Thanks, Janet. I have been overlooking the obvious, cotoneaster grows well
in my garden and the birds love it. I may attempt to mix it with another
type of plant. Presently looking at Cotoneaster simonsii,

regards,

David

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message
from "David" contains these words:

You will not avoid fallen leaves or regular maintenance by
planting
evergreen. Evergreens shed their oldest leaves every year under cover
of their new ones. Some waxy evergreen leaves can be more of a pain
blowing round the garden because they last a very long time, whereas
deciduous leaves decompose within a season. Fallen holly leaves stay
sharp and prickly for years.

Hi, Janet, thanks for replying. Have had a look at escallonia, but most
places suggest that it might suffer through the winter months.Although
I'm
on the S East Scottish coast I'm surrounded by trees which tends to
create a
frost pocket.

It wouldn't be suitable then, nor would griselinea. You may also find
that any conifers including yew would suffer badly from salt burn if you
get a Siberian easterly wind

I take your
point about leaf drop from evergreens, but surely they can't be as bad
as
beech? I have well over 140ft of beech hedging shedding leaves for what
seems like half the year, yesterday I took two barrow loads out of the
pond,
so much for the netting! Now if I could get a deciduous hedge which
dropped
it's leaves all in one go, was as attractive to birdlife like hawthorn
but
without vicious thorns and was nice and hardy then .......

If you think hawthorn is too prickly, then holly and evergreen
berberis definitely won't suit you.
How about cotoneaster? Some of the hedging varieties are dense, not
totally evergreen, *very* cold and salt tolerant, bird and
insect-friendly, and their leaves are pretty small and inoffensive when
they fall off.

There's eleagnus, but ime it's not a particularly long-lived plant in
Scotland so not to be recommended for a hedge. Or hideous laurel :-(.

Janet