This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
2-3m privacy hedge - evergreen, non toxic alternative to cherry laurel and beech?
Hello! We have recently moved into a property and looking to get some hedging for privacy up as quickly as possible as our garden is rather overlooked by a neighbour's property. Have had various suggestions but still scratching our heads! Suggestions very welcome.
Ideal requirements:
- Evergreen
- Non-toxic as we have a young child that puts everything in her mouth. No pets. If we can't find a non-toxic I think we may end up going for a laurel.
- Something that will comfortably grow to 3m. 2.4m would be the minimum to get us more privacy than we have now.
- Can be purchased/planted at around 2m already grown?! So we don't have to wait too long for it to grow up? This is the trickiest ask I think. Or, failing that, something that will grow very quickly from a lower height.
- Fast growth rate, 30-60cm a year
- Hardy (we are novice gardeners!)
- Affordable... max budget £750 (though do have some flexibility) though we would love to spend far less and could with something like beech.
Garden is south facing (hedge will be at the far south end, behind a fence). We'd really like some more privacy by next summer if possible but certainly by Summer 2025 (fingers crossed!). The approximate area we want hedged is 6m width by 3m height. We are in Wiltshire, soil is chalk formation. We may move house again in 5-7 years so we don't want something that will take that long to grow, if that makes sense, otherwise it's not worth doing...!
We have looked at:
Cherry laurel, portuguese laurel - concerned about toxicity as we have a young child. Also concerned it is a bit aggressive/invasive?!
Beech, hornbeam - tempting (we like that it is native) but we don't really like the brown leaves in winter look personally, we would much prefer something evergreen.
Yew, Privet - again, toxicity is a negative.
Photinia Red Robin - I do like it, although would prefer something just green and not red
Griselinia littoralis - I like this but can't find it at a tall enough height to purchase that wouldn't seemingly take ages to grow. Help?!
Elaeagnus (Oleaster), Elaeagnus pungens - again I really like the look of these but seem not to be as widely sold/would take a long time to grow.
Laurus Nobilis, Bay Laurel - think it wouldn't grow high enough?
Bamboo - we think this will feel too out of place on our estate, maybe a but unwieldy too
Leylandii, Western Red Cedar - don't love the conifer appearance
Pleached trees - could be an option but expensive!
Think we might be asking for the impossible but thanks so much for any ideas or anything I've missed/misunderstood! We started off at Cherry/Portuguese laurel, then got put off from research, but now I feel like we are circling back to it!
Ideal requirements:
- Evergreen
- Non-toxic as we have a young child that puts everything in her mouth. No pets. If we can't find a non-toxic I think we may end up going for a laurel.
- Something that will comfortably grow to 3m. 2.4m would be the minimum to get us more privacy than we have now.
- Can be purchased/planted at around 2m already grown?! So we don't have to wait too long for it to grow up? This is the trickiest ask I think. Or, failing that, something that will grow very quickly from a lower height.
- Fast growth rate, 30-60cm a year
- Hardy (we are novice gardeners!)
- Affordable... max budget £750 (though do have some flexibility) though we would love to spend far less and could with something like beech.
Garden is south facing (hedge will be at the far south end, behind a fence). We'd really like some more privacy by next summer if possible but certainly by Summer 2025 (fingers crossed!). The approximate area we want hedged is 6m width by 3m height. We are in Wiltshire, soil is chalk formation. We may move house again in 5-7 years so we don't want something that will take that long to grow, if that makes sense, otherwise it's not worth doing...!
We have looked at:
Cherry laurel, portuguese laurel - concerned about toxicity as we have a young child. Also concerned it is a bit aggressive/invasive?!
Beech, hornbeam - tempting (we like that it is native) but we don't really like the brown leaves in winter look personally, we would much prefer something evergreen.
Yew, Privet - again, toxicity is a negative.
Photinia Red Robin - I do like it, although would prefer something just green and not red
Griselinia littoralis - I like this but can't find it at a tall enough height to purchase that wouldn't seemingly take ages to grow. Help?!
Elaeagnus (Oleaster), Elaeagnus pungens - again I really like the look of these but seem not to be as widely sold/would take a long time to grow.
Laurus Nobilis, Bay Laurel - think it wouldn't grow high enough?
Bamboo - we think this will feel too out of place on our estate, maybe a but unwieldy too
Leylandii, Western Red Cedar - don't love the conifer appearance
Pleached trees - could be an option but expensive!
Think we might be asking for the impossible but thanks so much for any ideas or anything I've missed/misunderstood! We started off at Cherry/Portuguese laurel, then got put off from research, but now I feel like we are circling back to it!
0
Posts
There is no such thing as an instant fix. Plants that grow faster always need lots of maintenance in the future. Smaller plants often get away faster than large ones because they settle more quickly grow faster.
When it comes to plant toxicity I think you would need to' police' all garden plants. Teaching children not to eat plants should be part of their family education as they grow.
Growing veg such as a wigwam of runner beans is fun for a three year old that doesn't like veg,Iv'e done that.
A quick growing hedge is commonly asked question, nature moves at it's own pace and plants don't just stop.
If you have a photo that would help don't worry if it is sideways. What is the soil like. clay maybe or is it free draining Soil preparation is very important before planting a hedge. All the plants are easy to source. The Photinias fixed to canes can be a problem in a windy site and leaves can blacken too. They also have problems when it comes to establishing them.
Welcome!
PS you can't start teaching a child too soon.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1077850/2-3m-privacy-hedge-evergreen-non-toxic-alternative-to-cherry-laurel-and-beech#latest
Duplicate threads
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
It would also help to avoid the multiple threads thing, which happens quite often because people aren't sure where to post. This one is an example, whereas if there was a dedicated 'hedge' thread, it would be easier for new people [in particular] to see where to post.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...