Safe Speed Forums

I’ve got nosy neighbours and need to plug an 18 foot long gap where the new fence they put up is a convenient, for them, below head height five foot tall. I nearly had cross words with them in fact, the gawping was so blatant; still might but one ever wants to rock the boat of harmony. I think there should be a law on gawping now though!

So anyway, I phoned these guys up and they have a special offer on Cotoneaster which are normally £12.91 each. I will need 18 in total @ 3 plants per metre. The quote I’ve had which includes VAT and delivery is £206. That’s a lot of money to me, but I think it’s very good value and will be hard to beat and I think I can justify it if I can get a lodger in soon. I also like the idea of feeding the birdies, except pigeons, which these also do.

They don’t have them in the height I want, they only have them at 1.2 Metres, but they grow at about 60cm a year, so they should have some stretching left to do this summer and I’ll be well sheltered for next year from the sounds of it. I’ll shovel a tone of blood and bonemeal on them to help too.

I was sort of wondering if there’s someone here who knows where I may get better value or knows anyone who may be able to help. Perhaps there’s a farmer who wants to get rid of a hedge or something. No harm in asking I thought and any advice what to avoid or do and bad experiences is welcome. I also recall, but I can't remember who, a member whose job is in plants or landscaping??

Someone mentioned Leylandii but I’ve read some things about them which has put me off. I don’t want something that’s going to overtake the planet in a week and suck the water table dry.

_________________
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

That's fairly reasonable for 1.2m plants... most hedging is supplied very small, I posted a picture of my beech hedge when planted before as little twigs. So this will give you the quick impact you want.

Might be worth looking at local nurseries who may be able to beat it, as I imagine delivery forms a large part of that price.

Cotoneaster, Berberis, Pyrocantha, Griselinia, Photinia, all good quick dense growers but not thuggish conifers.

Dig some tree and shrub compost in when you plant them and try and keep them wet as much as poss for the rest of summer.

Yes, I thought so too. I forgot you had gone down this route, or should I say root

I’ve seen recommendations of using five per metre but I just want good visual cover; the woman I spoke with on that site recommended three per metre. I didn’t want anything pointy in case the kids get pricked or scratched. Plus I don't like cutting the stuff and handling it. I’ve never built a hedge before and don’t want to spend time, effort and money on getting it wrong.

The family are actually very nice and have been kind and helpful. It’s just that his wife doesn’t seem to know how inappropriate it is to ogle at what we, me and my friends, were doing in the 'none' privacy of my rear garden. It’s not like we were out there smoking weed in the nude; we do that indoors.

Also, their son and daughter has taken a shine to me so I die the death of a thousand questions every time I go into the garden. He’s nice but he is a handful. A handful that should be their handful, not mine.

I’ve tried calling a local landscape gardener who hasn’t been able to answer his phone yet but I can’t see how he will undercut that price if he does it all himself. I can do the labour so I’m best off buying them and doing it myself.

Now that I don’t have a car I will need them delivered but maybe, like you say, a local place will be cheaper if the delivery is high. My local small place delivers for £3, which is good but they don’t have what I’m looking for.

Thanks for the advice, I’ve got some other larger nurseries nearby which I’ll try and I’ll search on the other types you mentioned.

Edit: My choice was limited because of the time of year. The woman said if I can wait until September they'll have more choice, but the summer will be all but over by then...

_________________
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

Nurseries that sell to the public will be cheaper than garden centres.

I don't know if it's the same with hedging plants but with trees, if you buy them quite big (say 4' tall), you'll often find that a 3' or even 2' tall one will overtake it in a few years. The bigger they are, the more damage to the root system you do when digging them up and re-planting them. they then seem to just stand still for a few years while they repair their root systems. I've had a few trees where that has happened, but don't know if bushy hedge-like things are the same.

Also, if you DO eventually fall out with them, you'll need to think about what you do with the far side of your 8' hedge in 5 years time. Good old privet grows like crazy, isn't pointy, and (in my experience!) is virtually impossible to kill once it's established!

Anyway, maybe if you DID smoke weed in the nude in your back garden it would stop the problem in it's tracks???

Hmm.. I don't think I can wait that long. I've become more impatient in my old age. If I've got a problem I don't hang around; I'll kill it or cure it. If all else fails I'll just move house and pay them back later at my own leisure. (Nudge nudge ).

Let it grow to 12' I'm not unsociable, far from, I'm a very lovely man But I don't want to feel like I'm living in a fish bowl. At first I thought they were just friendly, which they are, but I'm beginning to think she's a bunny boiler. I just bet she's got night vision goggles and a stethoscope. I do know that there was a rift between them and the old couple who used to live in my house and I'm beginning to wonder things

Or get a bigger audience. "Hey look daddy, that man's got a todger like yours only smaller".

_________________
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

True, but this does not apply to container grown stock (which almost everything is these days) whose roots romp away when planted.

You need a hedge fund manger to advise you.

_________________
Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

(& groan )

Have you taken leaf of your senses? I didn't twig it at first. Maybe I'm just barking up the wrong tree? Do you take me for some kind of sap?

_________________
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

Naw - I'd be looking for a plant manager ,and a plant maintenance bloke .

_________________
lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

I dunno! I leaf this thread for a few hours, and when I come back it's gone all silly!

Tone, I seriously think you need to carry out a root-and-branch review of your options!

And possibly an underlying source of problems . And for that ,you might just need a Mole .

_________________
lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

Enough! I'd like to get back to grass roots now please.

Ah, sod it...

_________________
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

Tone, have you thought about a Coneifer hedge...

_________________
My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.