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Post by ashwood on Jul 25, 2016 20:05:07 GMT
Hi there, I am a gardening novice but I am trying to straighten up my rather large garden. The side of my garden goes onto a large field and the hedgerow spans around 150+foot. Unfortunately this hedgerow is mainly hawthorn, holly and other older thicker type hedgerows. I can't remove them as they are the councils but they are thick, sharp and not the prettiest. I would like to 'face them' to improve the all year round appearance so plan on some sort of evergreen hedge. Problem is I want to put it directly in front of the existing hedge. Is this ok to do? If so what would you recommend? Conifer doesn't suit to landscape, there is some standard laurel in the hedge already so I thought of using this? I also considered a form of ivy to climb and cover the hedge? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I am on a budget so the cheaper the better, but also the less maintenance the better. Thanks Ash
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Post by daitheplant on Jul 25, 2016 20:40:11 GMT
Ash, you are allowed, by law, to trim anything overhanging your side of the fence.
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Post by ashwood on Jul 25, 2016 20:47:10 GMT
I have trimmed it back to the border but it's still ugly. Just want to put something in front of it but something quite narrow but not a fence
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Post by dianthus on Jul 25, 2016 20:56:58 GMT
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Post by SueA on Jul 25, 2016 21:50:47 GMT
Hi ashwood & welcome. I would actually be happy with the hedgerow & imagine it will look good when it's covered with wild flowers/berries but I would want to cover up the ugly wire netting. It will be very dry on your side at the base of the hedge so you might have problems getting anything to grow close to it. If you went for ivy it would cover the wire fence & hedge eventually & would be cheap but you would have to keep an eye on it or it could creep out & take over the beds you're preparing. Another idea would be clematis, a fast growing montana type would be good & you don't need to prune them but they do just look like a tangle of dead sticks in winter until they bounce back into life in the spring. Laurel or beech would make a uniform hedge but you'd have to improve the soil before planting them & keep them trimmed to stop them bulking out over your beds & they may cost a bit to buy if you're doing the full length of 150 ft.
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Post by Rosie on Jul 26, 2016 9:08:41 GMT
Hi ashwood and welcome to the forum How about Honeysuckle? Easy maintenance and the added bonus it's good for wildlife, also easy to propagate so you could cover the length of the hedge fairly cheaply.
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Post by ashwood on Jul 26, 2016 17:33:33 GMT
Hi Thanks for the replies. Don't want to do anything with the soil really, I have all on cutting the grass I like the clematis idea, however if I plant clematis , the hedge behind will still grow outwards and I won't be able to shear it back without hacking through the clematis ? Or does the clematis somehow stop the hedge growing out? I am interested in the honey suckle idea as I am all for wildlife. Don't know much about it though so I will look into it. No wild strawberries or flowers grow in the hedge, only a never ending supply of deadly nettles, blackberry spikey things and more sycamore
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Post by sweetpea on Jul 26, 2016 17:46:40 GMT
Pyrcantha can be kept quite narrow and will have the benefit of berries, Would need training to keep it in bounds but is tough as old boots and quite cheap. I got some at Morrisons £1.50 each or alternately find one somewhere and take cuttings, easy enough to do but will take more time. No need to improve the soil either. they are sometimes grown as a wall shrub and grown as espalier. Downside is they are wickedly thorny so good gloves necessary. See some info here; www.gardenseeker.com/shrubs/pyracantha-firethorns.html
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Post by SueA on Jul 26, 2016 21:17:39 GMT
I think whatever you plant there in the form of a climber like clematis, ivy or honeysuckle wouldn't stop the hedgerow plants growing through completely but they would slow the growth a little & hold it back along with the wire fence you already have. You could just try to carefully cut off any stray branches as they came through or if you used clematis montana carefully trim it straight after flowering but ideally you don't want to cut back clematis or honeysuckle so you'd be in a bit of a quandary. You could try pyracantha as sweetpea suggests if you just want a prettier more uniform hedge or similar berberis or cotoneaster , they might not mind the dry soil. Failing that I know you said you don't want a fence but you could try something like willow screening rather than an expensive boring wooden one.
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Post by ashwood on Jul 26, 2016 21:41:35 GMT
Thanks
Can I cut pyracantha with electric hedge shears when it is established. Due to the quantity of hedge I need something that can be cut electronically
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Post by sweetpea on Jul 26, 2016 22:06:16 GMT
Thanks
Can I cut pyracantha with electric hedge shears when it is established. Due to the quantity of hedge I need something that can be cut electronically You certainly can although don't do what I did once and cut through the cable Once the branches have matured over the years they can get to thick for shears but regular trimming to keep the shape will preempt that. I use a petrol hedgetrimmer.
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Post by ashwood on Jul 26, 2016 22:19:07 GMT
Great, I think we may have a winner 👍
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Post by ashwood on Jul 26, 2016 22:19:39 GMT
Are there different types? Is there one that may be better for my purpose. Also how far apart would you space them.
Thanks again it really is appreciated
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Post by Rosie on Jul 27, 2016 9:55:50 GMT
Our sweetpea is a clever fella Apart from when he cut through the trimmer cable of course
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Post by sweetpea on Jul 27, 2016 11:33:34 GMT
ashwood probably easier to answer your question by looking here; www.pyracantha.co.uk/pyracantha-varieties/I planted 'orange glow' but I wanted a barrier hedge and planted about 2.5 feet apart. A screen of the type you would want I used to look after at a garden I worked in was actually planted on top of a retaining wall and spaced about 3 -4 feet apart as I recall. (About 12 years ago) of course it will take a few years to fill out the space fully but the end result should be good. just remember when pruning not to cut off the flowers if you want berries.
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