On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:53:39 -0800 (PST), RJS wrote:

My garden backs onto woodland owned by my Local Authority. The sole
barrier between the garden and the woodland is an old Beech hedge
which has become very thin at the bottom and no longer provides a
reliable obstruction to dogs and, possibly, a determined intruder.

My plan is to build a fence as close to the rootline as practicable
using Metposts, wooden posts and wire netting to the keep the dogs
out. What about the human element?
snip
Once I have secured the barrier I can cut the hedge back ruthlessly
which will encourage it to bush out.

Any views about the use of the barbed wire or alternatives?

Under plant with something nice a prickly? Finding something that
will grow under a Beech hedge might be interesting. uk.rec.gardening
added.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Feb 15, 3:19*pm, "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:


Under plant with something nice a prickly? Finding something that
will grow under a Beech hedge might be interesting. uk.rec.gardening
added.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Hello Dave

Under-planting was my original (and preferred) thought. But, as you
rightly observe, the foot of a 12' Beech hedge isn't the most fertile
of locations. I could tempt some of the vicious Blackberries which
grow in the woodland into the hedge but that's not terribly desirable.

Rgds

Richard

"RJS" wrote in message news:32587c44-0204-4482-9d57-
Under-planting was my original (and preferred) thought. But, as you
rightly observe, the foot of a 12' Beech hedge isn't the most fertile
of locations. I could tempt some of the vicious Blackberries which
grow in the woodland into the hedge but that's not terribly desirable.

Pyracantha, which is also an evergreen will grow almost anywhere and is even
more prickly then barbed wire

or the netting you need is called chainlink, it even keeps Badgers out!



-

On 15/02/2012 15:36, RJS wrote:
On Feb 15, 3:19 pm, "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:


Under plant with something nice a prickly? Finding something that
will grow under a Beech hedge might be interesting. uk.rec.gardening
added.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Hello Dave

Under-planting was my original (and preferred) thought. But, as you
rightly observe, the foot of a 12' Beech hedge isn't the most fertile
of locations. I could tempt some of the vicious Blackberries which
grow in the woodland into the hedge but that's not terribly desirable.

Rgds

What about dog roses? You could get cuttings at the same time as
blackberry cuttings and just stick them in the ground. There shouldn't
be any problems with either rooting successfully.

--

Jeff

On Feb 15, 3:36*pm, RJS wrote:
On Feb 15, 3:19*pm, "Dave Liquorice"

wrote:

Under plant with something nice a prickly? Finding something that
will grow under a Beech hedge might be interesting. uk.rec.gardening
added.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Hello Dave

Under-planting was my original (and preferred) thought. *But, as you
rightly observe, the foot of a 12' Beech hedge isn't the most fertile
of locations. *I could tempt some of the vicious Blackberries which
grow in the woodland into the hedge but that's not terribly desirable.

Rgds

Richard

Nothing much will grow under a hedge. Too dark, infertile and dry.

On Feb 15, 4:36*pm, "Mark" wrote:


Pyracantha, which is also an evergreen will grow almost anywhere and is even
more prickly then barbed wire

or the netting you need is called chainlink, it even keeps Badgers out!

-

Pyracantha is a good point.

I think tho' that a few, helpful contributors are forgetting that this
fence is being inserted into an existing Beech hedge that is 12' high
and about 8' deep on the woodland side.

Richard

In article o.uk,
says...

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:53:39 -0800 (PST), RJS wrote:

My garden backs onto woodland owned by my Local Authority. The sole
barrier between the garden and the woodland is an old Beech hedge
which has become very thin at the bottom and no longer provides a
reliable obstruction to dogs and, possibly, a determined intruder.

My plan is to build a fence as close to the rootline as practicable
using Metposts, wooden posts and wire netting to the keep the dogs
out.

I'd use stockfence posts hammered straight into the ground, rylock
stock fencing to exclude dogs/people rather than wire netting.It is much
more robust; and cheaper iirc (from an agricultural fencing contractor).
You will need a larger strainer post at each end/corner. If you want to
keep out rabbits, attach wire netting to the rylock.

When we came here the only boundary between us and the sheep meadow,
was a very gappy hawthorn hedge.. keeping dog in/sheep and hares out was
essential so we used wooden fencing posts (no metposts) rylock and rabbity
netting.

Any views about the use of the barbed wire

Don't waste your money. It won't deter any determined human and dogs
won't try to jump over a fenced hedge. But it can do nasty damage to
innocent/accidental human or dog contact.

Janet

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:19:11 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:

On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:53:39 -0800 (PST), RJS wrote:

My garden backs onto woodland owned by my Local Authority. The sole
barrier between the garden and the woodland is an old Beech hedge
which has become very thin at the bottom and no longer provides a
reliable obstruction to dogs and, possibly, a determined intruder.

My plan is to build a fence as close to the rootline as practicable
using Metposts, wooden posts and wire netting to the keep the dogs
out. What about the human element?
snip
Once I have secured the barrier I can cut the hedge back ruthlessly
which will encourage it to bush out.

Any views about the use of the barbed wire or alternatives?

Under plant with something nice a prickly? Finding something that
will grow under a Beech hedge might be interesting. uk.rec.gardening
added.

You can use barbed wire but it must be entirely out of reach of any
'innocent' contact - think children, elderly or blind.

"Mark" wrote in message ...

"RJS" wrote in message news:32587c44-0204-4482-9d57-
Under-planting was my original (and preferred) thought. But, as you
rightly observe, the foot of a 12' Beech hedge isn't the most fertile
of locations. I could tempt some of the vicious Blackberries which
grow in the woodland into the hedge but that's not terribly desirable.

Pyracantha, which is also an evergreen will grow almost anywhere and is
even more prickly then barbed wire

or the netting you need is called chainlink, it even keeps Badgers out!


Mahonia is pretty vicious too!

Bill

"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message
ll.co.uk...
On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:53:39 -0800 (PST), RJS wrote:

My garden backs onto woodland owned by my Local Authority. The sole
barrier between the garden and the woodland is an old Beech hedge
which has become very thin at the bottom and no longer provides a
reliable obstruction to dogs and, possibly, a determined intruder.

My plan is to build a fence as close to the rootline as practicable
using Metposts, wooden posts and wire netting to the keep the dogs
out. What about the human element?
snip
Once I have secured the barrier I can cut the hedge back ruthlessly
which will encourage it to bush out.

Any views about the use of the barbed wire or alternatives?

Under plant with something nice a prickly? Finding something that
will grow under a Beech hedge might be interesting. uk.rec.gardening
added.


Beat me to it :-)

One thing - general pruning advice may be best practice but then again
sometimes you 'just have to hack' and often the plant survives.
So is there a faster way to regenerate a mature beech hedge than about 16
years of laborious cutting back?
I am getting a bit confused between the OP's two strategies - lots of small
cut backs or " Once I have secured the barrier I can cut the hedge back
ruthlessly which will encourage it to bush out."
Most of the suggestions about hacking back the external side and then
putting up the fence there seem to have been rejected because of a "1' per
year" rule.
How far do you have to cut back (down?) to encourage the bottom to
regenerate, how long is this likely to take to grow back to an acceptable
height (2m+?) and is it perhaps more effective just to grub the old hedge
out and replant, possibly with a more aggressive hedge?

Cheers

Dave R
--
No plan survives contact with the enemy.
[Not even bunny]

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder

(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

Janet wrote:

Don't waste your money. It won't deter any determined human and dogs
won't try to jump over a fenced hedge. But it can do nasty damage to
innocent/accidental human or dog contact.

I had a dog jump over barbed wire at 2am and sever his penis. It was a
right old game because I had to assist the vet do the repair. I'd rather
watch a woman give birth to twins than watch a needle sew a penis back on.

Bill

Fuschia wrote:

You can use barbed wire but it must be entirely out of reach of any
'innocent' contact - think children, elderly or blind.
We can't run the world on that basis! Such categories of person should
be heavily supervised.

Bill

On Feb 15, 10:16*pm, "David WE Roberts" wrote:
"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message

ll.co.uk...









On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:53:39 -0800 (PST), RJS wrote:

My garden backs onto woodland owned by my Local Authority. *The sole
barrier between the garden and the woodland is an old Beech hedge
which has become very thin at the bottom and no longer provides a
reliable obstruction to dogs and, possibly, a determined intruder.

My plan is to build a fence as close to the rootline as practicable
using Metposts, wooden posts and wire netting to the keep the dogs
out. *What about the human element?
snip
Once I have secured the barrier I can cut the hedge back ruthlessly
which will encourage it to bush out.

