Dear All,

We live in a flat with a communal garden area.

We would like to plant something that will screen a 40m x 5ft
glavanised steel fence and give us more privacy.

As our experience is limited I hoped you might help by providing some
hedging or plant suggestions.

Our requirements are that:

-It will need to require minimum maintenance, so ideally not grow
outwards too much and not grow much above 2m in height.(So as not to
increase our maintenance charge)

-It's evergreen.

-It's dense.

-Hopefully fast growing.

Our local garden centre recommended bare rooted Laurel planted at 1m
intervals. He said that once it reaches 2m, it should be cut to that
height and will not tend to go above this. How much would it be likely
to bush outwards?

Thanks for your help!

Regards,

Nick

On Mon, 21 Jan 2008 05:46:20 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

Dear All,

We live in a flat with a communal garden area.

We would like to plant something that will screen a 40m x 5ft
glavanised steel fence and give us more privacy.

As our experience is limited I hoped you might help by providing some
hedging or plant suggestions.

Our requirements are that:

-It will need to require minimum maintenance, so ideally not grow
outwards too much and not grow much above 2m in height.(So as not to
increase our maintenance charge)

Fence.
Paint it green.


-It's evergreen.

-It's dense.

-Hopefully fast growing.

Our local garden centre recommended bare rooted Laurel planted at 1m
intervals. He said that once it reaches 2m, it should be cut to that
height and will not tend to go above this. How much would it be likely
to bush outwards?

Thanks for your help!

Regards,

Nick


--
http://www.orderonlinepickupinstore.co.uk
Ah fetch it yourself if you can't wait for delivery
http://www.freedeliveryuk.co.uk
Or get it delivered for free

On Jan 21, 1:46 pm, wrote:
Dear All,

We live in a flat with a communal garden area.

We would like to plant something that will screen a 40m x 5ft
glavanised steel fence and give us more privacy.

As our experience is limited I hoped you might help by providing some
hedging or plant suggestions.

Our requirements are that:

-It will need to require minimum maintenance, so ideally not grow
outwards too much and not grow much above 2m in height.(So as not to
increase our maintenance charge)

-It's evergreen.

-It's dense.

-Hopefully fast growing.

Our local garden centre recommended bare rooted Laurel planted at 1m
intervals. He said that once it reaches 2m, it should be cut to that
height and will not tend to go above this. How much would it be likely
to bush outwards?

Thanks for your help!

Regards,

Nick

Fast growing and low maintenance are mutually exclusive.
You will have to cut/trim it at least once a year. That is routine,
however and can be done on contract by landscape maintenence companies
or by you (you just need electric or petrol hedge trimmers and some
way of disposing of the clippings). Everything will grow outwards but
e.g. Laurel can just be trimmed each year to contain it. Leylandii
hedging will be extremely fast to grow but is a horrible plant and is
not low maintenance. Laurel is dull but easy to manage. Also have
privet or Griselinia. Yew is fantastic but very slow to get started.


Des "hedging my bets here"

On 21/1/08 13:46, in article
,
" wrote:

Dear All,

We live in a flat with a communal garden area.

We would like to plant something that will screen a 40m x 5ft
glavanised steel fence and give us more privacy.

As our experience is limited I hoped you might help by providing some
hedging or plant suggestions.

Our requirements are that:

-It will need to require minimum maintenance, so ideally not grow
outwards too much and not grow much above 2m in height.(So as not to
increase our maintenance charge)

-It's evergreen.

-It's dense.

-Hopefully fast growing.

Our local garden centre recommended bare rooted Laurel planted at 1m
intervals. He said that once it reaches 2m, it should be cut to that
height and will not tend to go above this. How much would it be likely
to bush outwards?

This site might help you. It gives some clear info on various types of
hedging, including laurel. Under e.g. Laurel, it gives a calculator facility
so that you can work out what you need. But pretty much any hedge is going
to need clipping back at least once a year. Depending on where you live,
you could consider Camellias, which can be kept to size and which will have
the added benefit of flowers, too. I've seen them grown clipped very close
against a house wall.
Escallonias make lovely hedges in milder areas and Griselinia is tolerant of
salt winds - planting two plain ones, alternating with two variegated ones
and so on, gives an interesting 'tapestry' effect, as it's called.
http://www.buckingham-nurseries.co.u...ew_hedges.html

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

Aries says...
On Mon, 21 Jan 2008 05:46:20 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

Dear All,

We live in a flat with a communal garden area.

We would like to plant something that will screen a 40m x 5ft
glavanised steel fence and give us more privacy.

As our experience is limited I hoped you might help by providing some
hedging or plant suggestions.

