Hi

We have just taken down 7 conifers which was a nightmare trying to get the stumps out, and had a new fence erected the fence is 21 feet long I want something that will grow about 8 feet in height but nothing that comes out to bushy . With the ground being so dry I have treated the soil first with a bonemeal from the garden centre and then put down several bags of multi purpose compost it is not too bad now as we have had quite a bit of rain so the soil is quite soft I was worried with the conifers taking all the goodness out of the soil that nothing that I planted on the patio seemed to grow so would be grateful of some ideas.

Many thanks
Mollie

You tell us the fence is 21 feet long, but not how wide the border is into which you want to plant your new shrubs. Nor what aspect it has.

mollie38 wrote:
Hi

We have just taken down 7 conifers which was a nightmare trying to get
the stumps out, and had a new fence erected the fence is 21 feet long I
want something that will grow about 8 feet in height but nothing that
comes out to bushy . With the ground being so dry I have treated the
soil first with a bonemeal from the garden centre and then put down
several bags of multi purpose compost it is not too bad now as we have
had quite a bit of rain so the soil is quite soft I was worried with
the conifers taking all the goodness out of the soil that nothing that
I planted on the patio seemed to grow so would be grateful of some
ideas.

Many thanks
Mollie

I assume you want evergreen cover.

In which direction does the fence face?

Instead of shrubs, would you be happy to put wires on the fence for
climbers?

Do you want to avoid plants with thorns?

--
Jeff

Hi

Sorry I took a while in replying only my pc has been of or a few days the garden n question is on the patio area and it is raised







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[quote=mollie38;868609]Hi

Sorry I took a while in replying only my pc has been of or a few days the garden in question is on the patio area and it is raised about 2 and a half feet off the patio the depth of the border is 8ft at the shortest lenght and 12 foot at the longest length . I want to cover the new fence with maybe Clematis a few quick growing ones. (nothing with thorns) also some easy to maintain plants and shrubs the only thing I am now worried about is that we had the stumps from the trees andmy brothere drilled holes in 3 of them put in some stump killer and filled the holes with used oil in the hopes of burning them down but we ended up getting someone in with a stump grinder what I am wondering is with all the debris from the conifers will that affect the planting with him putting oil and stump killer in the stumps

Regards Mollie

"mollie38" wrote in message
...

'Jeff Layman[_2_ Wrote:
;868559']mollie38 wrote:-
Hi

We have just taken down 7 conifers which was a nightmare trying to
get
the stumps out, and had a new fence erected the fence is 21 feet long
I
want something that will grow about 8 feet in height but nothing that
comes out to bushy . With the ground being so dry I have treated the
soil first with a bonemeal from the garden centre and then put down
several bags of multi purpose compost it is not too bad now as we
have
had quite a bit of rain so the soil is quite soft I was worried with
the conifers taking all the goodness out of the soil that nothing
that
I planted on the patio seemed to grow so would be grateful of some
ideas.

Many thanks
Mollie-

I assume you want evergreen cover.

In which direction does the fence face?

Instead of shrubs, would you be happy to put wires on the fence for
climbers?

Do you want to avoid plants with thorns?

--
Jeff

Hi

Sorry I took a while in replying only my pc has been of or a few days
the garden n question is on the patio area and it is raised

--
mollie38


Hi Mollie,

That's still not a lot of information to go on. However, since the border
is on your patio and, I assume, near the house, you will need to be really
careful that the roots of these large plants don't invade your house
foundations or any underground services, such as sewerage, etc. The area
is also likely to be dry, due to the shelter of the house walls .. the rain
shadow of the fence .. and the (probably) impervious nature of the patio.
Perhaps the planting area is a raised bed, too?

Have a look at some of the Jasmines (not J. nudiflorum if you want evergreen
cover). They will give you good coverage fairly quickly without stealing
too much garden space. Best of all, they will be scented, which is always
good near a patio. You will need a wire framework for them to climb on but,
once started, will do all the twining themselves. You don't say where you
are or if this fence receives good levels of sunlight, so we can only guess.
If your area has a mild climate, you could also try Trachelospermum
jasminoides which is also scented, but not fully hardy.

There are few shrubs which will give you 8' in height *and* be compact in
depth without a lot a trimming. That would, effectively, be a hedge with a
fair bit of work involved. You have just rid yourself of one mono-culture
hedge, so you need to be careful not to replace it with another monster.

Do come back and tell us a bit more about your garden, the soil, the aspect
and what sort of plants you admire.

Spider

On 2009-11-02 17:11:22 +0000, mollie38
said:


Hi

We have just taken down 7 conifers which was a nightmare trying to get
the stumps out, and had a new fence erected the fence is 21 feet long I
want something that will grow about 8 feet in height but nothing that
comes out to bushy . With the ground being so dry I have treated the
soil first with a bonemeal from the garden centre and then put down
several bags of multi purpose compost it is not too bad now as we have
had quite a bit of rain so the soil is quite soft I was worried with
the conifers taking all the goodness out of the soil that nothing that
I planted on the patio seemed to grow so would be grateful of some
ideas.

