Fence or hedge for privacy

Katiehound

Just remember if you plant a prickly hedge that you will get stabbed when trimming it! I had a pyracantha which looked lovely but it was viscious with the long spikes! There are quite a few plants which discourage intruders but I don't think any are that fast growing: Rosa Rugosa, berberis, pyracantha.

If you are in a windy postion growing clematis up a trellis could be (eventually)a recipe for collapsed trellis! I have C. Montana and it has pulled the trellis almost apart then strong winds did the rest. Montana is a very vigorous grower but it is not evergreen and that's what I think you need

I think you are going to have to go for a fence and then plant some evergreens which will eventually hide the fence and grow above it.

Grenage

Holly is a great hedge, its slow growth is a bonus once established.  Faster growing options are beech, but you're still looking at years until it gets to a decent height.

You can buy bigger plants but they are relatively expensive and often don't fill out as well at the bottom.

Having a fence as well would give you a best of both. You'll get next to no leaves on the fence side, but you won't be able to see it.  Would the hedge be shaded by the fence?

ripplyuk

Grenage said:

Holly is a great hedge, its slow growth is a bonus once established.  Faster growing options are beech, but you're still looking at years until it gets to a decent height.

You can buy bigger plants but they are relatively expensive and often don't fill out as well at the bottom.

Having a fence as well would give you a best of both. You'll get next to no leaves on the fence side, but you won't be able to see it.  Would the hedge be shaded by the fence?

Yes, it will be shady. I never thought of that. My oil tank is also beside the boundary so that will part will be very shady. It is facing east. Would that rule out having a hedge? 

Davesnave

Portuguese laurel. Stands up to most things, including shade, and takes hard pruning better than leyland cypress. Three years to person height where I am.

ripplyuk

With these hedging plants, am I going to have to trim both sides of it each year? I don’t really want to have to go onto my neighbours property to maintain this, if it starts growing through the fence or on top of it. 

Grenage

Technically any growth on their side is theirs with which to deal, although it's nice to offer to trim it when you're doing your side.

Hedges can sometimes push their way through weak areas of fencing, but plants generally pick the path of least resistance. So no gaps and no problem.

twopenny

Not holly! Trimming it is a nightmare and picking up the trimmings even worse.

But yes, hedges will bring you song birds too. Ready for when the kids go back to school.

As for growing it quickly now that's difficult. It's too late to plant. Too warm for the new plants to get their roots down before the leaves shrivel. You might get away with planting Rambling Rector rose if you dig a decent hole for it and put compost, garden sand and water regularly.

Another tough hedging plant that grows fairly quickly is Escalonia which has small flowers and it's easy to trim.

Or Jasmine. You could grow a mix of summer and winter Jasmine and have flowers the whole year and scent. That grows quickly if you prepare the hole well. Tie it in at first then leave to bush and flop then trim.

If you want a thick hedge you need to buy the plants in winter and prepare a whole trench. Hedges don't do that well under trees.

Davesnave

What about a lightweight bamboo type screen attached to your old fence while the hedge is growing? They don't last more than a few years, but you won't need it to.

I'd suggest rambling roses would be unwise, since you'll probably have little control once they get going and start an invasion of the neighbour's garden. I've been on the receiving end of that and had to respond with yearly doses of weak glyphosate, which led their owner to think they suffered a disease every summer! 

ripplyuk

Thanks for all the suggestions. I’ve been out in the garden this morning and the gap between my fence and the oil tank is only about a foot. It’s making me have second thoughts about the hedge in such a small gap. I don’t know what would grow behind that as it’s in full shade. 

Davesnave

But do you need a hedge behind the tank, as it's not see-through? I'm sure a combustible hedge wouldn't meet regs anyway, not that people generally bother about those! I'm just planning a hedge now to go around our tank to hide it, but the neighbours will continue to have an uninterrupted view, not that they'll care.