[solomon]

Hi

At the wide end of my back garden there is a panel and post fence and behind that a steep bank drops away. It is largely covereed with grass, ivy etc. - all low to the ground and vigorous.

It is not the easiest place to work but close to the fence I have cleared the growth from four patches (at 6' intervals) so that I am down to the loose soil and in a position to plant something.

What is the something? I am looking to plant primarily to break up the wind which funnels up towards the panel and post fence. We don't see the side of the fence in question unless we are driving on a nearby road so aesthetics are secondary in this case. Security not a major issue either.

I am sure that I cannot get the ideal but something that would grow wide (remember 6' gaps between plantings) and to a height of about 12 feet would be perfect (as long as it wasn't going to take 20 years). I would consider trees (although NOT Leylandii) but would prefer something closer to a hedge / shrubs.

Other things do grow further along the bank including some big trees that were well established many years before I got here. I know that if I plant anything that I will have to keep accessing this bank (for a couple of years anyway) to stop the grass / ivy strangling it and I am committed to doing this.

Any suggestions for an appropriate choice of shrub / hedge plant for this and where to source it in greater Dublin area at reasonable cost?

Also anything other than compost to add to the soil when planting it or tips for future care?

Thanks a lot.
solomon

[verge]

Is this piece of ground yours to plant on solomon?

[solomon]

Yes. Down to the bottom of the bank is our piece of ground. As far as I know the builder put the fence at the present location because the bank gets quite steep. It was probably just a cheap way for him to finish off!

[verge]

Cool, have a look at native black alder as an idea for a pioneer planting. there may be some growing wild in your locality already.
_________________
Q. What is the best soil for growing plants?
A. Your soil.

[Tom]

At that sort of spacing (at 6' intervals) its gotta be trees. I think verge has the right idea with the native alder. Other native trees to consider are birch and hawthorn.

[solomon]

Thanks to verge and Tom for suggestions.

I did think that something evergreen and growing densely would be best for wind protection although I accept that at 6' spacing it may have to be trees rather than hedge.

I looked at the descriptions of alder, hawthorn and birch in the native trees pages and thought hawthorn looked like a good compromise. However, the page refers to the unpleasant smell of its flower. (http://www.gardenplansireland.com/forum/about810.html).

Maybe not easy to quantify but is it unpleasant enough to avoid putting it just the other side of the fence in your back garden where you play with the kids?

Thanks again,
solomon

[GPI]

[solomon]

Hi,

I got another suggestion for this project which I wanted to run by some of the experts on this forum. How about Giant Green Thuja?

Planted at 6' intervals, would they be suitable for an effective wind screen but much easier to maintain than Leylandii? Can they reasonably be kept in check by just trimming the top each year?

(It is not that I am afraid of the hard work of maintaining Leylandii (although I'm not in favour of it either!) but the steep slope where these plants will be located makes trimming the sides way too difficult whereas from the garden side of the fence, the tops can relatively easily be accessed.)

Thanks
solomon

[Dr. Sunny Thomson]

[Sundew]