Wow - a clean slate! You mention bamboo but contain it in pots. I'd probably suggest that as you are starting from afresh, you should look to plant the bamboo straight into the ground, but contain it by putting in a planting barrier that will stop it from running (even clumping ones run) across your and your neighbours garden. If you buy a large bamboo then you can pay around £50/£60 for a modest sized pot, but it will already have height to it, so you can get instant impact and privacy. Give it plenty of room to grow and you will have a very good screen of bamboo in no time. Make sure you dig in lots of organic matter, but being on clay you might be alright anyway - clay soil may also slow it down a little. It will need quite a lot of watering until its established.
Another good one to go for is a Pittosporum. Go for a variegated one, in my view, as they do look a lot nicer and provide a bit more interest. Pittosporum can be fast growing, and you can keep them trimmed if you want to keep it in check.
Have a look at Taxus or more commonly known as Yew. Go for a column one, such as Taxus × media 'Hicksii'. It might be a bit slow growing, but over time it can get up to 8m in height. Just be wary if you have children who might be attracted to the berries, which are fine to eat (if they do), but the seeds are poisonous, as are the leaves. Some people are a bit over sensitive to having poisonous plants in the garden!
Have a single species hedge is fine, but if you can afford it, then go for a mixed planted hedge, perhaps made up of a few evergreen and deciduous trees/shrubs and include ones which give interest during the year like nice autumn display or berries for the birds. Look at Pyracantha, which is ever green, fast growing, summer flowers, winter berries, and if you're worried about somebody climbing over your back fence, has 2 inch spikes which are deadly! Pyracantha can be pruned hard and will bounce back, and also can be trained to climb up the fence.
If you want to have something self climbing up/over the fence, look at climbing hydrangea, which will grow in full shade, and has white flowers. It is deciduous.
If you want to help wildlife in the winter, look at ivy - Hedera colchica 'Sulphur Heart'. It is large leafed, and fairly fast growing, evergreen, and its berries feed the birds in the winter, and it will provide a habitat for over wintering bugs and creepies.
I know its always an option especially for cheap and quick, but avoid Leylandii like the plague. Not my favourite shrub is Photenia Red Robin, because it does have a tendency to drop leaves all year, but it is very fast growing, and even if you trim it hard, it will be back to where it was and more in no time at all (another reason I personally don't like it).
No reason why you can't combine trees and shrubs - there is some overlap anyway, my amelanchier is nearly 20ft tall! Growing a mix could look good, provide year round interest, be good for wildlife and educational for your children.
Rowans grow fast, have pretty leaves, white flowers and autumn colour with a choice of berry colour. Dogwoods, as Edd suggests, are also fast growers, but make big shrubs that would eat up some of your garden space. Hazels grow fast and you can get a purple leaved variety. These last two though can be coppiced. That means cut down almost to the ground after two or three years growing. If you alternated the years you did this, you could always have cover and colour without them getting too large for your garden.
Though Leylandii are not to be recommended, there are some lovely conifers that do not grow too large and would give evergreen colour and protection. Consult a specialist website or find an expert on here!
Amelanchiers can be pruned to keep them smaller, I just chose to let mine grow as I had plenty of room. How large an apple tree grows depends on its rootstock and also on how it is pruned, crab apples vary slightly depending on variety. I got a lovely crab apple just over 2m tall from Ashridge Trees and their website has lots of information about types of trees and different rootstocks. If you fancy the idea (and why not, they are beautiful and useful too) then I am sure you could find something to suit.
Tim Burr - It has taken us over a year to clear the garden.
It was in such a stat. But we're nearly there now. In the middle of turning the soil over for the grass seeds. Unable to proceed at the moment due to rain - Manchester weather
I was thinking of using containers for Bamboo as I would like to use it in the left corner for screening against the houses. During the summer the neighbours tree has leaves and provides screening, and due to its over hanging branches I'm worried the Bamboo or any other tree or shrub will be blocked by the tree. So I thought if it's in pots I can move them to that corner in the winter months when my neighbours tree no longer provides screening.
Any ideas on what I can do?
Maybe clear the overhanging branches so I can plant my own?
And when you say dig in lots of organic matter, what do you mean? What kind of matter? Sorry, this is all new to me so I'm just clueless.
Pittosporum - According to the RHS website, this isn't good for clay soil?
Taxus ?? media 'Hicksii - My kids are very young so I wouldn't take the risk with anything poisonous.
Are all Yew trees poisonous?
Pyracantha - This looks lovely. Do you know how tall they grow? And is it difficult to train them to climb?
