Suggestions please!

I am antisocial. I don't like children. Some of my dogs are frightened of them. Unfortunately for us, we have new neighbours on both sides in the last year so are now surrounded by them! They have stood on things to shout across my garden to each other over the top of the fence, one has tried to climb up to hang on the top and look at my dogs (although my Voice of Doom has put him off ever trying that again, I think) and sometimes they will jump on their trampoline when it's near the fence just to look at my gang or ask me inane questions about them. Aside from the fact that doing that can totally freak out a couple of my guys, it annoys the heck out of me as well as my house and garden are my private spaces - I detest being looked over while I'm out there.

I did say I was antisocial :P

The attached side isn't too bad - I have a bed that side with big, established plants so once we hit summer, it all gets nice and thick and blocks the view and I have plans for planting over there. Their garden is quite heavily planted too so I'm not worried about that side. But on the detached side, the last lot who lived there completely stripped the garden so it's just a big empty plot of grass.

So what I'm after for that side is plants to grow to about 7-8ft, preferably evergreen that I don't need to cut back (because all the kids start to appear outside the moment there's a hint of sun in April so I'm trying to get away from that time delay while plants grow). Not conifers please, I can't stand them!

Down near the houses it would need to be some sort of climber - the garden narrows there (me and the detached side are the outer corner houses on our road, so triangular-ish plots) so I can't plant anything too thick. Past my little concrete yard though, whatever is suitable will be fine as I've got alot more room to play with and no other planting so I can work around whatever I put in to block that view.

I'm guessing stuff like clematis is going to be high on the list of possibles - that's absolutely fine, I just wanted to ask to see what other options there might be as thus far, my planting choices haven't needed to take the neighbours into account so it's new territory for me!

 

As regards a climber, we have a climbing hydrangea - it's evergreen and also flowers and ours has thickly covered part of the garage wall. We have to trim it back when it gets to the top of the wall, so would easily reach 7'/8'.

We have laylandis at the bottom of the garden. I hate them too, but they were there when we bought the house. As the fence panels on both sides and at the bottom of the garden are only around 5' or less, the leilandis do give us some privacy from the houses at the bottom of the garden. It also helps stop the footballs coming into the garden and damaging my greenhouse. My husband trims and shapes them twice a year and they are around 8'/9' high.

 

Ummmm clumping bamboo?

 

I have you thought of climbing or rambling roses, are clump forming bamboos

 

I was going to suggest cherry laurel as well, for the thicker part where you want the hedge. Fast growing, can be pruned summer or winter, and an added advantage is that it has good strong branches to attach nest boxes (then you can honestly say "please don't bounce/play/breathe near here, there are birds nesting"!) any hedge can be jazzed up with climbers, be they honeysuckle, clematis, roses....

 

I knew there'd be people on here as grumpy as me who'd understand!

I don't mind buying more mature plants to skip some growing time, that's absolutely fine. I often get given plants too - I got given a laurel, actually, back in May which needs somewhere to go so that can go in. Privet I've thought about but I have a 90ft stretch of it at the bottom of the garden and I hate that too :P Been trying to get rid since I moved here in '06 but it was left to reach full size so quite the job! So I think I'll leave that one :P

Roses - I'm not keen on the cultivated versions, too floucny for my tastes but I do like wild roses so that's a possibility. I'm also loving the photinia, I've not seen that before. Gorgeous!

Thanks all, some things to think about

 

Sorry, I am a bit of a pain with my plants! Don't tend to like what everyone else does. I suppose that just adds to the grumpiness!

wiseowl - that does sound tempting with the thorns, I must say!

 

I did an rhs search for height 1.5 to 2.5 metres, evergreen, hedging and screens and low maintenance and this is what it came up with

https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/Searc...2Fplant_planting_places%2Fhedging+%26+screens

You can narrow it down more by putting in the aspect and soil type etc but there may be something you like on there

 

Right, I've looked through all the suggestions and done a bit more searching around, and I think what I'm going to go for is a combination: clematis cirrhosa types down by the house for quick growth as that's where I need it the most, then laurel, japonica kerryi (I have one I'd forgotten all about!) and probably that lovely photinia further along.

Oh, and it occurred to me - the current kids that can pop up over the fence may be teens by the time those last ones have gotten tall enough, but both houses either side of me have toddler boys too so it'll still be worth the wait

 

Pyracantha has thorns on it, lovely flowers and berries for the birds in winter. It makes a very nice hedge and bees love the flowers and it's evergreen.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/details?plantid=1577