Hi

I'm just in the process of planning planting a hedge. I'm going to plant a
privet hedge which I know will not put me at the forefront of garden design,
but in fact there already is a privet hedge halfway across the front of the
house and this one is to fill the gap across the other half of the frontage.

I do have one question about privet which is that in "The Tree & Shrub
Expert" by Dr. D. G. Hessayon (who else?) it says about privet:

"Its drawback is that not many plants can thrive in its company."

I'm wondering in what way plants cannot thrive in its company? What does it
do to them?

At the moment I don't know exactly what will be in the privet's company but
it is most likely lawn up to the hedge. Is that okay or will there be a great
big area of bare soil beside the hedge or something?

The privet I already have did have a mass of weeds as company. They were
thriving very well, as weeds do, but they've all gone now and there is bare
soil covered in some of that black sheeting stuff which lets water through
but no light. It is likely that next year I will be preparing that for lawn,
but first I need to find out about what will live happily beside the privet.

I am very new indeed at this gardening business btw.

--
Patrick