Hydrangea - This is beautiful and it's good that they grow I'm shade as my back and right fences don't get much sunlight. Do they need a lot of work to keep them from spreading?
Hedera colchica 'Sulphur Heart'.- I have sparrows in my garden, currently some have made home in my wall!
I also saw a brave little Robin at the weekend, who was pecking at the soil whilst my husband was digging the soil just a few feet away.
I like to help them where I can. However I don't want anything that attracts flies, spiders, ant, bees etc.
Will Hedera colchica 'Sulphur Heart' be good for using as screening for over fencing?
Leyandii - I did consider this then read about all the nightmares about it growing too fast and neighbour disputes and stopping.anything from.growing nearby. So quickly went off it.
Photenia Red Robin - I do like the look of this tree, and I like that it gets to.about 5m as that's the perfect height for screening the houses and mill. I was thinking to clear the leaves of off the bottom so it's mostly stem at the bottom and leaves above the fence line.
Bamboo - think about it. Are you really going to move pots of Bamboo around the garden each Spring and Autumn? Pots are heavy at the best of times, and with a Bamboo in it, it will be very very heavy. Look for a Bamboo that will give you the height you want and which won't get interfered with by the tree. Have an idea of the line of sight between your neighbours house (windows and doors) and the areas of your house you want to be screened from and then somewhere in the middle will be where you want the Bamboo to be. You don't need to plant it in one large block - you can plant it in one or two or three areas, and breaking it up will be more pleasing to the eye.
Organic Matter - start with well rotted horse manure. Well rotted means being left from fresh of the back of the horse until the manure no longer looks like horse manure (i.e., you can't see any bits of straw in it). You can off course buy well rotted horse manure 'ready made'. Lots of garden centres sell bags of it 3 for 2. Its not expensive. If you're on clay, then the benefit of it will be to open up the clay soil and make it more easy to work with (i.e., not go rock hard in dry weather). Another good organic matter is spent mushroom compost. There are lots of suppliers around (look online), and its another way of loosening up the soil to make it easier to work with. There are also other things you can use - well rotted leaf mold but this can make your soil acidic. Great if you want to grow Azaleas and Rhododendrons.
Pittosporum should be fine in clay soil as long as the ground doesn't get waterlogged. I know somebody who grew a Pittosporum in really heavy clay that went rock hard in summer, but never waterlogged. It was over 12 feet and really healthy and strong plant.
OK - point taken about Yew - why tempt fate! And yes, all poisonous. If you are worried about having any poisonous plants in your garden, take a look thepoisongarden. You'll be surprised how many there are.
Pyracantha - can grow up to 12 feet in height and up to 12 feed wide. However, easy to control by pruning and trimming - just be careful of those very sharp thorns and make sure you pick up any that fall to the ground, especially on a lawn if you or family is prone to walking barefoot on cool wet grass!
Hydrangea - no, just keep pruned back to the space you want to grow it in. Just be aware though that its stem will thicken up over several years and it could bring the fence down under its weight. Make sure your fence is sturdy.
Robin's are the gardeners friend - its amazing how friendly they are. Whenever I am digging in the garden I have a Robin that comes down and picks up any grubs or bugs that get dug up. I'm afraid you can't stop the other creepy crawlies, and actually you need to encourage them to bring balance to your garden. Nature doesn't like void, and if you kill something, nature will just send more to fill the gap. Spiders trap flies in their web, bees pollinate the flowers to create seed, even slugs and woodlice are helpful - they eat and breakdown the dead plant matter. If you're going to be a gardener, you need to get used to bugs and creepy crawlies - sorry!
Yes, Hedera (or ivy) will be excellent for screening up and over a fence.
Photenia Red Robin - once it is established it will grow quickly. Mine has put up to 2/3 feet growth in one season. It seems to me it grows for most of the year, only stopping in really cold weather in the winter. And yes I like your idea about making it in to a standard (ie, removing the lower leaves). It seems to want to grow from a shrub into a tree anyway, so if you treat it like that, you'll be fine.
i have bamboo in planters on castor wheels rubi, i made them from pallets i got for free, all i paid for was the screws and castors (£5.99 for 4) from amazon, i can send you the link if you like. this enables you to move them around as you wish on your patio area to screen yourself, i do this in my garden as our garden runs parallel with the road so the top deck of the no.99 always like to have look in hahah here's some photos of the ones i have made, i have four of them.
thank you willdb wanted something versatile, so if have a bbq or gathering i can just wheel them out of the way when i want, i have an old french cast iron fireplace in the garden and in the autumn i wheel them over there to make a little snug around the fire, very cozy
Posts
Wow - a clean slate! You mention bamboo but contain it in pots. I'd probably suggest that as you are starting from afresh, you should look to plant the bamboo straight into the ground, but contain it by putting in a planting barrier that will stop it from running (even clumping ones run) across your and your neighbours garden. If you buy a large bamboo then you can pay around £50/£60 for a modest sized pot, but it will already have height to it, so you can get instant impact and privacy. Give it plenty of room to grow and you will have a very good screen of bamboo in no time. Make sure you dig in lots of organic matter, but being on clay you might be alright anyway - clay soil may also slow it down a little. It will need quite a lot of watering until its established.
