hi, i need to plant a quick growing evergreen hedge in my garden- not leylandii though?
the area is aprox 30 ft long and i have at least 10 ft for it to spread out. i have looked at bay, laurel,red robin,griselenia and escallonia and now confused!!! i basicly want the fastest growing evergreen bush or scrub that can easily reach 8 ft where i will keep it trimmed, the soil is good and i live a few miles from the coast. avoiding leylanddi as ive heard there s an aphid issue with these??? please help
Rather than just choosing one single variety, it would probably look more attractive and interesting if you planted a mixed hedge using a selection of the ones you've mentioned, which would all be good and also would support wildlife, unlike leylandii. I'd add to the list viburnum tinus, which is evergreen and has sweet-smelling, attractive flowers in late winter, also juniper, which is a native evergreen and will grow in a columnar shape. As you don't sound likely to want to prune the hedge to an even-topped shape, a mixture of shrubs allowed to grow up to where you want and then pruned each Autumn with loppers would look more natural and attractive, and would flower or have berries at different times of the year, to add interest and biodiversity.
The trouble with any very fast-growing shrubs or trees is that they don't know when to stop - yes, quite a few conifers such as leylandii will get to 8ft in no time, but then they just go on galloping up, because they are really large forest trees, not suitable for domestic gardens, and if you cut them about too much to control them they look worse than ever.
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I can imagine if you are like me, you have a good size garden that is full of clutter. If everything is not piled up in the backyard than it is packed in the garage which makes it difficult to find anything. Owning a home requires maintenance indoors and outdoors so you will likely find a lawnmower, soil, firewood, hedge trimmer, garden spade, and other tools piling up in the backyard. Not to mention you still have the patio furniture and the bbq outside collecting dust. In the fall you have a pile of leaf bags lined up against the wall. After awhile your property begins to look quite unattractive. Maybe it is time to build storage space in your backyard. A good storage unit will keep your backyard nice and tidy as well as keep your outdoor equipment nicely organized.
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You must have a plan when starting a project of this nature. You need to determine how much space you have to work with, how much space you need for your items, and know exactly you want to build. Are you planning to build a storage shed, a saltbox, a tool shed? Will this unit be an addition to your house or a standalone unit? Some building projects require a permit. It is a good idea to check with your municipality to make sure you follow the regulated building codes.
Make sure you have a good set of detailed plans before you start building storage space in your backyard. A plan should include a blueprint, material list, a cut sheet outlining the amount of material you require, the sizes to cut the material to, and a list of tools that you will require to get the job done. Without all these items you will encounter quite a bit of problems and it will become more hassle than it is worth. I am sure you want to be certain that you do your project right the first time and save yourself time and money by being prepared.
I am glad that I learned how to build my own storage unit and it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. My backyard is looking so much better now that everything is organized and put in it's own storage space. I created a nice little unit that holds all my garden tools, supplies, and my lawn mower. I created the structure out of wood and painted it to match the exterior of my house. It blends in quite nicely with the landscape and I am proud that I can say that I built it myself.
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DEMO OF HEDGE TRIMMER / HEDGE CUTTER
