown.

Although yew is exceptionally toxic to humans which might be a
consideration. OK there's lots of plants you don't go eating, but yew is
quite a bad boy in that respect.


Yes, I agree with that. Browsing animals have been found dead under yew
trees (esp. goats) and the berries are toxic (except to birds). I wouldn't
risk a yew hedge if there was a chance of a child eating a berry.

Maybe a beech of some sort which does not lose its leaves even when they
die off - or hornbeam?

A beech hedge is a great idea.

Talking about yews, I have a little self-seeded one that is only about 6-8
inches high. I don't want to keep it but am reluctant to discard it. Any
ideas? I thought about talking to the local vicar as we don't seem to have
one in our churchyard and selling him the idea of "it's traditional to have
a yew tree in a churchyard, you don't have one, and I do. I would like to
make a gift of this small yew to the church"
Do you think that might work?
Or would anyone like to bonsai it?
I don't have to make an emergency decision as it will be only about an inch
or so bigger next year. Some churchyards yews are over a thousand years
old.