Hedge/Shrub required - any ideas please

muskoka

Unfortunately my next door neighbour decided in her stupid wisdom to remove a tree...that was at start of hedge that seperated our two front gardens. I now have the view of her really crappy & I mean crappy fencing. However, shes a very nice lady - just been thoughtless. I suspect theres little/no chance of her putting it to rights, so I will have to deal with it & pay for it if I want my privacy & better view back.

Can someone please suggest a money saving type hedge or shrub that I can buy. Needs to be/grow to 6' tall & about 5' wide. Theres some shrub about that has lots of red berries on it at the moment - this time of year...anyone any idea what that could be & if its a quick grower & not too expensive? I'm not too fussed - needs to be evergreen. All ideas gratefully accepted. Also, theres some flowering shrub that has BIG purple flowers - very pretty - think it grows fast - any idea what that could be at all please? Sorry know I'm providing very littile info

sparrer

Red/orange berries are on rowan trees now. Birds love them and are known to strip a tree of berries during a hard winter.

The large purple flowers could be a clematis, which does grow and spread quite fast if not kept trimmed back. Or perhaps a buddleia, aka butterfly bush, which would grow to the size you want but does need to be cut back each year to get a good display of blooms the following year. hth

ERICS_MUM

The bush with red berries might be a pyracantha. It's an evergreen shrub, very hardy and fast growing. Flowers in spring then develops berries - you can get red, orange or yellow berry varieties.

Possible drawback is that it has vicious thorns so not really suitable near children.

Farway

ERICS_MUM wrote: »

Possible drawback is that it has vicious thorns so not really suitable near children.

Very suitable if the children are not yours

fwor

I've had hedges of both Pyracantha and Berberis before, and I'd only recommend them if you need the security. The thorns are so vicious that when they get big they are literally a pain to keep trimmed.

Take a look at one of the suppliers that specialise in hedging, such as Buckingham Nurseries. In a similar position to yours, I've gone for Cotoneaster Franchetii, which is an upright fast-growing evergreen - but there are other options. How about Viburnum Tinus, which is evergreen and IIRC has very fragrant flowers, though sadly the flowering period is quite short.

muskoka

ok, I bought Aucuba Japonica Crojonifolia....? Looks nice - cost me £29. Hope I bought the right thing - semi shade. Hopefully fairly quick grower....if not, please tell me & I'll put this one somewhere else. Thanks

fwor

Spotted Laurel - good choice for density and speed of growth, and tolerance of shade.

Just don't let it get away from you - I got lazy with mine and it grew so massive that I could not cut the part that hung out over a nearby road without the road being closed (fortunately for gas works and not specifically for me)!

shegar

fwor wrote: »

Spotted Laurel - good choice for density and speed of growth, and tolerance of shade.

Just don't let it get away from you - I got lazy with mine and it grew so massive that I could not cut the part that hung out over a nearby road without the road being closed (fortunately for gas works and not specifically for me)!

Ive got cherry laurel which is now a brilliant hedge been planted 3 yr and now 6 foot tall and very lush ive cut the tops this year because I dont need it any higher, its nice and thick impossible to see through, and evergreen, I do like the spotted laurel too.........
If you buy bare root laurel they usually go on sale October time, buy them at 4 feet tall and they are cheaper than potted laurel........make sure you water it every week to build roots, then next spring water well and away it will grow...................:)

muskoka

Thanks sooooooo much. I'll be buying some of that root laurel October time from Buckingham's . Absolutely spot on:j Truly thanks a million....Actually that Cherry Laurel looks neat too.

3v3

I bought Spotted Laurels earlier this year. My understanding is that only the female plant produces the red berries so you need to have a male and female plant (so I bought 2 females and a male).

blossomhill_2

muskoka wrote: »

Also, theres some flowering shrub that has BIG purple flowers - very pretty - think it grows fast - any idea what that could be at all please? Sorry know I'm providing very littile info

Could this be hibiscus? Once established it makes a nice, well-behaved, boundary shrub