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Ask a Gardening QuestionGardening Questions & Answers: How to garden questionsAdvice on filling out a hedge

Advice on filling out a hedge

#1 · 5th January 2024, 1:37 pm

Hi,

I am not sure what to exactly search for to get the result I want, so also sorry if this has already been asked!

This year we want to focus on doing up the garden after recently moving in. We need advice on how to fill out the hedge which is a bit gappy in the winter.

We want something evergreen to put in front of the hedge currently there but to take up as little room as possible so something like a climbing plant but it does need to provide privacy. Also ideally needs little maintenance if possible (basically no flowering type of plant/hedge).

I want to say the hedge currently in place is a hawthorn (attached a pic from earlier this year) but not entirely sure, but if so something that can nicely merge into this would be great!

I hope that makes sense!

Thanks in advance for any help.

Uploaded files:

#2 · 5th January 2024, 5:05 pm

Quote from Lee Garden Ninja on 5th January 2024, 5:05 pm
HI @samc9046

Great question on how to fill in a gappy hedge! I answer this a lot with new design clients.

The quick answer is I don't see many gaps other than the fact it's a deciduous hedge, i.e., it loses its leaves in winter, which is completely normal. When I look at how close the main trunks or root stocks are together, they look fine in terms of distance apart. So I wouldn't try to fill those gaps as whatever you squeeze in there will struggle to compete and survive.

And yes, it's a Hawthorn. So, ten Ninja points for correctly identifying it.

Making the bottom of a hedge full again

If you feel like the bottom is getting a bit bare, you could always hard prune the hedge to fill it out more. This feels brutal as a beginner gardener but is a great way to reinvigorate an old bare at the bottom full at the top hedge. Take the example below. It was a 7ft high privet. It had grown thin and leggy. I cut it down to 3ft. Brutal, but they recover really well and then thicken up.

Yes, you will lose the height fporba few years, but it's the best way to thicken a hedge, and you'll find in one growing season, they can easily put on another ft of growth given how string and well-rooted the plants are. Always remember that pruning encourages growth for the most part, and only selective pruning can restrict it. When clipping and hard pruning hedges, you're nearly always encouraging growth.

Watch my guide below for more guidance on cutting and pruning hedges.

https://youtu.be/_Dc3B2I7bu4

What to plant for privacy that doesn't take up much room? I'm afraid a climbing plant will need a trelis or obelisk for it to grow up. But most climbing plants that are evergreen will want to sprawl and crawl over anything near them. It's just in their nature, ie Ivy or Climbing Hydrangeas. There are a few thin and box-like climbing plants or evergreens for that space.

Also, you don't want to climb against the hedge, as how are you going to prune the hedge without decimating the climber?

You could use an evergreen shrub like Griselinia in front of the hedge, but they get big and dense, hence their use as a coastal hedging plant. It will give privacy but also be an eyesore after a while and stand out for the wrong reasons. Also, a shrub on its own will stand out like a focal point. Maybe a nice deep herbaceous border in front of the hedge would be a better idea.

I wouldn't recommend any non-flowering sterile evergreen blobs, I'm afraid, as what's the point for wildlife if nothing can benefit from them?!

I'd go with renovating the existing hedge and then considering a redesign of the other parts of the garden to feature some structure to bring privacy and a journey around the garden. I.e. guide views away from neighbours.

I'd be happy to help you on one of my one-hour garden troubleshooting consults, where I can provide many more tailored ideas.

All the best

Lee

HI @samc9046

Great question on how to fill in a gappy hedge! I answer this a lot with new design clients.

The quick answer is I don't see many gaps other than the fact it's a deciduous hedge, i.e., it loses its leaves in winter, which is completely normal. When I look at how close the main trunks or root stocks are together, they look fine in terms of distance apart. So I wouldn't try to fill those gaps as whatever you squeeze in there will struggle to compete and survive.

And yes, it's a Hawthorn. So, ten Ninja points for correctly identifying it.

Making the bottom of a hedge full again

If you feel like the bottom is getting a bit bare, you could always hard prune the hedge to fill it out more. This feels brutal as a beginner gardener but is a great way to reinvigorate an old bare at the bottom full at the top hedge. Take the example below. It was a 7ft high privet. It had grown thin and leggy. I cut it down to 3ft. Brutal, but they recover really well and then thicken up.

Yes, you will lose the height fporba few years, but it's the best way to thicken a hedge, and you'll find in one growing season, they can easily put on another ft of growth given how string and well-rooted the plants are. Always remember that pruning encourages growth for the most part, and only selective pruning can restrict it. When clipping and hard pruning hedges, you're nearly always encouraging growth.

Watch my guide below for more guidance on cutting and pruning hedges.

What to plant for privacy that doesn't take up much room? I'm afraid a climbing plant will need a trelis or obelisk for it to grow up. But most climbing plants that are evergreen will want to sprawl and crawl over anything near them. It's just in their nature, ie Ivy or Climbing Hydrangeas. There are a few thin and box-like climbing plants or evergreens for that space.

Also, you don't want to climb against the hedge, as how are you going to prune the hedge without decimating the climber?

You could use an evergreen shrub like Griselinia in front of the hedge, but they get big and dense, hence their use as a coastal hedging plant. It will give privacy but also be an eyesore after a while and stand out for the wrong reasons. Also, a shrub on its own will stand out like a focal point. Maybe a nice deep herbaceous border in front of the hedge would be a better idea.

I wouldn't recommend any non-flowering sterile evergreen blobs, I'm afraid, as what's the point for wildlife if nothing can benefit from them?!

I'd go with renovating the existing hedge and then considering a redesign of the other parts of the garden to feature some structure to bring privacy and a journey around the garden. I.e. guide views away from neighbours.

I'd be happy to help you on one of my one-hour garden troubleshooting consults, where I can provide many more tailored ideas.

All the best

Lee