Another good one to go for is a Pittosporum. Go for a variegated one, in my view, as they do look a lot nicer and provide a bit more interest. Pittosporum can be fast growing, and you can keep them trimmed if you want to keep it in check.
Have a look at Taxus or more commonly known as Yew. Go for a column one, such as Taxus × media 'Hicksii'. It might be a bit slow growing, but over time it can get up to 8m in height. Just be wary if you have children who might be attracted to the berries, which are fine to eat (if they do), but the seeds are poisonous, as are the leaves. Some people are a bit over sensitive to having poisonous plants in the garden!
Have a single species hedge is fine, but if you can afford it, then go for a mixed planted hedge, perhaps made up of a few evergreen and deciduous trees/shrubs and include ones which give interest during the year like nice autumn display or berries for the birds. Look at Pyracantha, which is ever green, fast growing, summer flowers, winter berries, and if you're worried about somebody climbing over your back fence, has 2 inch spikes which are deadly! Pyracantha can be pruned hard and will bounce back, and also can be trained to climb up the fence.
If you want to have something self climbing up/over the fence, look at climbing hydrangea, which will grow in full shade, and has white flowers. It is deciduous.
If you want to help wildlife in the winter, look at ivy - Hedera colchica 'Sulphur Heart'. It is large leafed, and fairly fast growing, evergreen, and its berries feed the birds in the winter, and it will provide a habitat for over wintering bugs and creepies.
I know its always an option especially for cheap and quick, but avoid Leylandii like the plague. Not my favourite shrub is Photenia Red Robin, because it does have a tendency to drop leaves all year, but it is very fast growing, and even if you trim it hard, it will be back to where it was and more in no time at all (another reason I personally don't like it).
Hope that helps.
No reason why you can't combine trees and shrubs - there is some overlap anyway, my amelanchier is nearly 20ft tall! Growing a mix could look good, provide year round interest, be good for wildlife and educational for your children.
Rowans grow fast, have pretty leaves, white flowers and autumn colour with a choice of berry colour. Dogwoods, as Edd suggests, are also fast growers, but make big shrubs that would eat up some of your garden space. Hazels grow fast and you can get a purple leaved variety. These last two though can be coppiced. That means cut down almost to the ground after two or three years growing. If you alternated the years you did this, you could always have cover and colour without them getting too large for your garden.
Though Leylandii are not to be recommended, there are some lovely conifers that do not grow too large and would give evergreen colour and protection. Consult a specialist website or find an expert on here!
I've seen apple trees in B&Q about 1m in height. How long does it take for Apple trees to grow to about 4m?
Amelanchiers can be pruned to keep them smaller, I just chose to let mine grow as I had plenty of room. How large an apple tree grows depends on its rootstock and also on how it is pruned, crab apples vary slightly depending on variety. I got a lovely crab apple just over 2m tall from Ashridge Trees and their website has lots of information about types of trees and different rootstocks. If you fancy the idea (and why not, they are beautiful and useful too) then I am sure you could find something to suit.
It was in such a stat. But we're nearly there now. In the middle of turning the soil over for the grass seeds. Unable to proceed at the moment due to rain - Manchester weather
I was thinking of using containers for Bamboo as I would like to use it in the left corner for screening against the houses. During the summer the neighbours tree has leaves and provides screening, and due to its over hanging branches I'm worried the Bamboo or any other tree or shrub will be blocked by the tree. So I thought if it's in pots I can move them to that corner in the winter months when my neighbours tree no longer provides screening.
Any ideas on what I can do?
Maybe clear the overhanging branches so I can plant my own?
And when you say dig in lots of organic matter, what do you mean? What kind of matter? Sorry, this is all new to me so I'm just clueless.
Pittosporum - According to the RHS website, this isn't good for clay soil?
Taxus ?? media 'Hicksii - My kids are very young so I wouldn't take the risk with anything poisonous.
Are all Yew trees poisonous?
Pyracantha - This looks lovely. Do you know how tall they grow? And is it difficult to train them to climb?
Hydrangea - This is beautiful and it's good that they grow I'm shade as my back and right fences don't get much sunlight. Do they need a lot of work to keep them from spreading?
