@Fairygirl - the hedge that is there at the bottom is growing in what appears to be the remains of an old wall which has given the hedge some additional height to start with. Plants have grown in there so I just want to fill it out a bit but trying to get anything is not easy. Soil very hard and I am thinking the only way to add will be to make some holes for thin whips which won't be the end of the world if they fail. I certainly wouldn't be able to dig out a nice hole for, say a 1ltr pot or anything like that without difficulty. I just wondered what might be the toughest plants to try. Hawthorn /Blackthorn do grown well and it sounds as though the growth rate per annum is decent so may try that in the Autumn. 👍🤞
Not seen a pic of how close the other hedges are, but perhaps you could allow trailing plants (which don't need deep soil to grow in) to grow up the other hedges and spread from one to the other to create more privacy/screening...
If the existing hedge is privet you could cut it down fairly hard and it should thicken up at the base and regrow. It would mean sacrificing the height for a couple of years though.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I have found a number of seedlings from my hawthorn trees and they grow fairly fast, so if you could get hold of one or two from somewhere it might give you a good chance of establishing something reasonably quickly.
Every day's a school day @Dovefromabove I wondered if it was blackthorn because @robairdmacraignil said the flowers were out on it, and it's too early for them on hawthorn, although I don't know if that's just here, as with many plants.
White thorn/hawthorn has just started flowering here and the blackthorn is still flowering but it does usually start a bit earlier. I'd avoid the blackthorn since the thorns are a bit more severe than those of the white thorn and have the experience of blackthorn going right through my Wellington boot in the past. There's an old saying that a blackthorn cut never heals. There is also the issue of the blackthorn producing suckers that I read about. I was unsure if this was true as I moved one that self seeded in the garden and it stayed as a single tree for a number of years but now it has the suckers coming up in places and I guess if I left it there would be a thicket of blackthorn where I really just wanted the one tree. I have added bare root white thorn whips of about two foot height to an existing hedge to thicken it up and they have made it through their first year anyway with no attention from me. I also read the Ebbing's silverberry is a good option for filling in gaps in established shelter belt tree rows as it does not mind growing in shade.
If by "little growing space" you mean "narrow". there is nothing to beat beech. I f you mean little root space, I would need more information.
For examples of growing on an old wall, Devon and Cornwall hedges might be a good one to follow. A lot of beech hedging on Dartmoor. They are easy to grow from seed, in situ perhaps. 2-3 year old seedlings could fit into a crowbar hole.
Whitethorn trimmings puncture yhe tyres on my S-in-L's Johm Deere tractor.
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
A lot of the hedge is beech and I intend to add to it in places where the bank is lower and more amenable to planting things. I think I will give Hawthorn some serious consideration too. We get plenty of common Dogwood seedlings so might try a couple of those. I am not familiar with Ebbings Silver berry so one to Google later. Apologies, I agree a photo would have been helpful but you have all been helpful to me as usual and I appreciate it.
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I just wondered what might be the toughest plants to try.
Hawthorn /Blackthorn do grown well and it sounds as though the growth rate per annum is decent so may try that in the Autumn. 👍🤞
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
For examples of growing on an old wall, Devon and Cornwall hedges might be a good one to follow. A lot of beech hedging on Dartmoor. They are easy to grow from seed, in situ perhaps. 2-3 year old seedlings could fit into a crowbar hole.
Whitethorn trimmings puncture yhe tyres on my S-in-L's Johm Deere tractor.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
I think I will give Hawthorn some serious consideration too.
We get plenty of common Dogwood seedlings so might try a couple of those.
I am not familiar with Ebbings Silver berry so one to Google later.
Apologies, I agree a photo would have been helpful but you have all been helpful to me as usual and I appreciate it.