Hi,
I have a large beech hedge at the bottom of my garden which in winter
doesn't look particularly good as the hedge has not been trimmed poperly and
most of the growth is at the top, approx 15-20ft high. The hedge is on
some-one else's land so I can't do much about it. I was intending to inject
a bit of winter colour by planting clumps of red and yellow dogwood along
the base of the hedge (about 6ft away).The area I want to plant is a border
of some 75ft in length.
One downside, I have been told, is that dogwood is not particularly
attractive in summer. Any alternatives to dogwood so I have colour in winter
and an attactive shrub in summer?

thanks,

David

On 13/10/04 11:13, in article , "David"
wrote:

Hi,
I have a large beech hedge at the bottom of my garden which in winter
doesn't look particularly good as the hedge has not been trimmed poperly and
most of the growth is at the top, approx 15-20ft high. The hedge is on
some-one else's land so I can't do much about it. I was intending to inject
a bit of winter colour by planting clumps of red and yellow dogwood along
the base of the hedge (about 6ft away).The area I want to plant is a border
of some 75ft in length.
One downside, I have been told, is that dogwood is not particularly
attractive in summer. Any alternatives to dogwood so I have colour in winter
and an attactive shrub in summer?

David, if you can find it Rhamnus alaternus is a wonderful plant, IMO. We
have the variegated one at the bottom of our garden here and when so much
else has nothing to say for itself, this is like a beacon! I say if you can
find it because it is notoriously hard to propagate and not all nurseries
offer it by a long chalk. The RHS says it's 'fully to frost hardy' but I'd
check with your supplier. The other choice might be Camellia sasanqua and
others. You don't say where you live but they start blooming in
November/December and with careful planning you could get other varieties to
mix in that will bloom into spring. And of course, they're evergreen with
lovely glossy foliage, too. When they're established, you can grow Clematis
up through them for summer and autumn flowering, too. A Camellia hedge is a
lovely thing, IMO.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

Sacha wrote:
On 13/10/04 11:13, in article ,
"David" wrote:

Hi,
I have a large beech hedge at the bottom of my garden which in
winter doesn't look particularly good as the hedge has not been
trimmed poperly and most of the growth is at the top, approx
15-20ft
high. The hedge is on some-one else's land so I can't do much
about
it. I was intending to inject a bit of winter colour by planting
clumps of red and yellow dogwood along the base of the hedge
(about
6ft away).The area I want to plant is a border of some 75ft in
length.
One downside, I have been told, is that dogwood is not
particularly
attractive in summer. Any alternatives to dogwood so I have colour
in winter and an attactive shrub in summer?

David, if you can find it Rhamnus alaternus is a wonderful plant,
IMO. We have the variegated one at the bottom of our garden here
and
when so much else has nothing to say for itself, this is like a
beacon! I say if you can find it because it is notoriously hard to
propagate and not all nurseries offer it by a long chalk. The RHS
says it's 'fully to frost hardy' but I'd check with your supplier.
The other choice might be Camellia sasanqua and others. You don't
say where you live but they start blooming in November/December and
with careful planning you could get other varieties to mix in that
will bloom into spring. And of course, they're evergreen with
lovely
glossy foliage, too. When they're established, you can grow
Clematis
up through them for summer and autumn flowering, too. A Camellia
hedge is a lovely thing, IMO.

Some gorgeous recipes there, as usual. Camellias are fussy, though;
and if they're exposed the flowers can be ruined by frosts -- if this
garden is on the western side of the hedge that would be much less of
a problem.

But the coloured-barked dogwoods are a very easy and economical
solution for a long run such as David describes. Cornus alba comes in
both white and yellow variegated forms; the flowers and berries are
by no means bad, and the leaves colour in autumn; so they aren't only
of winter interest. You can underplant with small spring bulbs, too,
so you don't feel the loss when you chop the dogwoods back in late
Feb.

Coming home in winter and catching coloured bark in the headlights is
a lovely feeling.

Mike.

On 13/10/04 17:50, in article , "Mike Lyle"
wrote:

Sacha wrote:
snip
A Camellia
hedge is a lovely thing, IMO.

Some gorgeous recipes there, as usual. Camellias are fussy, though;
and if they're exposed the flowers can be ruined by frosts -- if this
garden is on the western side of the hedge that would be much less of
a problem.

You're quite right. I should have said "no good for a limey soil and don't
expose to a rising sun"!

But the coloured-barked dogwoods are a very easy and economical
solution for a long run such as David describes. Cornus alba comes in
both white and yellow variegated forms; the flowers and berries are
by no means bad, and the leaves colour in autumn; so they aren't only
of winter interest. You can underplant with small spring bulbs, too,
so you don't feel the loss when you chop the dogwoods back in late
Feb.