Our requirements are that:

-It will need to require minimum maintenance, so ideally not grow
outwards too much and not grow much above 2m in height.(So as not to
increase our maintenance charge)

-It's evergreen.

-It's dense.

-Hopefully fast growing.

Our local garden centre recommended bare rooted Laurel planted at 1m
intervals. He said that once it reaches 2m, it should be cut to that
height and will not tend to go above this. How much would it be likely
to bush outwards?

Thanks for your help!

Regards,

Nick

How about an evergreen Clematis?
http://www.goscote.co.uk/goscote/cli...s.htm#CLEMATIS


You beat me to it! I was going to suggest a clematis. With
something to cling on to such as a bit of trellis they can
make a lovely hedge and not too much maintenance. I've seen
some really nice ones with pink Montana, though it isn't
evergreen.
--
David in Normandy

On 21 Jan, 13:46, wrote:
We live in a flat with a communal garden area.
We would like to plant something that will screen a 40m x 5ft
glavanised steel fence and give us more privacy.
(snip)
Our local garden centre recommended bare rooted Laurel planted at 1m
intervals. He said that once it reaches 2m, it should be cut to that
height and will not tend to go above this. How much would it be likely
to bush outwards?

Laurels/aucubas will bush outwards and fill out very quickly indeed.
They are really boring though - dusty and very 'municipal' looking.
Mixing different types of hedge plants would be interesting to look
at, increasing varieties would increase wild life and in turn will be
so much more interesting to look at in winter. I would do a fantastic
mix - but I think that's not what you want ...

Beech hedges are beautiful (not suitable for wet soil, shade or chalky
soil) and keep their 'dead' copper leaves on in winter, though shed
them to be replaced by young vivid green ones in spring. With any
choices of hedges you will have some form of maintenance to do at some
point or another. Plants are alive - grow is what they do. 40m is a
long fence to cover with clematis alone. If your budget allows and
have patience, and style, beech would be brilliant.

In article 6c67d56a-e26c-4f73-9458-
,
says...
Dear All,

We live in a flat with a communal garden area.

We would like to plant something that will screen a 40m x 5ft
glavanised steel fence and give us more privacy.

As our experience is limited I hoped you might help by providing some
hedging or plant suggestions.

Our requirements are that:

-It will need to require minimum maintenance, so ideally not grow
outwards too much and not grow much above 2m in height.(So as not to
increase our maintenance charge)

-It's evergreen.

-It's dense.

-Hopefully fast growing.

Our local garden centre recommended bare rooted Laurel planted at 1m
intervals. He said that once it reaches 2m, it should be cut to that
height and will not tend to go above this. How much would it be likely
to bush outwards?

Thanks for your help!

Regards,

Nick




Avoid laurel it requires hand cutting or it will be covered in half brown
leaves a lot of the time, Esscallonia used to be good but a new fungal
disease doing the rounds in Cornwall is sure to reach the rest of the
country and it makes them look unsightly. Avoid any thing that can not be
pruned hard like Lelandii, I don't like Privet or so called box which is
really Lonicera nitida as both only look good for about 1 week of the
year after cutting!
Yew is good, will take about 4 years to make a decent hedge but will not
need attention more than once a year.
I like the Myrtle family but I am not sure where you are, they do better
in the south and west something like Luma chequen (was a myrtle) would
have lovely aromatic foliage and is fast growing but neat evergreen which
can be hard pruned if required.
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

wrote:
On 21 Jan, 13:46, wrote:
We live in a flat with a communal garden area.
We would like to plant something that will screen a 40m x 5ft
glavanised steel fence and give us more privacy.
(snip)
Our local garden centre recommended bare rooted Laurel planted at 1m
intervals. He said that once it reaches 2m, it should be cut to that
height and will not tend to go above this. How much would it be
likely to bush outwards?

Laurels/aucubas will bush outwards and fill out very quickly indeed.
They are really boring though - dusty and very 'municipal' looking.

A. japonica "Rozannie" has very glossy green leaves, will grow in any
aspect, is fairly quick but not too vigorous, seems not to suffer from any
disease or pest, and has the advantage of large red berries in winter.

But a lot of plants would be needed for a 40m fence (at least 80). The OP
didn't say what his budget was.

--
Jeff
(cut "thetape" to reply)

On 21/1/08 16:22, in article ,
"Aries" wrote:

On Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:04:29 +0100, David in Normandy wrote:

Aries says...
[39 quoted lines suppressed]

You beat me to it! I was going to suggest a clematis. With
something to cling on to such as a bit of trellis they can
make a lovely hedge and not too much maintenance. I've seen
some really nice ones with pink Montana, though it isn't
evergreen.