Any views about the use of the barbed wire or alternatives?

Under plant with something nice a prickly? Finding something that
will grow under a Beech hedge might be interesting. uk.rec.gardening
added.

Beat me to it :-)

One thing - general pruning advice may be best practice but then again
sometimes you 'just have to hack' and often the plant survives.
So is there a faster way to regenerate a mature beech hedge than about 16
years of laborious cutting back?
I am getting a bit confused between the OP's two strategies - lots of small
cut backs or " Once I have secured the barrier I can cut the hedge back
ruthlessly which will encourage it to bush out."
Most of the suggestions about hacking back the external side and then
putting up the fence there seem to have been rejected because of a "1' per
year" rule.

In the dormant state, before spring budding, deciduous trees can be
heavily cut back, usually back to a 1/3 will generate the most side
growth as long as the trees are exposed. As long as this procedure is
not repeated within around 5 years, the root system will not diminish
and the trees will flourish with much denser cover.

How far do you have to cut back (down?) to encourage the bottom to
regenerate, how long is this likely to take to grow back to an acceptable
height (2m+?) and is it perhaps more effective just to grub the old hedge
out and replant, possibly with a more aggressive hedge?


The correct method would be to get a professional hedge-layer in in
the autumn.

On Feb 15, 7:12*pm, Janet wrote:

* *I'd use stockfence posts hammered straight into the ground, rylock
stock fencing to exclude dogs/people rather than wire netting.It is much
more robust; and cheaper iirc (from an agricultural fencing contractor).
You will need a larger strainer post at each end/corner. If you want to
keep out rabbits, attach wire netting to the rylock.

* *When we came here the only boundary between us and the sheep meadow,
was a very gappy hawthorn hedge.. keeping dog in/sheep and hares out was
essential so we used wooden fencing posts (no metposts) rylock and rabbity
netting.

Any views about the use of the barbed wire

* Don't waste your money. It won't deter any determined human and dogs
won't try to jump over a fenced hedge. But it can do nasty damage to
innocent/accidental human or dog contact.

* *Janet

Thanks Janet

The dogs go through the gaps at the bottom of the hedge, so the
netting is a low-level obstruction for them.

Unfortunately I can't get the swing to hammer posts into the ground,
hence the Metposts.

Richard

On Feb 15, 10:16*pm, "David WE Roberts" wrote:
"Dave Liquorice" wrote in message

ll.co.uk...









On Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:53:39 -0800 (PST), RJS wrote:

My garden backs onto woodland owned by my Local Authority. *The sole
barrier between the garden and the woodland is an old Beech hedge
which has become very thin at the bottom and no longer provides a
reliable obstruction to dogs and, possibly, a determined intruder.

My plan is to build a fence as close to the rootline as practicable
using Metposts, wooden posts and wire netting to the keep the dogs
out. *What about the human element?
snip
Once I have secured the barrier I can cut the hedge back ruthlessly
which will encourage it to bush out.

Any views about the use of the barbed wire or alternatives?

Under plant with something nice a prickly? Finding something that
will grow under a Beech hedge might be interesting. uk.rec.gardening
added.

Beat me to it :-)

One thing - general pruning advice may be best practice but then again
sometimes you 'just have to hack' and often the plant survives.
So is there a faster way to regenerate a mature beech hedge than about 16
years of laborious cutting back?
I am getting a bit confused between the OP's two strategies - lots of small
cut backs or " Once I have secured the barrier I can cut the hedge back
ruthlessly which will encourage it to bush out."
Most of the suggestions about hacking back the external side and then
putting up the fence there seem to have been rejected because of a "1' per
year" rule.
How far do you have to cut back (down?) to encourage the bottom to
regenerate, how long is this likely to take to grow back to an acceptable
height (2m+?) and is it perhaps more effective just to grub the old hedge
out and replant, possibly with a more aggressive hedge?

Cheers

Dave R
--
No plan survives contact with the enemy.
[Not even bunny]

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder

(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

Hello Dave

Sorry to confuse over the pruning strategy. I have no intention of
doing anything more than cutting back by 1' per year on alternate
sides unless I'm advised differently by someone who can support their
assertions to the contrary!

Richard