[ps]

Hi all.
I have a long garden with a very low fence down the length of it.
I would like to put up a fence
& grow plant some rapid growing evergreen hedges or trees.
Something that will be able to take some punishment from kids with footballs (busy urban area)
We have no privacy and people tend to use our garden for shortcut around the corner,

I was thinking or maybe a 4 or 5' high fence and planting Cupressocyparis Leylandii.
From what I've read these are quite rapid growing.

Is there a better choice?

Basically looking for something
Evergreen
Rapid growing
Hardy

All suggestions and advice welcomed, as I'm totally new to gardening


Cheers
P

[SorchaBC]

Leylandii are fast growing. Some were planted here about 20 years ago, and kept trimmed up until about 10 years ago. They went from about 10 feet tall to over 30 feet in those ten years. Himself reckons they'll grow about a foot a year if left unchecked.

If you pop onto David Austens site they have roses that they suggest for thick hedges, with the bonus of gorgeous flowers every year for you!

[Sive]

If you are putting up a fence, that in itself will give you some privacy and stop people using your front garden as a short cut.
I suggest you then have a good look at other gardens and see what shrubs you actually like....don't plant anything you may regret later.
Leylandii will grow far too large for what you need, and I personally find them quite depressing.
Sorcha's idea is just one possibility.....even the wild dog rose makes a substantial hedge and has lovely flowers.

[ps]

Thanks SochaBC & Sive
I will be look to hedges too, and Rose bushes

But I am not overly concerned as to how attractive it looks.

One of the issues with the fence is that it may be damaged (high chance of this), so I was hoping to find a shrub/hedge row that would grow rapidly & over time make the fence obsolete.

Regards
P

[SorchaBC]

Ok well one thing to think about is how much light a high fence is going to block out on you.

I'd agree with Sive about leylandii being depressing (we hate ours but they're well established therefore staying), and you might not be concerned about the visuals now, but a few years time when you're faced with a wall of dark green and have no light in your front garden you might be thinking differently. Then you'll have to go through the hassle of starting all over again!

What about an evergreen clematis like Clematis Armandii? They'll cover a fence or wall pretty fast, look lovely for you (and your neighbours) and they will certainly make a fence obsolete! A 5ft fence/wall/whatever with evergreen clematis will sort out your immediate issues, and your longterm ones as well. I've recently put one in front of the dog run to hide it from view, it has a spread of 20 feet or so if I remember correctly.

[blondie]

There is an evergreen which is frost hardy,I think it is called GRISELLINIA
It is very easy to grow from cuttings.It is very cheap,you can get from most garden centres or nurseries either in pots or rootball. it varies in height usually from 2 to 4 feet depending on where you buy .It is also very easy to maintain.I personally wouldnt be without it.....I find it to be quick growing,

[dinahdabble]

I think I would go for something very prickly in those circumstances, then you can have a low hedge that is still a very effective deterant to people - including very drunk ones, children, dogs etc. If all is growing well after a few years you can then plant taller things inside it.

[ps]

Thanks for the suggestions guys
I will read up some more on Clematis Armandii, (we have plans for this on an arch or canopy in the future.

Will also check out Grisellina
And considering a type of Ligustrum.

I seen a plant in took a sample of it, it gre


the fence and whatever plants we choose - probably won't block out too much light, since the main window of the house is facing out on the driveway, which will be left as it is, so this will leave a clear stretch for plenty of light
of light