Hedging plant advice required!

Hi everyone,

I've just moved house and there is a bit of a hole in my hedge which I need to fill and I'm after some advice as to what to fill it with!

The current 'hedge' is a mish mash of plants (most of which I don't recognise!) so I'm not really after anything that 'matches'.

The hole is about half a metre wide and whatever goes there will need to grow to around a metre in height. The soil is mainly clay, and I think it's quite acidic (as we get a lot of bindweed - I haven't actually checked the PH though). The garden is south facing so the area the plant will go in will get fairly warm.

I was thinking of putting some fruit bush in there (maybe black currants?) but I have a feeling they won't like the soil much. Does anyone have any suggestions for what I can plant there, preferably something that doesn't need too much care as I'm not the most green fingered person in the world

 

Hello Selcouth and welcome. I would go native, hawthorn, blackthorn, eglantine, english dogwood etc. Fruit bushes don't really get hedge like but many of the ones mentioned will have berries all winter and the birds will love you.

 

Hi Selcouth and welcome to the site. If you want to try a blackcurrant, I don`t see a problem, just make sure you dig some mutipurpose compost into the ground to help give the plant a start.

 

Hi Selcouth.
Welcome,
I would go the way of a Blackthorn, then after the blossom , come dark fruits..sloes..when these have ripened, pick, wash, then prick them all over, get a ltr of cheap Gin, put a pound of the pricked fruit in a wide necked jar, a dessert spoon of sugar, fill to the top with the Gin, wait 6 months, strain through muslin, and wait for the 'kick' i do a bottle each year and have 14 bottles ...great drink..happy gardening...

 

Thanks for the responses
Whoever originally designed the garden must have loved birds as we have a lot of different plants already like hawthorn, dogwood, cherry etc.

I'll check out blackthorn and then make a decision as to whether to go for a currant bush or a blackthorn one