Fence blown down

dbriggs

Woke up this morning to find some of our back garden fence has blown down. Great!

I was planning on replacing them in the summer anyway as the previous owner of the house had not taken care of them and they had rotted in parts.

Should I patch-up and wait for summer to replace them or crack on with it now with more bad weather likely to hit? Any suggestions on where to buy and what to treat them with (if they are not pre-treated)?

browneyedbazzi

I repaired mine twice this year, the third time it went I decided it was time to replace it with a hedge lol.

I'd patch it up and wait for the weather to improve before trying to replace it. It won't be very pleasant doing the job now and it will be too wet to paint/treat it.

dbriggs

I would love to replace it with a hedge but where do I start with that? It looks like the posts have been set in concrete (maybe they blew over previously as that side of the garden has a farmers field on one side so the wind seems to pick up speed before it hits the fence) so I guess I would first need to look at mini digger hire and rip up those bases.

I would rather have a hedge as the wind hitting the fences gets on my nerves with the rattling sound. I tried to make little wooden wedges to fit between the fence and the post to stop them banging in the wind, but they always seem to work their way out over time.

DaftyDuck

Hedges are normally pretty easy to "install", compared to doing a concrete post trellis, in my opinion. I've got my plants from Buckinghamshire Nursery here. Others are available, ebay can be cheaper, but BN sent out a whole load more trees when I'd had a problem with a batch - even though discussion with them suggested it was me doing it wrong. Service and help like that can be essential.

A hedge will not only be more resilient to wind, it';ll also act as a far more effective wind break, leaving the garden more still in a storm. Great for wildlife and, cleverly planted, can have fruit & berries for you too!

Disadvantage is time... it may take two to three years to give a passable hedge, and five to get really thick & bushy. So, now might be the time to start planting, even befor you rip out all the old fence.

It's the right time of year to plant most hedging (you've about another month to go), so give it a bit of thought...

The gardening forum two below this one may well give more advice on a hedge....

Dan-Dan

^^^but what to do with current concrete boards....? i am feeling the same as OP , not waiting for my neighbours for ever , might plant my own boundary...

dbriggs

I've got hedges at the back and other side of the garden (which face neighbours gardens). How could I identify the type of hedge they are and get a match? Do you think someone like Buckinghamshire Nursery would be able to tell if I emailed them some pictures?

browneyedbazzi

Dan-Dan wrote: »

^^^but what to do with current concrete boards....? i am feeling the same as OP , not waiting for my neighbours for ever , might plant my own boundary...

I had concerns about the concrete posts in my garden as well but I had a landscaper out who said it would be fine to plant the hedge plants either side of the posts - they'll grow in and hide the post soon enough. In the mean time to prevent people (and foxes) walking through the hedge until it fills in we're putting some wire stock fencing up using the existing posts.

I've gone with laurels btw, if I was going to have a hedge that dropped it's leaves and was see through part of the year I'd probably want to remove the posts.

OP - If you post a photo of your hedge on the greenfingered board someone there will be able to tell you what it is.

Dan-Dan

the boards are a border in themselves though , are you referring to posts ?

browneyedbazzi

Dan-Dan wrote: »

the boards are a border in themselves though , are you referring to posts ?

Sorry, yes, I misread that. I am talking about the fence posts. I can't quite picture what you mean when you say concrete boards!

dbriggs

the bits at the bottom of the fence panels like in this pic: http://www.gardeningbirmingham.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Waney-Edge-Panel-Fence.jpg

I like the idea of putting wire mesh in between the fence posts while the hedge grows. I'm sure you wouldn't see it once the hedge had filled out

27col

There is no real need to remove the concrete, except maybe the occasional piece where it interferes with the hedge planting. Also, the concrete bases will accurately indicate the line of the fence.