It is a big expense to contain your property with fence panels.
A natural barrier created using hedging plants can be a far more economical and natural looking alternative. Hedging plants, once established provide a fantastic windbreak, additional privacy, or security for your garden and property. Plants can also be used effectively to disguise ugly views or areas you do not want to see.
Plants can offer more curb appeal to your property than a fence could.
There are a great selection of plants you can choose to form a hedge for your land. Choose evergreens which are most suited to your particular area for optimum results. Prior to choosing plants suitable for your land you will also need to know the soil type you are working with.
Popular plants for hedging include yew, privet, boxwood, laurel and lastly photinia, but this list is by no means exhaustive.
Native to Britain and extremely popular for boxed hedges and topiary’s is the yew which is a very easy plant to clip. It is an extremely strong, thick plant which can be grown successfully in any soil type with good drainage.
One of the toughest plants is privet. This plant can cope quite well in even the poorest quality soil and grows at a rapid pace. Good preparation of the planting area prior to putting the plants in the ground provides your plants the best possible start and it will help to add nutrients and organic matter.
If you have a shady area then boxwood is a great choice. This is a plant which offers fabulous protection and grows into a hardy shrub. Boxwood does however grow quite slowly compared to other plants.
For a brilliant windbreak, laurel is a great choice and grows up to fifteen feet tall.
Photinia also grows to a similar height, providing a heavy barrier with leaves turning from red to green after the spring.
Small plants are a handy choice if you are on a small budget but they will take longer to establish. If you purchase the larger plants, you can create a more immediate hedge.
In order to keep costs to a minimum, you can plant your hedge yourself rather than have a professional do the job for you. It is a fairly straightforward task to undertake, although it can be time consuming and you need to have enough strength to dig an adequate sized trench for planting. You will have to take care to prepare your ground well and water your new plants frequently to start with, to avoid losing any of your new shrubs.
For an attractive, natural looking hedge you could plant a selection of different hedging plants. Gorgeous evergreen hedging plants can be used as an appealing, economical solution for a fence.
