what's the best hedge for my garden? (U.K.)?

Question

I'm looking for something fairly slow growing with all year round colour/interest - and that won't grow too high. any ideas?

Answer 1

Hi Pyracantha Orange Glow makes an excellent hedge when pruned, White flowers in the Spring, lovely orange berries about now and it is evergreen. Lovely long thorns to stop the kids and cats, and as bonus attracts and feeds birds in early Winter.
Needs pruning once a year so is also low maintenance.

Answer 2

I used to have a privet hedge. It took me a long time to appreciate it. Sometimes I used to think I'd like to replace it with beech and be able to look at those wonderful autumn colours.

But when I discovered that privet needs the least maintenance of all hedges (attention only twice a year) as well as being evergreen and flowering once a year, I decided to stick with it.

The vareigated privet is particularly attractive, and I think it grows more slowly than the everyday green one.

Answer 3

You haven't given us any indication of soil type, aspect, garden size, town or country, front or back, for privacy or to hide someone else's wall ... etc. So, going on very little, privet is pretty good, especially variegated. However - you may find it a bit too slow growing if you start with young plants and you want some screening. You could interplant it with fuschia for summer colour which you can cut back to below privet level in winter until you feel the privet is properly established.
You could try eschalonia 'Apple Blossom' - has lots of pretty flowers in the summer and is evergreen - planted between privet - eschalonia grows faster than privet, or eschalonia by itself, with perhaps a couple of shrub roses in between to provide extra colour - in fact there are a few good hedge roses, but they're not evergreen, so won't provide all year round shelter or privacy. Both eschalonia and roses together wil make a tall hedge.
Cotoneaster, berberis, pyracanthus all have beautiful berries and a variety of different leaves and some have very sharp thorns - if that's what you need. My sister planted a berberis under her drain-pipe to prevent burglars climbing it ...
Box won't grow very tall, unless you plant large sweet-box bushes, but it is slow growing, it does smell nice, too. In the south west (UK) we are beginning to have problems with box blight - so it might be wise to steer clear, which is a real shame as it makes a pretty little border hedge.
Lavender makes a good hedge - not very tall, needs maintenance - interspersed with rosemary, especially if you have a very sunny, dry garden, and love bees and butterflies. Red Sage is another good hedge plant, its greeny-red summer leaves getting darker through the winter, again, it needs some looking after to avoid getting straggly but it grows well in full sun on poor soil, and isn't as overbearing (in growth terms) as its culinary cousin. Some red sages have beautiful purple flowers too. So, if you had all three herbs in a hedge you'd have plenty of summer flowers, and leaves that don't drop.
Lonicera is a good colour, likes a clay soil, but the hedge is very robust and if you don't like it you'll have difficulty getting rid of it in a few years time. But, yes, it makes a good hedge to keep you secluded - provides a lot of shade.
For all round usefulness holly makes an excellent hedge - variegated, several different types, prickly, and with berries and flowers if you get the different sexes sorted out. Not very slow growing but slow enough, doesn't mind heavy soils and shade, and can cope with a certain amount of dryness. A clipped holly hedge, glossy green and greeny-white and yellow, red berries shining in the winter sun is a treat to lift the heart on short January days.
I agree with the person who said to look around your neighbourhood and see what does well - always bearing in mind that they could all be really dull and grow the same old stuff because no-one said to do anything different - so check it out and plant something else!
Happy growing!

Answer 4

The backyard is a location that not all the residences can presume, If you want to make your personal dream backyard then decide on https://tr.im/szxjT , Ideas 4 Landscaping for beginners and experts.
The Ideas 4 Landscaping is a total landscaping resource with in depth diagrams, full with shade photographs and examples on a lot of sorts of landscaping patterns. It is every little thing you'll require to get commenced in generating the excellent outside so you don’t dream any longer and make it achievable.

Answer 5

Guess you won't be looking for conifers then? :-)

I'd recommend a fence or wall rather than a hedge, anything that you plant will eventually become a burden and you'll find you have to cut it back at least once a year. Even the slow growing ones will speed up eventually, they don't self maintain.

Answer 6

Privet - common and boring yes - but a good hedge. For security try Berberis - very slow growing, colourful with very, very sharp barbs - bit of a devil to cut - but stops kids jumping in it and plucking at it.

Answer 7

Escallonia all the way. Great hedge, Evergreen / Semi evergreen depending where you live. Flowers most of the summer. I did not know about this plant until I came to live in the south west of Scotland 20 years ago. "Try it its brilliant"

Answer 8

hi
try the lonicera "baggisons gold" (check the spelling) it is a beautiful golden yellow bush that you can either trim to a uniform shape or leave to grow naturally, it is in leaf all year and looks amazing in winter. it is actually from the privet family but much nicer. i have had mine about 3 years and is only about 5 foot.

Answer 9

ewe is what you need expensive but the best a man can get sorry that the razor add. No ewe looks lovely and is slow growing

Answer 10

rosa regunda or rose-wall, stops most pests, cats dogs people, lovely to look at, trim with your hedge trimmers,
just needs some support, or grow in two rows staggered, make a nice thick hedge with it.