My front garden, in Newcastle on tyne, faces due south, a pedestrian
footpath runs east-west along the front, then there is a privet hedge
my height, 6 ft, and 2 ft thick, which I don't want to cut down
because it allows me to leave the curtains undrawn.

I have planted various trees and shrubs 2 ft this side of it, but they
haven't done well.

In 3 years, a holly "J C Vantol" grew a bit , but lost all its leaves
and now obviously has to be pulled up. A Pieris Japonica further along
hasn't died, but it has hardly grown in 3 years.

Only now has the penny dropped that this is probably because of the
shade cast by the hedge - the rest of the garden seems reasonably
fertile.

So my questions to you are :-

* Am I right in thinking that the poor doing of these plants is
because they are so near the hedge on their south side?

* How far does the hedge's influence extend?

* What can I plant that will do well near to the hedge?

Michael Bell

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