Gardening/planting advice

Ric

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Our next door neighbours have cut down a big tree that used to give us a lot of privacy in our back garden from the surrounding houses. Suddenly it feels very overlooked so we want to plant something(s) that will grow relatively quickly and be about 8-10ft tall. Any suggestions? Or know anyone in the south Manchester area who can do it for us for a reasonable price?
 
Fast growing hedges – With the very fast pace of modern life, when moving into a property a lot of homeowners look to plant a hedge of reasonable height that is fast growing in order to give as much cover as quickly as possible. The point they fail to appreciate is that if it is fast growing then it will need careful maintenance to keep it as a well-trimmed structure without it getting out of hand as it will keep growing even when it has reached the desired height.

Of all the fast growing hedges, the best known of course are the Leylandii hedging plants, growing at a rate of 60-75cm per year. If kept trimmed regularly then it can make a magnificent hedge, however if left to grow without pruning it will become less dense with little growth at the bottom and it is impossible to prune back to a hedge. As they do tend grow faster than most hedging, it is worth taking a look at our guide on the High Hedge Legislation to better understand the height that you are allowed grow to grow your plant without disrupting your neighbours. See our guide for more advice on trimming your Leylandii hedge.

More amenable is Thuja plicata atrovirens which has almost the same speed of growth but if grown too large can be cut hard back and will regenerate from the wood. The beauty of these plants that if on a restricted budget then smaller plants can be purchased initially and the speed of growth means that the end result may be achieved as quickly as buying larger more expensive plants but with a slower growth habit. These two evergreen plants are from a long list of fast growing plants, not all evergreen, which may suit some situations.

Many native plants will also make fast growing hedges, Alder hedging plants are fast-growing for windbreaks and screening whilst Mixed Native hedging plants plants such as Blackthorn, Quickthorn or Hawthorn and Dogwood grow between 30-60cm per year providing flowers and berries for wildlife as well and there are the leaf retaining plants such as Beech and Hornbeam hedging plants which grow at a similar speed. It must be remembered however that these plants may require different gardening conditions to achieve the best results.
 
You have a garden now ? I thought you lived in the penthouse suite on top of Bluemoon towers, and was about to offer window box advice.
As kaz7 has mentioned leylandii would work but they can grow very tall if unattended although that would take a good few years.
 
Our next door neighbours have cut down a big tree that used to give us a lot of privacy in our back garden from the surrounding houses. Suddenly it feels very overlooked so we want to plant something(s) that will grow relatively quickly and be about 8-10ft tall. Any suggestions? Or know anyone in the south Manchester area who can do it for us for a reasonable price?
I'm assuming you have a fence/wall ?

You can buy ready made trees that have been grown specially, which have a long trunk to fence height with no vegetation, and then the trees are trained into a shield, so they have very narrow depth (take up no room), and spread about 5 or 6 feet either side of the trunk.

Damned if I can remember the name of them (not the tree - you can do it with many varieties), they do similar with fruit trees to put against a wall or fence, so you can have fruit but take up no space, but this one is designed to go in to shield neighbours, allows planting beneath, and doesn't restrict light too much.

They're expensive to buy, but very effective, and obviously long lasting so its a one off purchase.

Don't get leylandi they might grow quick upwards, but they also grow in every other direction, and take up a lot of effort keeping them cut, they also drain your garden of water, and drop loads of dead bits beneath.

What I'm describing is similar to what @TheRemainsOfTheDave has linked.
 
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Trellis up Ric with a few sprigs of mile a minute. Proper names Russian Ivy and on a good day you can actually see the leaves weave their magical spell. On a cautionary note you have to keep it in check as they are fairly high maintenance so invest in a good pair of shears from the Argos. Privacy restored in a jiff and job done with no more unsightly neighbours!
 
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If you decide in fruit trees make sure you check if they are self fertile or need a Pollination partner. I would want flowers and fruit for the effort of growing them
 

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