What Hedge?

donglemouse

I would appreciate any advice or feedback from the experienced in the world of hedges

My new house has approx 250 metres of perimeter (yes 250m) that i would like to hedge.

The site is fairly remote with the hedge being for extra privacy and the decorative effect

I don't think the garden doesn't have any special requirements i.e. it's not windy/exposed, particularly wet/dry, or dark

I have had a local gardener in who suggested using lengths of beech, copper beech, escalonia and laurel - basically a different type of hedge along each side of the garden

To be honest I am not that keen I fancy doing something using natural occuring species (i live in county antrim, northern ireland) and prefer things that are fairly understated perhaps a mix of plants like blackthron, beech and hazel

The only other requirement would be to avoid anything posionous as we have a dog

I have read a few websites that list the various types of hedge plant, growth rates, considerations etc but am still a bit bamboozled about exactly what to do - too much information and not enough decisions at the moment

Are there particular pros/cons to doing a hedge using a mix of plants rather than a single species that the gardening expert i spoke to seemed so keen on?

Is a mix hedge harder to maintain? More expensive to get the plants? or anything else i should know?

Any advice or ideas much appreciated

Also if anyone in northern ireland can suggest any helpful garden centres and the like that would be great.

paddy's_mum

My recommendation would be common beech for several reasons. Hardy/native/good wildlife habitat/leaves stay on through winter = good degree of privacy/not exotic so not too expensive/fits into the landscape well/doesn't need huge amount of trimming to keep tidy/can be dramatically hard pruned if allowed to become too large/makes a lovely understated backdrop for other colours in the garden.

Escallonia is lovely and attracts bees and insects galore. It is evergreen but needs trimming twice a year to prevent it becoming too bushy and un-hedge-like. I have it as a mini hedge beneath ground floor windows but I have also seen it used to good effect as a specimen plant where it had been allowed to develop into a fountain like mound of apple pink flowers.

Your choice but most of the plants you mention have their devotees, their advantages and their drawbacks. Perhaps have a look round at local gardens or parks and see which hedge appeals to you the most. Good luck and enjoy your new garden.

jollyanna

I'd echo Paddy'smums advice. take walks locally and see what is thriving and looks good. Be ready to commit to the upkeep that will be required. Good luck.

annie123

lots of ideas here

http://www.hedging.co.uk/acatalog/Index_Hedge_Collections_2.html#10798

i have had many trees and a lot of hedging from them over the years.

allways helpful on the phone and good quality plants arrive.

I envy you I would love all that boundry and what a great oppertunaty to do something interesting and that will benefit local wildlife.

happy gardening

Debt_Free_Chick

donglemouse wrote: »

on?

Is a mix hedge harder to maintain? More expensive to get the plants? or anything else i should know?

Did this last year - elder (for flowers & berries), blackthorn (sloes), dog rose (flowers & hips), hawthorn (flowers & haws), hornbeam etc to create a natural farm-style hedgerow. As we're surrounded by farmland, I wanted the hedge to blend with the surroundings.

It just needs an annual trim with a hedgecutter, but it won't look like a perfect angular "box" (you need something like yew for that). Or the farmer will probably flail it when he does his own hedgerows.

Great for wildlife, (in my case) blends with the surroundings, forms a natural stock barrier (eventually) and a wild food larder . Although it will be sheep proof it won't be rabbit & badger proof so if you need to keep the critters out, you'll need a fence too, but with mesh rather than stock netting. We had cleft post & rail with rabbit netting (chicken wire).

Any local farm workers you can chat to?

110frankie

I have the same mix, hawthorn, blackthorn etc - with a couple of holly in there as well - all native hedgerow shrubs.

Do you have a local Grundwork? Ours sold whips very cheeaply.

110frankie

sorry, that should have read Groundwork...

donglemouse

thanks for the answers that's very helpful

just one other question has anyone any idea what i would expect to paying for some to prepare the ground and do the planting?

i can work out the cost of the plants easy enough but i am interested in what's a reasonable estimate for labour

a lot of the perimeter is currently lawn so would need turf removing and then a trench digging out - this might be quite a job along 250m length for one person armed with a spade and nothing more sophisticated i.e. me

if i have a ball park labour cost this will help me work out then if it's worth doing myself or not

i can get some quotes to find this out, but would be interested if anyone has any specific experience or suggestions

thanks

susieb

We have this year planted a hedge of ceanothus and escalloia (sp?) its doing okay and I am hoping will get better each year, the idea is to create privacy and wind break, and be pretty, so hopefully the ceanothus should flower in the spring and the escallonia in the summer and autumn, and then quick hedge trim once a year.

paddy's_mum

donglemouse - I can't give you any idea of labour costs but it might be worthwhile to find out if anyone in your area has one of those mini-bulldozers with rubber tracks and a narrow digging bucket. Half a morning's work and the job is done since you are basically only digging a narrow trench. Maybe ask among local landscape/gardening chappies? The advantage of the trench method is that you can add fertiliser/soil improver as you plant.

However, it is also possible to plant whips (very thin and narrow but rooted plants) using the slit method whereby you simply push in a sharp spade to its blade depth, wiggle it a little to enlarge the slit, pop the whip into the slit, remove the spade and tread the soil back down firmly - job done with a fraction of the labour of trenching. Done very soon or alternatively in the spring and kept well watered through the summer, they'll grow away just fine. Hope that helps.

VeryTrying_2

susieb wrote: »

... and then quick hedge trim once a year.

Are you sure about a hedge, Donglemouse? Or would a loose arrangement of shrubs and trees give you what you need? I feel quite faint at the thought of 250m of hedge to be cut BOTH SIDES, and the top if about 0.75m thick, and then about 6ft tall for privacy. The mind boggles!!!

We used to get somebody to cut ours in October with a tractor and cutter, but it was really quite expensive and not easy to reach with plant borders in the way.