Advice on choice of foundation plants to create a hedge

[poppyseed]

Hello,

I am new to gardening and would would very much appreciate your advice.

I would like to plant a hedge around my front garden. It is currently

5m x 8m of lawn. The house is end of terrace and due to the very low wall, the garden is quite exposed to people walking past, throwing litter in etc. I was originally thinking of planting bare root privet or laurel but realised that if I plant right up to the side of the house, the roots could potentially cause problems.

So my plan now is to plant privet or laurels along the front garden wall only. But am stumped about what to plant along the side running up to the house. I love choisya ternata and would like to find some other foundation plants that might go well with this and eventually grow bushy / high enough to create a decent barrier, without being invasive. Do you have any suggestions?

The garden is North West facing and not overshadowed so gets a reasonable amount of sun in the afternoons/evenings. It's a fairly quiet street so not too much traffic, but there is some. I'd also eventually like to plant a tree in the garden, as well as maybe a climbing rose for the front wall, and possibly some raised beds for vegetables. But as an inexperienced gardener I would like to start slowly and make the right choices!

Thanks very much for your help.

[Higgs Boson]

Could you state where you are? It helps us to give advice if we know a newbie's country, area within the country, climate (dry/wet/cold/ warm), etc.

HB

[Billy]

H.B., don't you see .co.uk in the header?

[David E. Ross]

There are several different climates in the UK. Furthermore, just because someone has an E-mail address with a UK domain does not mean that person actually is in the UK.

[hylandshannon13]

Sorry I have no advice for you I was trying to figure out as to how these groups are all about and hope to use them better now. Thanks for your time. Star

[David Hare-Scott]

Who or what is it that inspires these drones to come here and make vapid remarks?

D

[David Hare-Scott]

In the right conditions privet becomes invasive. It has a million berries that are spread by birds and water and every one (it seems) germinates.

Don't start by planting. Start by planning. Draw a scale plan of the whole area, consider sun, views, wind, use now and in the future, consider the situation in all seasons of the year. There is no point (for example) in planting a big tree where it will shade your vege plot or fill your gutters with leaves.

David

[lannerman]

Hi poppyseed, A couple of comments, firstly, I'd think very hard before planting laurel in such a small space ? and make sure you like the smell of privet flowers ? personally, I find the smell unbearable !

Choisya 'sundance' whilst being a lovely shrub, is quite slow growing and will only get to about 4ft tall in 10 yrs ??? so if its privacy that your after, I think you need something a bit quicker ! I'd think about Grisellinia, either plain green or variegated, Viburnum tinus, Photinia 'red robin', Euonymous japonica in its various forms or even a mixture which will give a less formal effect and might look very good. It really depends on what style you have in mind ?

best of luck ! Lannerman.

[goldentony111]

thanks, I was looking for this

[Brooklyn1]

Those who respond.

[Billy]

I'll bet you this one is, or very close. In any event, I've always been partial to Crataegus laevigata , Crataegus monogyna, or Crataegus pinnatifida for health, or hedges.

[poppyseed]

Thanks for your replies - good suggestions and things to think about.

I am based in South East London in the UK - sorry, I thought that appeared on my message in the right hand corner.

We were thinking of cherry laurel which I believe is less rampant than other types? But perhaps you are right and it would be a bad idea to plant it in this small space. Have no idea what privet smells like - will make sure I check that out.

Thanks again. I will investigate your plant suggestions and will make sure I draw a scale plan.

[songbird]

David Hare-Scott wrote: ...

plus you can fix the soil and drainage problems before putting in paths and other decorations or features that are a pain to work around later.

songbird