Many thanks
Mollie

Where do you live, Mollie? It's no good suggesting plants that will
grow by the sea in Cornwall if you live in the Highlands of Scotland.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

Hi Sacha

I live on Merseyside we have the corner house in the close which tends to get rather blowy what I am worried about though is the oil that was put in the tree stumps and then the stump grinder scattering the debris do you think it will be all right to plant, would I be able to take a picture and upload it

Regards
Mollie

On 2009-11-05 09:25:30 +0000, mollie38
said:


'Sacha[_4_ Wrote:
;868650']On 2009-11-02 17:11:22 +0000, mollie38
said:
-

Hi

We have just taken down 7 conifers which was a nightmare trying to
get
the stumps out, and had a new fence erected the fence is 21 feet long
I
want something that will grow about 8 feet in height but nothing that
comes out to bushy . With the ground being so dry I have treated the
soil first with a bonemeal from the garden centre and then put down
several bags of multi purpose compost it is not too bad now as we
have
had quite a bit of rain so the soil is quite soft I was worried with
the conifers taking all the goodness out of the soil that nothing
that
I planted on the patio seemed to grow so would be grateful of some
ideas.

Many thanks
Mollie-

Where do you live, Mollie? It's no good suggesting plants that will
grow by the sea in Cornwall if you live in the Highlands of Scotland.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

Hi Sacha

I live on Merseyside we have the corner house in the close which tends
to get rather blowy what I am worried about though is the oil that was
put in the tree stumps and then the stump grinder scattering the debris
do you think it will be all right to plant, would I be able to take a
picture and upload it

Regards
Mollie

The oil might affect newly planted trees, according to Ray but that's a
risk you'd have to take! For future info, he says you don't really
need the oil as well as the grinder!
If they've also been ground down and you've put in lots of good
material, I should try three or four plants and see if they survive the
year. Any planted next year would soon catch up. There's laurel and
Aucuba, while beech is good and keeps its leaves if it's kept under
about 8' tall. Nurseries and garden centres should be getting bare
root hedging stock in soon, once the leaves have fallen and the plants
can be dug up. Your problem is going to be keeping the back of the
hedge trimmed so you'll have to leave room behind the new hedge for
that.
If you take a photo you can upload it to a site like tinypic and then
post the url here.

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

We took out five conifers in a bed, and had the stumps ground out. Afterwards I dug over the whole bed [18 x 8 feet] with homemade compost and ericaceous compost - we wanted to grow some acid lovers. It was allowed to settle over the winter before planting anything new, which gave plenty of time to plan new plants.

You don't say what direction your fence faces. If you are planning clematis, remember that they always grow and flower into the sun, so no good if your fence faces a northerly or westerly direction - your neighbours will benefit!

Work out how the wind affect the plot and start planning windbreaks - small hardy shrubs or small trellises to interrupt the flow. Otherwise your clematis will be blown off the fence.

Hi

Right I have posted 2 pics on tinypic of the patio area these were taken just after the stumps had been removed by the stump grinder. We have since had a new fence erected but havent been able to do much this week with the rain hopefully tomorrow will be a better day, hubby is out there at the moment removing most of the sandstone from the patio

here is the url for the pics
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=dd0x85&s=4
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=23w4cn6&s=4

Kind regards mary

"mollie38" wrote in message
...

beccabunga;868748 Wrote:
We took out five conifers in a bed, and had the stumps ground out.
Afterwards I dug over the whole bed [18 x 8 feet] with homemade compost
and ericaceous compost - we wanted to grow some acid lovers. It was
allowed to settle over the winter before planting anything new, which
gave plenty of time to plan new plants.

You don't say what direction your fence faces. If you are planning
clematis, remember that they always grow and flower into the sun, so no
good if your fence faces a northerly or westerly direction - your
neighbours will benefit!

Work out how the wind affect the plot and start planning windbreaks -
small hardy shrubs or small trellises to interrupt the flow. Otherwise
your clematis will be blown off the fence.

Hi

Right I have posted 2 pics on tinypic of the patio area these were
taken just after the stumps had been removed by the stump grinder. We
have since had a new fence erected but havent been able to do much this
week with the rain hopefully tomorrow will be a better day, hubby is out
there at the moment removing most of the sandstone from the patio

here is the url for the pics
http://tinyurl.com/yzylhfb
http://tinyurl.com/ydz3jm8

Kind regards mary
--
mollie38


Hi Mollie,

I'm not quite sure how your post and pics got into this thread (!) ... or
perhaps I'm the only one to view it here ..?

Looking at your pictures, I can see that you have a real problem. Even if
you plant a new hedge or border, you've got hardly any access to maintain
it. The structure and planting you already have is quite attractive, so you
don't really want to be trampling on it. Another problem could be roots
invading your water feature, although the conifers you've removed must have
been a similar threat.

