On 21/3/08 18:36, in article , "Nick
Maclaren" wrote:


In article ,
"Mr X" writes:
|
| My garden is 7 metres by 2 metres, its the 7 metre length that I want to
| hedge. I dont want my hedge thicker than 60cm if possible. I did think of
| planting sunflowers as there is plenty of light but they are annuals and
| therefore harder work

You could let the elder grow upwards, pruning it to be narrow, which
will give you flowers and fruit. If you prune elder back every year,
you will get no flowers and hence no fruit.

And you could then solve your privacy problem by growing a climber
up and around the elder, once the latter is established. You would
want something not too vigorous, so perhaps the smaller clematis
(e.g. C. alpina, but there are dozens of them).

The best solution to a really narrow hedge is a 'fedge', which is
some wooden posts (tanalised but NOT concreted in), and open wire
netting ('pig netting') stapled to them. You then grow climbers
up that.



He's considering a 2' deep hedge of elders and then suggests sunflowers as
an alternative? Colour me sceptical but.......!


--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'