Hedge to screen front garden from parallel public public pathway

1404

Hi all,

Any advice on which type (breed/genus) of hedge to get along the side of my front garden to form a screen from a public pathway?

Something fast-growing would be good initially, obviously. But that would mean regular pruning forever more. Which is ok, I guess, if the result is looks good and does the job.

I have also thought of artificial options. Bamboo, fake hedge in planter, trellis, trellis with planters at the bottom etc. 

Currently there's a 1m high metal fence, which is all I'm really allowed as it's in keeping with the area. But lots of houses have overgrown hedges to grow over the fence forming privacy screens. I guess that's the advantage of natural hedges over putting something artificial in place: it can be bigger than anything artificial you can get away with.

Many thanks.

drjohn67

?laurel 
pot or root ball for better survival than bare root plants
if chalky soil then avoid the cherry laurel varieties

Evergreen screening persists in winter, reasonably fast growing and not excessively thorny

Flugelhorn

agree laurel would make a good hedge and you can buy some decent sized plants 

Section62

1404 said:

....
I have also thought of artificial options. Bamboo, fake hedge in planter, trellis, trellis with planters at the bottom etc. 

Currently there's a 1m high metal fence, which is all I'm really allowed as it's in keeping with the area. But lots of houses have overgrown hedges to grow over the fence forming privacy screens. I guess that's the advantage of natural hedges over putting something artificial in place: it can be bigger than anything artificial you can get away with.

Trellis is likely to be treated the same as a fence for planning purposes, so best avoided.

Although planning rules don't usually cover hedges, on more modern developments there may be planning conditions governing green landscaping, which might include types and heights of hedges, or restrictions on obstructions within the visibility splay (if there is one).  There could also be covenants applying to your property.

When you say 1m is all you are allowed have you actually asked the planning department? 1m is the maximum for 'permitted development rights' (if applicable) but there's nothing stopping you applying for planning consent for something higher.  If others have allowed their hedges to grow taller then there's probably an argument to be had about what is and isn't 'in keeping' - unless there are planning conditions that the others aren't complying with.

I'd also consider laurel - but it does need a fair amount of work to keep it looking good once established.

1404

Thanks, all. Cherry laurel does seem to be coming up a lot in my research. It'll take some maintaining but it looks ideal. 

The area gets sun, but is surrounded by 3 storey townhouses so gets lots of shade too. 

Regarding Planning permission/neighbours, I am not aware of any covenants so would have to check. Would it say on my deeds? 

As I say, most of my neighbours have large/unkempt hedges. Many of them rent the townhouses. I would keep mine in good order as I own the property. But I would want the hedge as high as I can get away with - ie, 6ft or so. That way it's a proper screen from the public footpath which runs along the perimeter of the front garden. 

Eldi_Dos

Privet provide a dense hedge good for privacy and as a windbreak, if you plant staggered double rows the hedge will thicken up quicker.
The golden varieties can look good.

Painting the railings before planting a hedge would be a good idea as it may prove more difficult as hedge establishes itself.

casper_gutman

Other good choices for a quick-growing screening hedge could include griselinia littoralis a.k.a. New Zealand broadleaf which is evergreen and grows well in milder parts of the country, or if you prefer a native species then beech which is deciduous but provides year-round screening as it retains its brown leaves over the winter (some people aren't keen on the way this looks, but I really like it).

Care is needed with these - and many other hedging plants - as they can grow quite large if you don't keep on top of them. Griselinia will ultimately grow to 4-8 metres tall, while beech of course will grow into a pretty large tree if left uncontrolled.

I'd avoid conifers personally as I'm not keen on the appearance and some widely grown ones don't grow back if they get overgrown and have to be pruned back hard.

1404

So, I've had my cherry laurel hedge for a few months now. It's over 6ft tall (8 cherry laurels in a row) and they are doing their screening job for the most part even though they haven't had time to weave together horizontally much. The hedge is all in planters, not in the ground.

However, it has come to my attention that they are poisonous to humans and animals. And whilst I can't find any actual cases of harm caused by them this does concern me. My cherry laurels are, after all, along a public pathway.

I have therefore been researching alternative hedge choices which are fast growing, shade tolerant, suitable for smaller gardens, suitable for planters and non-poisonous (or even edible!).

The idea being that I can work the new plants in to the cherry laurels over time and gradually remove the cherry laurels. Or perhaps keen a few in place. I'm not sure yet. 

The plant which has come up my research is Elaeagnus Ebbingei Compacta. Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of how suitable this plant would be?

Grenage

Nobody is going to eat your laurel. Don't overthink it.

twopenny

1404 the Elaeagnus  you mention tends to be gappy in a hedge and the dustyness look of the leaves looks constantly dull and a bit sickly with time.

Privet takes slightly longer to grow than laurel and needs to be kept tidy (which is easier than Laurel) but the Laurels shiney leaves make it look healthy and less annoying when it's in need of a trim.

Just don't let Laurel get too high!

1404

twopenny said:

1404 the Elaeagnus  you mention tends to be gappy in a hedge and the dustyness look of the leaves looks constantly dull and a bit sickly with time.

Privet takes slightly longer to grow than laurel and needs to be kept tidy (which is easier than Laurel) but the Laurels shiney leaves make it look healthy and less annoying when it's in need of a trim.

Just don't let Laurel get too high!

Does that (gappy hedge) also hold true about the Elaeagnus Compacta variety, I wonder? 

I think Privet is also poisonous, so no much of a difference from Cherry Laurels.

Yes, cherry laurels do look nice. They have lovely leaves. Mine are already 7ft high (they arrived that high, I've not long had them) and a trim is coming this week!