Hedera colchica 'Sulphur Heart'.- I have sparrows in my garden, currently some have made home in my wall!
I also saw a brave little Robin at the weekend, who was pecking at the soil whilst my husband was digging the soil just a few feet away.
I like to help them where I can. However I don't want anything that attracts flies, spiders, ant, bees etc.
Will Hedera colchica 'Sulphur Heart' be good for using as screening for over fencing?
Leyandii - I did consider this then read about all the nightmares about it growing too fast and neighbour disputes and stopping.anything from.growing nearby. So quickly went off it.
Photenia Red Robin - I do like the look of this tree, and I like that it gets to.about 5m as that's the perfect height for screening the houses and mill. I was thinking to clear the leaves of off the bottom so it's mostly stem at the bottom and leaves above the fence line.
Do you know how quickly these grow?
Hi Rubi
Bamboo - think about it. Are you really going to move pots of Bamboo around the garden each Spring and Autumn? Pots are heavy at the best of times, and with a Bamboo in it, it will be very very heavy. Look for a Bamboo that will give you the height you want and which won't get interfered with by the tree. Have an idea of the line of sight between your neighbours house (windows and doors) and the areas of your house you want to be screened from and then somewhere in the middle will be where you want the Bamboo to be. You don't need to plant it in one large block - you can plant it in one or two or three areas, and breaking it up will be more pleasing to the eye.
Organic Matter - start with well rotted horse manure. Well rotted means being left from fresh of the back of the horse until the manure no longer looks like horse manure (i.e., you can't see any bits of straw in it). You can off course buy well rotted horse manure 'ready made'. Lots of garden centres sell bags of it 3 for 2. Its not expensive. If you're on clay, then the benefit of it will be to open up the clay soil and make it more easy to work with (i.e., not go rock hard in dry weather). Another good organic matter is spent mushroom compost. There are lots of suppliers around (look online), and its another way of loosening up the soil to make it easier to work with. There are also other things you can use - well rotted leaf mold but this can make your soil acidic. Great if you want to grow Azaleas and Rhododendrons.
Pittosporum should be fine in clay soil as long as the ground doesn't get waterlogged. I know somebody who grew a Pittosporum in really heavy clay that went rock hard in summer, but never waterlogged. It was over 12 feet and really healthy and strong plant.
OK - point taken about Yew - why tempt fate! And yes, all poisonous. If you are worried about having any poisonous plants in your garden, take a look thepoisongarden. You'll be surprised how many there are.
Pyracantha - can grow up to 12 feet in height and up to 12 feed wide. However, easy to control by pruning and trimming - just be careful of those very sharp thorns and make sure you pick up any that fall to the ground, especially on a lawn if you or family is prone to walking barefoot on cool wet grass!
Hydrangea - no, just keep pruned back to the space you want to grow it in. Just be aware though that its stem will thicken up over several years and it could bring the fence down under its weight. Make sure your fence is sturdy.
Robin's are the gardeners friend - its amazing how friendly they are. Whenever I am digging in the garden I have a Robin that comes down and picks up any grubs or bugs that get dug up. I'm afraid you can't stop the other creepy crawlies, and actually you need to encourage them to bring balance to your garden. Nature doesn't like void, and if you kill something, nature will just send more to fill the gap. Spiders trap flies in their web, bees pollinate the flowers to create seed, even slugs and woodlice are helpful - they eat and breakdown the dead plant matter. If you're going to be a gardener, you need to get used to bugs and creepy crawlies - sorry!
Yes, Hedera (or ivy) will be excellent for screening up and over a fence.
Photenia Red Robin - once it is established it will grow quickly. Mine has put up to 2/3 feet growth in one season. It seems to me it grows for most of the year, only stopping in really cold weather in the winter. And yes I like your idea about making it in to a standard (ie, removing the lower leaves). It seems to want to grow from a shrub into a tree anyway, so if you treat it like that, you'll be fine.
i have bamboo in planters on castor wheels rubi, i made them from pallets i got for free, all i paid for was the screws and castors (£5.99 for 4) from amazon, i can send you the link if you like. this enables you to move them around as you wish on your patio area to screen yourself, i do this in my garden as our garden runs parallel with the road so the top deck of the no.99 always like to have look in hahah here's some photos of the ones i have made, i have four of them.
Wow, I LOVE those wheeled planters!! WANT!
thank you willdb
wanted something versatile, so if have a bbq or gathering i can just wheel them out of the way when i want, i have an old french cast iron fireplace in the garden and in the autumn i wheel them over there to make a little snug around the fire, very cozy