This is an evergreen variety I've grown - Clematis armandii
http://www.gardeningexpress.co.uk/Pr...roductID=12544

It's lovely but it's tender. I think Clematis might be a bit too sparse to
really cover something ugly which they want to block completely. Of
course, if they go with Camellias, they can grow later flowering Clematis
through them and get the bonus of more flowers, using the Camellias as a
climbing frame. ;-)
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

Aries says...
On Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:04:29 +0100, David in Normandy wrote:

Aries says...
[39 quoted lines suppressed]

You beat me to it! I was going to suggest a clematis. With
something to cling on to such as a bit of trellis they can
make a lovely hedge and not too much maintenance. I've seen
some really nice ones with pink Montana, though it isn't
evergreen.

This is an evergreen variety I've grown - Clematis armandii
http://www.gardeningexpress.co.uk/Pr...roductID=12544


I've got an armandii too. The plant label said it grew to
20 metres! So I've given it the job of covering our old
derelict barn from the North side. It has got a way to go
yet - it's only one year old now. The South side of the
barn had two Montana's (pink and white) and another two
clematis the names of which escape me at the moment.
For extra coverage there is also a Russian vine, wisteria
passion flower, and honey suckle. Between them all they
should eventually cover the barn.
--
David in Normandy

On 21 Jan, 16:38, David in Normandy wrote:
For extra coverage there is also a Russian vine, wisteria
passion flower, and honey suckle. Between them all they
should eventually cover the barn.

Oh my ... sounds wonderful! I've got all of them but not in the same
place on the same building! You'll have a job pruning all this, no?!
Our spring honey suckle has died last year after 8 years. It picked up
a bit but that spot got really dry so I took cuttings and took it all
out. I'm glad because in a way, I had always regretted not to have a
summer flowering variety. Perhaps someone above heard me ;o)

On 21/1/08 16:51, in article ,
"Aries" wrote:

On Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:38:32 +0000, Sacha wrote:

if they go with Camellias, they can grow later flowering Clematis
through them and get the bonus of more flowers, using the Camellias as a
climbing frame. ;-)

Ah, now there speaks the voice of an expert. Sounds good to me

I'm not an expert - I just married one. ;-) But in fact, I've seen this done
in more than one garden and if the right plants are chosen, it's
spectacular. I've seen Clematis Marie Boisselot growing through a Camellia
and done a major double take. Of course, if the OP decides to do that, he
will have to do a little research into which Clematis will take the hacking
back the Camellias will require if it's really that important to keep them
small. But Camellias do make a lovely hedge - he has to check it isn't lime
soil though.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

you could always try berberis , it will flower is evergreen,and can be cut
back hard to renew the plant or you what about pyracantha it can be trained
up the fence , its also evergreen flowers in spring then is cover in red
,yellow or orange berries depending on which variety you choose

try looking at this web site http://www.hopesgrove.avenell.myzen.co.uk/

this will give you a cost and a look at some of the hedges available
rgds
Andy

wrote in message
...
Dear All,

We live in a flat with a communal garden area.

We would like to plant something that will screen a 40m x 5ft
glavanised steel fence and give us more privacy.

As our experience is limited I hoped you might help by providing some
hedging or plant suggestions.

Our requirements are that:

-It will need to require minimum maintenance, so ideally not grow
outwards too much and not grow much above 2m in height.(So as not to
increase our maintenance charge)

-It's evergreen.

-It's dense.

-Hopefully fast growing.

Our local garden centre recommended bare rooted Laurel planted at 1m
intervals. He said that once it reaches 2m, it should be cut to that
height and will not tend to go above this. How much would it be likely
to bush outwards?

Thanks for your help!

Regards,

Nick

I like the clem suggestion or honeysuckle Armandi or P. x fraseri red robin all fab potential hedges and very different not like the average boring look.

nick wrote
We live in a flat with a communal garden area.

We would like to plant something that will screen a 40m x 5ft
glavanised steel fence and give us more privacy.

As our experience is limited I hoped you might help by providing some
hedging or plant suggestions.

Our requirements are that:

-It will need to require minimum maintenance, so ideally not grow
outwards too much and not grow much above 2m in height.(So as not to
increase our maintenance charge)

-It's evergreen.

-It's dense.

-Hopefully fast growing.

Our local garden centre recommended bare rooted Laurel planted at 1m
intervals. He said that once it reaches 2m, it should be cut to that
height and will not tend to go above this. How much would it be likely
to bush outwards?


I've seen a rather nice hedge of that height made with some small leaf
Ceanothus, not evergreen though but quite twiggy, needs a light trim once a
year, flowers beautifully.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK