I'm sure that I'm the only person who thinks this but if you have "problem
neighbours" (i.e. noise, peering over fence etc) and you want to fix it
quickly then Leylandi seem ideal. We planted a hedge to screen noisy
neighbours, we planted relatively mature trees (about 7 foot and v bushy).
Problem was reduced right away, and now (2 yrs on) is just about completely
solved. In an ideal world I'd plant something slower growing but we were
desperate right away and did not want to lose one or two seasons use of our
garden whilst we waited for something to grow. I agree that the trees can
get out of hand but if you cut them twice a year religiously then they do
the job. I agree that inappropriate hedges can make people's lives hell but
so can noisy, nosey neighbours
Hayley