Hi,

Can anyone give me some advice/recommendations on hedging.

To give you some background (as I don't have photos!). I have a road that runs up the side of my house, where the house finishes an 8ft (roughly) wall continues around the garden. However, the road rises slightly so at the top of the garden the wall is only 4ft above road level. At this top section of the wall it is retaining and the ground level inside the garden is level with the top of the wall. Six feet into the garden from the wall is my garage. I hope that just about paints the picture.

My concern is that where the wall drops below about 5ft there is scope for people to climb on to the wall and gain access to the garden/back of the house.

My idea is to put hedging immediately next to the wall along the length that might pose a problem, so that it ends up "sitting" on the wall. This is a length of something like 25 to 30 ft.

I realise I might not be able to meet all these "requirements" and that some compromise is, perhaps, inevitable. I don't have strong feelings on whether it should be formal or informal. But the ideal hedge would be:-


low maintenance, if it needs trimming I'd rather be doing it with electric trimmers than "pruning" with secateurs.
max height of 4 - 5 ft to reduce trimming maintenance - I don't need it any higher than this, could be a bit less, as it's at least 4ft off the ground anyway.
prevent access (whether through thorns or density).
visual barrier all year so small items could be stored down the side of the garage without being seen/an eyesore from the road.
trimmable on the garage side so that a clear pathway can run down the side of the garage.
physical barrier as soon as possible.
wildlife friendly.
maintain density at the bottom as this is at eye level from the road.

It is a rural setting. The site faces, and is fairly exposed to, the West with the garage giving shelter on the East side. The top soil is probably more acidic than alkali (I have a rhododendron) with a subsoil turning sandy. I have seen the idea of mixing species to give variety in the hedge, this sounds interesting but I am open to advice.

Hopefully this isn't "too much information" but can anyone recommend a solution for me?

Thanks in advance,

Mike

"Mike wrote in message
Can anyone give me some advice/recommendations on hedging.

Having read your requirements and your rural location my immediate thought
was Hawthorn.

British native so excellent for wildlife and the environment.
Used by farmers to keep livestock in/out.
Flowers.
Berries.
Can be easily trimmed. But remember a hedge should be "A" shaped in
cross-section not with vertical sides (and never "Y" shaped).
Grows thick and very thorny.
Can get "whips" cheaply if buying lots.

--
Bob

www.pooleygreengrowers.org.uk/ about an Allotment site in
Runnymede fighting for it's existence.

I saw a website in this country offering mixed hedge combinations,
tailored to individual requirements. Unforunately I can't remember
the URL, so you'll have to search on Google!
I do remember that it said Quickthorn seems to be preferred to
Hawthorn
nowadays as it grows faster. ISTR that Blackthorn was in there too, plus
others. Any such hedge seems to have to be cut back hard in its first year
to encourage dense growth at its base. The mixed hedge can be thickened
with rambling species roses like the Dog Rose, Sweet Briar, Honeysuckle
etc. Hornbeam is deciduous but retains its leaves until spring.
Beech is good too as it keeps its leaves on during winter, but I read
it
takes a while to get established and grows slowly. Yew and Holly are
fantastic but only grow some 8-9"/year. I don't think any of the above
"stop" at 4-5 feet. You can probably mix 'n match all the above.
If you want a lasting hedge which automatically limits its own height
to 4-5 feet, gets there quickly and is impenetrable even in winter I think
( and wiser heads may know different ) that you're going to be disappointed.
I take it plants like Laurel, Box and Privet are too formal/wildlife
unfriendly for you? Privet will get to the height you require quite fast but
sucks all the nutrients out of the soil. I'm no expert, you'll have to work
out
what will work best in your situation yourself, but the above suggestions
may
be of some help,

Andy.

"Sue & Bob Hobden" wrote in message
...

"Mike wrote in message
Can anyone give me some advice/recommendations on hedging.

Having read your requirements and your rural location my immediate thought
was Hawthorn.

