What hedge/trees/planting options for here?

Recently had lawn levelled and re turfed, new wall built, we have lots to do on our now blank canvas of a garden but firstly we want some sort of privacy along the top of this wall, it's a very quiet lane but still want a barrier between us and the road and to stop children toppling off the edge when playing! Current thoughts are Laurel or Griselinia, any other ideas? It's south facing and gets lots of sun, good soil. Any advice much appreciated

 

I don't have any particular suggestions, but whatever you choose, don't plant it too close to the top of the wall. Roots need room to spread sideways as well as down. And you might need room to walk along top of the wall to cut the hedge, depending on how high you want it and whether you have tall ladders to work from.

 

Griselinia would work well there @Bramble400. It's evergreen, fast growing and easy to manage. I have two hedges of it, one alongside a paved area and one in front of a fence both kept to about 6 feet in height, plus several other plants pruned as columns or left to grow naturally. Laurel will be a bit thuggish in comparison. Assuming you're not in an area which experiences severe cold and wet winters, Griselinia will be fine.

 

Another option I'd consider for there would be Photinia red robin which has nice red colour to its new growth so would provide something a bit more interesting than a solid line of green. Common laurel does grow fairly fast so is a bit of work to keep to a smaller size but Portugal laurel is another nice option with a slower growth rate and so is a bit easier to maintain.

Happy gardening!

 

Thank you @JennyJB @Plantminded @Macraignil really helpful, so that's the front wall then there is also the boundary fence you can see behind between us and our neighbours that we want to create as much privacy here as possible (I appreciate it may take several years!) maybe not so much thinking of a fence hedge but not closed off to that idea but maybe some spaced out trees?

 

You could use a selection of shrubs with potentially tree like proportions like those already mentioned, plus small trees such as Crab Apple, Amelanchier and Rowan, staggered rather than as a formal hedge. There are other hedging plants worth considering like Beech (green or purple leaved) and Hornbeam which are not evergreen but retain their dried leaves over winter. If you prefer evergreen, consider the conifer Thuja plicata, not thuggish like Leylandii, easy to maintain and it will regrow from both new and old wood when pruned.

 

Thanks @Plantminded really like the look of Crab Apple

 

Thanks @Plantminded really like the look of Crab Apple

 

Really keen on the Red Robin hedge just along the wall suggested by @Macraignil thank you, I don't know much about them, any tips? planting tips, are there different types/sizes? how close together etc? Then also keen on the Crab Apple suggested by @Plantminded for along this boundary fence, thank you, again any tips for what size to get, how many to plant and what else to plant along the fence to combine? Want to create as much privacy from neighbours house as possible, and do prefer the idea of having tree/tree type shrubs to be staggered along this fence rather than a dense hedge. It's approx 65ft along, how many decent sized crab Apple's would you have along here and what other trees/tree like shrubs to accompany? Thank you, this forum is my go to for great garden advice so thank you!

 

Looking at your photos again @Bramble400, I think I would concentrate on the lower right hand corner of your garden, above the wall and behind the goal posts which seems to be the area most overlooked by the windows in the house next door.

Perhaps think of planting three trees in a triangle to eventually screen that area. Have a look at one of the tree specialist websites for the typical height and spread of different varieties of Crab Apples and other trees to decide on the number of plants you'll need and the distances to plant. This is a good example:

Ornamental Trees | Buy Quality Garden Trees Online

You could then plant an informal hedge of the suggested shrubs above along the rest of the fence.

I've shown the suggested positioning in your photo below. I hope that helps.

 

Nothing that is spikey. You will also have to prune anything both sides of the wall if planted to close to the wall. Just out of curiosity what is the chimney looking thing behind the goal posts?

 

Photinia Red Robin can look great if it likes the conditions, but if it doesn't it can look dreadful so check before you spend a lot on them.

 

@JennyJB can't see what chimney looking thing you mean. Yes will avoid spikes! @waterbut thanks for the Red Robin warning
@Plantminded can we please borrow you for the day in our garden for advice and ideas!!!

 

I have laurel and griselinia and ‘had’ red robin. My thoughts are, my laurel is a dark green and has been slower to grow and has been a bit trickier to keep from getting to wide. My griselinia is a paler green and grows faster, so needs a bit more trimming but easy enough to do and seems to of kept its shape better over the years. I had red robin and it needed lots of pruning but never looked dense and after a while it was not looking great so got pulled out. My experience makes me say griselinia is my top choice for a hedge, laurel is ok but more of a bush than a hedge and whilst red robin can look good it didn’t work for me and might be better as a bush rather than a hedge.

 

Certainly @Bramble400, either homemade pizza or chocolate cake would tempt me .