Anyway, here are some suggestions with their associated pros and cons:-

Bamboo - pros: can be tall and quick-growing, offering texture, movement and
sound.
choose solid green or variegated.
cons: roots, even of clump-forming types, may invade
existing border.

Yew - pros: handsome evergreen hedge which will give you 8' and more.
will remain green when closely trimmed.
cons: you will need access to trim it. Outlook dark. Toxic.

Euonymous 'Silver Queen' -
pros: Evergreen, variegated shrub which will be tinged pink in
cold weather.
Bright attractive outlook, even in winter.
cons: Best left as informal shrub border, but can be trimmed to
hedging.
Will need tying back to fence at first, and will usually
only grow to 6'.

Cotoneaster - pros: choose evergreen or decidous, green or variegated.
C. lacteus is often sold as hedging. It is
evergreen; white flowers
from pink buds; red berries later. C.
horizontalis is deciduous.
It can be trained to cover a fence. Flowers
and berries as lacteus.
Brilliant scarlet and orange colour just
before leaf fall.
cons: May self-seed.

Ivy - pros: Evergreen. Most are hardy. Green or variegated. Subtle
flowers/berries.
Will (eventually) cover 8'; will need tying in at first.
Narrow front-to-back.
cons: May outgrow it's height and width unless controlled.

Hebe 'Midsummer Beauty' - Pros: Lovely. One of the largest Hebes. Covered
with
purple flowers. Loved by bees and
butterflies.
Cons: Not compact. May
self-seed.

"What I would do" - Affix attractive trellis to upper 2' of (neighbour's)
fence. I would plant the Euonymous 'Silver Queen' as an informal hedge
below and, if need be, rethink planting in existing raised border. Pros:
you would have the entire surface of the fence 'broken up' with living or
inanimate texture/colour. Leaf fall would be limited to the shedding of
older leaves, which would keep the water feature relatively clean. As
mentioned above, it is very cheerful to look out on, especially in winter (I
have one!).
You could tie bird feeders to the trellis in winter, or ornamenta all year.
Cons: It will not be an 8' hedge/border. It will not be narrow and linear,
if this is really important. You will need to tie it back to the fence to
encourage the 6' high coverage. There is bound to be some leaf-drop and
dead flower drop.

Well, that's plenty to be thinking about. Hopefully, you'll get other
suggestions from inspired posters!

Spider

"mollie38" wrote in message
...

Hi

We have just taken down 7 conifers which was a nightmare trying to get
the stumps out, and had a new fence erected the fence is 21 feet long I
want something that will grow about 8 feet in height but nothing that
comes out to bushy . With the ground being so dry I have treated the
soil first with a bonemeal from the garden centre and then put down
several bags of multi purpose compost it is not too bad now as we have
had quite a bit of rain so the soil is quite soft I was worried with
the conifers taking all the goodness out of the soil that nothing that
I planted on the patio seemed to grow so would be grateful of some
ideas.

Many thanks
Mollie

Hi Mollie,

Your picture urls have turned up in the 'Snake's Head Fritillary' post! We
may never know why. Anyway, I have posted a reply there ....

Spider




--
mollie38

On 2009-11-08 18:09:33 +0000, "Spider" said:


"mollie38" wrote in message
...

Hi

We have just taken down 7 conifers which was a nightmare trying to get
the stumps out, and had a new fence erected the fence is 21 feet long I
want something that will grow about 8 feet in height but nothing that
comes out to bushy . With the ground being so dry I have treated the
soil first with a bonemeal from the garden centre and then put down
several bags of multi purpose compost it is not too bad now as we have
had quite a bit of rain so the soil is quite soft I was worried with
the conifers taking all the goodness out of the soil that nothing that
I planted on the patio seemed to grow so would be grateful of some
ideas.

Many thanks
Mollie

Hi Mollie,

Your picture urls have turned up in the 'Snake's Head Fritillary' post! We
may never know why. Anyway, I have posted a reply there ....

Spider




--
mollie38

How innovative. Haven't seen that yet!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2009-11-08 18:09:33 +0000, "Spider" said:


"mollie38" wrote in message
...

Hi

We have just taken down 7 conifers which was a nightmare trying to get
the stumps out, and had a new fence erected the fence is 21 feet long I
want something that will grow about 8 feet in height but nothing that
comes out to bushy . With the ground being so dry I have treated the
soil first with a bonemeal from the garden centre and then put down
several bags of multi purpose compost it is not too bad now as we have
had quite a bit of rain so the soil is quite soft I was worried with
the conifers taking all the goodness out of the soil that nothing that
I planted on the patio seemed to grow so would be grateful of some
ideas.

Many thanks
Mollie

Hi Mollie,

Your picture urls have turned up in the 'Snake's Head Fritillary' post!
We
may never know why. Anyway, I have posted a reply there ....

Spider


mollie38

How innovative. Haven't seen that yet!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon


It wasn't on RG's computer either. Fortunately, I showed him this
'innovation' on my computer, otherwise I'd think I was seeing things! I
imagine everyone else has these urls in their proper place? Typical! Why
me? :~)

Spider