I've got half an idea to make a hebe hedge but as a garden feature rather than a boundary...I don't know if it's possible or not ...it's still in the musing stage...
I'd love to see a pic of your rose garden when it's sorted Bekkie - which roses do you have for it?
I'm not sure about a rosemary hedge Bekkie. It sounds lovely but some friends of mine tried it and found the hedge became quite leggy and looked a bit of a mess after a few years. They took it out after about 4 years.
Maybe they didn't prune it / treat it right / had the wrong soil etc but they were keen gardeners & I think they would have done things correctly. It's a bit like lavender really - if you want it to grow to any height it can all end up looking quite straggly.
I quite like lonicera nitida for a low hedge - it grows nice and tight & looks like box & can be shaped if that takes your fancy. There is a gold version if you fancy something brighter. Evergreen, cheap and easy but grows quite quickly so you need to trim it several times a season to keep it looking neat once it's reached the desired height.
Or how about yew (green or gold) - that will grow fairly slowly and can be kept to whatever height you want. You could even indulge in a little topiary if that rocks your boat....
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
Vic, ive got comte de champagne, iceberg, woolerton old hall and mme alfred carrie, will probably need to add to them, think i will also plant some white jap anemonies and some blue hardy gerainiums.
Topbird, think you are right about the rosemary, especially as the light comes from next door, it would probably look great on their side but rubbish on mine! Have got some yew, i do like it a lot especially if my neighbour gets carried away with the trimmers, i know it will grow back got some of that lonciera stuff somewhere too, mustnt be looking after it right, it always seems to go twiggy and a bit dead looking!
Different type of Hypericum, the bush types don't spread at all but some are creepers and spread quite rapidly. Ceanothus are lovely but they don't like anywhere that holds the water (Calafornia Lilac being the clue) you would have to be careful how you clipped it as you would lose the flowers). Would Viburnum make a good hedge? You would get the flowers early in the year before the roses bloomed, and it's evergreen.
My Hypericums, were bought as individual shrubs, think about 5 each side......really can't remember exactly.........then 'bushed' out to form the hedge. I haven't had any problems with it shooting out any where else. Must have had it now for 10 yrs, we just trim it down each year.
Looking down the garden at it now, it could do with a trim
i love it because it has flowers all through summer and attracts wild life. Not everyones cup of tea I expect. But really easy to maintain too.
Re your roses Bekkie - I really like Woolerton Old Hall - beautiful soft apricot / pale yellow colour & lovely fruity, rich perfume. Looks lovely with some of the blue geraniums and rich purple salvias planted around.
The stems on mine (2 yrs old) are a bit thin & leggy so I've cut them back a bit harder this year even though they are shrub roses. Have you found the same? Hope they will become slightly sturdier plants as I would like to buy some more to go elsewhere in the garden if I can prove to myself that they will grow a bit stockier.
If you like yew it would be a good choice for your hedge - you know you can maintain it at the height you want & will stand being cut hard back if you miss cutting it for a while. It will only need cutting once a year & will be thick and dense from top to bottom. No flowers but low maintenance
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
Woolerton old hall is still in the pot it came in from DA, i havent touched it, thought i would have had them in by now, but the tree removal in the front garden seems to have snowballed, i never intended to take all of them out! I was a little dissapointed with the flower colour, it was more yellow than i expected, but that was in the winter, im hoping they will be lighter with brighter sun, more like the picture
SGL, i think your hedge is beautiful, if it finished flowering before these roses started it would be perfect
Think im really torn between being practical and going for yew, pyracantha, privet etc and being extravagant and going for daphne, camellia, gardenia and all the other pretty flowers!
Another option for berries would be a cotoneaster, we've got cotoneaster franchetii hedge, evergreen, with winter berries, doesn't grow very fast so does not seem to need to much attention. However it's not going to make a neatly trimmed hedge, it's more of a informal hedge plant.
We bought cell grown plants about 3 years ago and it's now about 4 ft tall and really starting to come together.
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I've got half an idea to make a hebe hedge but as a garden feature rather than a boundary...I don't know if it's possible or not ...it's still in the musing stage...
I'd love to see a pic of your rose garden when it's sorted Bekkie - which roses do you have for it?
I'm not sure about a rosemary hedge Bekkie. It sounds lovely but some friends of mine tried it and found the hedge became quite leggy and looked a bit of a mess after a few years. They took it out after about 4 years.
Maybe they didn't prune it / treat it right / had the wrong soil etc but they were keen gardeners & I think they would have done things correctly. It's a bit like lavender really - if you want it to grow to any height it can all end up looking quite straggly.
I quite like lonicera nitida for a low hedge - it grows nice and tight & looks like box & can be shaped if that takes your fancy. There is a gold version if you fancy something brighter. Evergreen, cheap and easy but grows quite quickly so you need to trim it several times a season to keep it looking neat once it's reached the desired height.
Or how about yew (green or gold) - that will grow fairly slowly and can be kept to whatever height you want. You could even indulge in a little topiary if that rocks your boat....
Topbird, think you are right about the rosemary, especially as the light comes from next door, it would probably look great on their side but rubbish on mine! Have got some yew, i do like it a lot especially if my neighbour gets carried away with the trimmers, i know it will grow back
Different type of Hypericum, the bush types don't spread at all but some are creepers and spread quite rapidly. Ceanothus are lovely but they don't like anywhere that holds the water (Calafornia Lilac being the clue) you would have to be careful how you clipped it as you would lose the flowers). Would Viburnum make a good hedge? You would get the flowers early in the year before the roses bloomed, and it's evergreen.
My Hypericums, were bought as individual shrubs, think about 5 each side......really can't remember exactly.........then 'bushed' out to form the hedge. I haven't had any problems with it shooting out any where else. Must have had it now for 10 yrs, we just trim it down each year.
Looking down the garden at it now, it could do with a trim
i love it because it has flowers all through summer and attracts wild life. Not everyones cup of tea I expect. But really easy to maintain too.
Re your roses Bekkie - I really like Woolerton Old Hall - beautiful soft apricot / pale yellow colour & lovely fruity, rich perfume. Looks lovely with some of the blue geraniums and rich purple salvias planted around.
The stems on mine (2 yrs old) are a bit thin & leggy so I've cut them back a bit harder this year even though they are shrub roses. Have you found the same? Hope they will become slightly sturdier plants as I would like to buy some more to go elsewhere in the garden if I can prove to myself that they will grow a bit stockier.
If you like yew it would be a good choice for your hedge - you know you can maintain it at the height you want & will stand being cut hard back if you miss cutting it for a while. It will only need cutting once a year & will be thick and dense from top to bottom. No flowers but low maintenance
SGL, i think your hedge is beautiful, if it finished flowering before these roses started it would be perfect
Think im really torn between being practical and going for yew, pyracantha, privet etc and being extravagant and going for daphne, camellia, gardenia and all the other pretty flowers!
Another option for berries would be a cotoneaster, we've got cotoneaster franchetii hedge, evergreen, with winter berries, doesn't grow very fast so does not seem to need to much attention. However it's not going to make a neatly trimmed hedge, it's more of a informal hedge plant.
We bought cell grown plants about 3 years ago and it's now about 4 ft tall and really starting to come together.
Thank you bekkie. I have been thinking of putting an arch between the two and growing a cream or yellow rose or something over it.
Hope you find something suitable.