The other thing that now comes to my mind, though not that tall, is
Sarcococca for that fabulous winter scent and ditto Hamamelis - ooooh and
Daphne bhoula which, here, grows to about 12'. A lot does depend on where
the OP lives.

Coming home in winter and catching coloured bark in the headlights is
a lovely feeling.

That's rather poetic! And correct.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

Thanks, Sacha and Mike,

I've enough space to try Rhamnus alaternus so I'll have a look for a
stockist. My location is in East Lothian on the south east coast of
Scotland. The hedge in fact is on the west of my garden, so in winter it
gives a lot of shade to the bottom of the garden, frost can be an occasional
problem. I'm not certain if a camellia would survive. Hadn't thought about
planting clematis, that's an interesting idea!

thanks,

David

"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
...
Sacha wrote:
On 13/10/04 11:13, in article ,
"David" wrote:

Hi,
I have a large beech hedge at the bottom of my garden which in
winter doesn't look particularly good as the hedge has not been
trimmed poperly and most of the growth is at the top, approx
15-20ft
high. The hedge is on some-one else's land so I can't do much
about
it. I was intending to inject a bit of winter colour by planting
clumps of red and yellow dogwood along the base of the hedge
(about
6ft away).The area I want to plant is a border of some 75ft in
length.
One downside, I have been told, is that dogwood is not
particularly
attractive in summer. Any alternatives to dogwood so I have colour
in winter and an attactive shrub in summer?

David, if you can find it Rhamnus alaternus is a wonderful plant,
IMO. We have the variegated one at the bottom of our garden here
and
when so much else has nothing to say for itself, this is like a
beacon! I say if you can find it because it is notoriously hard to
propagate and not all nurseries offer it by a long chalk. The RHS
says it's 'fully to frost hardy' but I'd check with your supplier.
The other choice might be Camellia sasanqua and others. You don't
say where you live but they start blooming in November/December and
with careful planning you could get other varieties to mix in that
will bloom into spring. And of course, they're evergreen with
lovely
glossy foliage, too. When they're established, you can grow
Clematis
up through them for summer and autumn flowering, too. A Camellia
hedge is a lovely thing, IMO.

Some gorgeous recipes there, as usual. Camellias are fussy, though;
and if they're exposed the flowers can be ruined by frosts -- if this
garden is on the western side of the hedge that would be much less of
a problem.

But the coloured-barked dogwoods are a very easy and economical
solution for a long run such as David describes. Cornus alba comes in
both white and yellow variegated forms; the flowers and berries are
by no means bad, and the leaves colour in autumn; so they aren't only
of winter interest. You can underplant with small spring bulbs, too,
so you don't feel the loss when you chop the dogwoods back in late
Feb.

Coming home in winter and catching coloured bark in the headlights is
a lovely feeling.

Mike.

On 14/10/04 9:45, in article , "David"
wrote:

Thanks, Sacha and Mike,

I've enough space to try Rhamnus alaternus so I'll have a look for a
stockist. My location is in East Lothian on the south east coast of
Scotland. The hedge in fact is on the west of my garden, so in winter it
gives a lot of shade to the bottom of the garden, frost can be an occasional
problem. I'm not certain if a camellia would survive. Hadn't thought about
planting clematis, that's an interesting idea!

Check out the Rhamnus *very* carefully, given your location. My husband
isn't at all sure that my varietal suggestions will survive with you but
our experience is Devon and Essex and in my case, Jersey. One can push the
luck quite a bit but......... ;-) In an ideal world, I'd say give it a try
but purses and possibilities will dictate for most of us.
There's a Rhamnus dahurica that a nursery in Inverness has. We don't know
this variety at all so ask the nursery: Iain Brodie of Falsyde, Cuilalunn,
Kinchurdy Road, Boat of Garten, Invernessshire, Tel. 01479 831464 and
email:
Another thought for a small tree which blooms late here and smells delicious
is Clerodendrum trichotomum (var. fargesii) We have one of those growing
on a boundary wall and it's a beautiful shape and a really lovely small
tree. Again, do a local check, though the RHS book says it can go to -15 C
(5F)! It's a fabulous plant, IMO and I can't imagine why it isn't grown
more widely.

Camellias are fully to frost hardy so again (sorry to be so repetitive) you
need to check what will grow in your area. This, BTW, is why newcomers to
the group are so often asked for their location or what they grow already.
It makes it easier to recommend the right thing.

snip
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)