Neighbor is slack and wont pop up a fence. Id like to screen the top of our lawn and seeing as hes stuck some steps into the boundary wall id like to do it with the most prickly hedge possible that isnt see through. It also needs to be about 5ft tall (i dont want to wait for it to grow)

any suggestions bar holly and where to get some from?

sorry wrong forum. 🙁

Pyracantha

Not completely opaque but a good start, grows fast and thorny as hell.

Got some of the Pyracantha, agree it’s as thorny as hell.

Just got to remember not to wheel the bike anywhere near it after attacking (sorry carefully pruning) it.

better than holly then?

If you want to stop someone getting into your garden it’s better than barbed wire. Looks OK too – nice berries.

Blackthorn.
Fast growing, very spiky, but can be a bit invasive. Plus, you know, Sloe gin.
Hawthorn is a good bet too, gros a good couple of ft in a year if left untrimmed.
Both are native hedging plants as well 🙂

tbh i just want a screen.

more prickaly the better but its main use is to block then overlooking.

Id like to buy them 5ft high minimum and need to plant them to create a proper thick hedge.

In that case Laurel is a good bet. Quite swift growing and big leaves for privacy.

Just not bloody leylandii.

Holly Valance?

i wish.

ive got massive leylani down one side already. laurel is a good shout. It just needs to be planted and instant privacy. this is the bit im struggling with. I cant seem to get stuff thats bushy enough.

Osmanthus heterophyllus – spiky evergreen leaves (like holly but smaller) and fragrant flowers in autumn.

If you want instant hedging there are comapnies that will do trough grown hedging that you can just drop into a trench (£££) or buy 10L+ plot grown plants that will be taller but not meshed together. Or buy bare root (now is the perfect time) and wait a year or 2, and stick up some windbreak fencing to give the privacy while they establish for a year or 2.

thinking the 10L pot is the best solution.

Given that you’ll be looking at it for years, pick something you like. It’s also worth considering a mix of hedge plants (which is what you get naturally in an old hedge).

Laurel’s a good shout but a bit boring in my view.

Mahonia. Prickly and with toxic sap!

Also the birds love the berries, plus yellow winter flowers. What’s not to love…

this is the offending area.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CI3WzF8wiyp7oN9w1

so quite large. It had a tree peony type thing infront and im not after anything famcy as the garden is rammed full of stuff we have no idea what it is (looks stunning in spring though) Just want privacy

Id like to put a fence up but hes altered the wall so you cant fix panels to it and the last lot blew over in the wind.

So you want to screen the new patio which massively overlooks your garden? Looks like you’d want at least 8-10′ tall to screen the ground floor windows too.

Could you stick a post into the hedge on the RHS of the shot and then another where your taller fence starts again, string some wires between them and plant a combination of evergreen climbers and properly prickly roses?

Two types of berberis. The green evergreen type and the brown type that loses it’s leaves in winter. You won’t want to get tangled up with either.
Green is nicer to look at all year round and has berries for the birds.

https://www.best4hedging.co.uk/berberis-x-stenophylla-hedge-plants-pp12/s3691?vs_vat=inc&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzIDz3vfy1wIVSZPtCh0C7QEFEAQYASABEgLkS_D_BwE

yup. The windows arnt really an issue as the house is setback slightly. Unfortunately this summer has seen them using the patio (as you would) a lot for parties so its that that we are trying to shield ourselves from.

hedge on the right is 8-12ft tall.

In summer the whole garden fills out so its basically just the patio bit id like to cover.

So options are in order of coverage.

1. laurel.
2. Pyracantha
3. holly

?

i can stick some nasty prickly stuff on the other side of our nice hedge. like razorwire. 🙂

Blackthorn.
Fast growing, very spiky, but can be a bit invasive. Plus, you know, Sloe gin.

+1

Nice flowers in spring.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/kcQdTFYH13eCt4Z53

Wasnt as much of an issue with a fence. and a bit more foliage 🙂

Why does it need to be prickly – it’s not as if you’re having to keep him out, surely?

just because im a vindictive bastard really.

but your right, coverage is the biggest priority

*over PA in aircraft hanger

“…whos gonna pay for it..?!!!”

“john at number 14”

me 🙂

tbh i offered to pay for the fence initially but thats gone nowhere.

privet

Griselinia grows very fast 60cm+ /year.. easy to trim, non thorny, ever green..

Bear in mind that you’re going to want to trim it. Anything with prickles is going to be a bike/bare foot hazard for ages if you take a hedge trimmer to it. I speak from berberis experience!

privet

nah, he seems alright to me. no shame in it, we all want some peace now and again.

Bear in mind that you’re going to want to trim it. Anything with prickles is going to be a bike/bare foot hazard for ages if you take a hedge trimmer to it. I speak from berberis experience!

I’ve got pyrocanthus hedges either side of my front garden, and all I do is go after the long new growth with a pair of shears, and I use a pair of welder’s gauntlets to pic the bits up with. There’s holly and some other spiny plant with dark red oval leaves mixed in as well.
I used to use a hedge trimmer, but using the shears allows for being more selective when the flowers start to bud, and this year I had a hedge that was almost completely white with flowers, and now has a lovely crop of red and orange berries.
Birds like it as well, especially sparrows, which use it to hide in when forraging out front.
It’s easily as good as blackthorn or hawthorn for prickliness, dead easy to maintain to a reasonable height, and doesn’t invade like blackthorn does.
It’s a win-win as far as I can see.

Plenty of clumping tall bamboo varieties to choose from.

Pyracantha if you want to be evil. Otherwise privet, euronymus or eleagus are fast growing dense hedge plants to make a nice screen. Or put up a fence on your side?