Stephen Howard wrote in
:

You'd have to be quite harsh to the chestnut - it's quite vigorous,
and will thicken up at the base quite rapidly.
It also has a tendency to throw out branches at any and every angle,
so will need to be reined in hard.
The best that can be said for it is that it's fast growing.

Hazel too might be a bit tricky to keep neat, though it tends to want
to grow straight up rather than outwards.


I know what you mean. My entire garden is surrounded by hazel hedging and
it does need a firm hand!

I hate privet, and don't fancy waiting long enough for box or yew though.

Victoria