British native so excellent for wildlife and the environment.
Used by farmers to keep livestock in/out.
Flowers.
Berries.
Can be easily trimmed. But remember a hedge should be "A" shaped in
cross-section not with vertical sides (and never "Y" shaped).
Grows thick and very thorny.
Can get "whips" cheaply if buying lots.

--
Bob

www.pooleygreengrowers.org.uk/ about an Allotment site in
Runnymede fighting for it's existence.

"andrewpreece" wrote in message
...
I saw a website in this country offering mixed hedge combinations,
tailored to individual requirements. Unforunately I can't remember
the URL, so you'll have to search on Google!

Try http://www.buckingham-nurseries.co.uk/acatalog/

They sell mixed hedging in preselected mixes and quantities or make up your own
IIRC.

Clive

In article , andrewpreece
writes
I saw a website in this country offering mixed hedge combinations,
tailored to individual requirements. Unforunately I can't remember
the URL, so you'll have to search on Google!
I do remember that it said Quickthorn seems to be preferred to
Hawthorn
nowadays as it grows faster.

AFAIK Quickthorn *is* Hawthorn!

I take it plants like Laurel,

Laurel doesn't look its best when trimmed with hedge trimmers as the cut
edges of leaves go brown.


--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

I would suggest Pyracantha ,,,,,,,,it grows pretty quickly
Is thorny so will keep out intruders
Has Flowers in June and berries through the winter
Get a mix of yellow and orange and red berry ones and even variegated leaf
ones and alternate them
They are easy to trim with hedge trimmers or even secateurs and do not cause
the work Leylandii do or the soil devastation either


"MikeThack" wrote in message
s.com...
Hi,

Can anyone give me some advice/recommendations on hedging.

To give you some background (as I don't have photos!). I have a road
that runs up the side of my house, where the house finishes an 8ft
(roughly) wall continues around the garden. However, the road rises
slightly so at the top of the garden the wall is only 4ft above road
level. At this top section of the wall it is retaining and the ground
level inside the garden is level with the top of the wall. Six feet
into the garden from the wall is my garage. I hope that just about
paints the picture.

My concern is that where the wall drops below about 5ft there is scope
for people to climb on to the wall and gain access to the garden/back
of the house.

My idea is to put hedging immediately next to the wall along the length
that might pose a problem, so that it ends up "sitting" on the wall.
This is a length of something like 25 to 30 ft.

I realise I might not be able to meet all these "requirements" and that
some compromise is, perhaps, inevitable. I don't have strong feelings
on whether it should be formal or informal. But the ideal hedge would
be:-


low maintenance, if it needs trimming I'd rather be doing it with
electric trimmers than "pruning" with secateurs.
max height of 4 - 5 ft to reduce trimming maintenance - I don't need it
any higher than this, could be a bit less, as it's at least 4ft off the
ground anyway.
prevent access (whether through thorns or density).
visual barrier all year so small items could be stored down the side of
the garage without being seen/an eyesore from the road.
trimmable on the garage side so that a clear pathway can run down the
side of the garage.
physical barrier as soon as possible.
wildlife friendly.
maintain density at the bottom as this is at eye level from the road.

It is a rural setting. The site faces, and is fairly exposed to, the
West with the garage giving shelter on the East side. The top soil is
probably more acidic than alkali (I have a rhododendron) with a subsoil
turning sandy. I have seen the idea of mixing species to give variety
in the hedge, this sounds interesting but I am open to advice.

Hopefully this isn't "too much information" but can anyone recommend a
solution for me?

Thanks in advance,

Mike
--
MikeThack
------------------------------------------------------------------------
posted via www.GardenBanter.co.uk

Kay Easton wrote in message ...
In article , andrewpreece
writes
I saw a website in this country offering mixed hedge combinations,
tailored to individual requirements. Unforunately I can't remember
the URL, so you'll have to search on Google!
I do remember that it said Quickthorn seems to be preferred to
Hawthorn
nowadays as it grows faster.

AFAIK Quickthorn *is* Hawthorn!

Agree. Also known as Whitethorn