Suitable low hedge for semi-shade

One of my clients has asked me to help with a revamp/design of his front garden ...

at present, on one side of the driveway is a 4 foot high conifer hedge that I trim approx every 2-3 weeks, but it always look bad

so now, in spring, I will be removing the hedge (approx 5 meters long and need to replace it with something new .... must be evergreen and must enjoy semi-shade

the back garden has been cleverly designed by the client, and has loads of exotic plants, so judging by that, I am sure that the client will be looking at something unusual

any suggestions?

 

Hi dim
you have used a naughty word Armandii and Ziggy will tell you off and you will have to stand by the compost heap as a punishment.:happydance:

Need more info with the hedge , what type of soil , what part of the country .

Camelia comes to mind but needs acid soil thats why I ask

What about: Loropeetalum (chinese fire dance) type of witch hazel , this will make your client jump up and down

Spruce

 

I've edited the word 'shite and replaced it with the word bad'
:WINK1:

Camelia could be a good choice, but they perhaps grow too tall and too wide? ... The hedge has to be max 4 foot tall, and will be pruned to have a 'level' top (like a pruned hedge)

will be planted in semi-shade in cambridge (Zone 8)

 

What about: Loropeetalum (chinese fire dance) type of witch hazel , this will make your client jump up and down



Have a look at the above

it all depends if you want it a bit more organic or regiment style , dim you dont give much away


hey at least you have removed that word manure :WINK1:

Spruce

 

thanks Spruce ... that one is interesting ....

Loropetalum chinensis Plant Profile

I have bookmarked that and will have a much closer look .... apparantly, there are a few that grow to 20 feet tall and others to 4-5 feet

my only worry is that it must not grow too wide (and if so, will still look good if trimmed back), as it is next to the driveway

my client never gives much away .... he is waiting for suggestions from me then will decide ....

it would not surprise me if he already knows what he wants and is just 'testing' me .... He is one of those proffesor types and works at Kings College ....

so, I'm still trying to figure him out, but can say, that he is very knoweleagable in the garden and has created a superb garden (plus grows his own veg in a hothouse) ... he most probably knows more about gardening than me

I visit twice a week, and maintain what he has already planted

 

Glad you like it , I thought you might and evergreen !!! suprise him with that one , not very well known. But I think ticks all the boxes

That will be when i WIN big time on the lottery , hot house veg

Flying in Simbad once a week to check over the daylily's


Spruce

 

How about suggesting a variety or a mix of varieties of Sarcococca Hookeriana or similar? Suits the location, slightly more interesting than the average, will come into it's own with it's fragrance over winter. Only downside I can see for you would be care is often not required (you'd be planting yourself out of a job )

 

thanks! ... have added that on my favourite list and will have a close look

been working there for 2 years (every 2nd sunday), and there's always work for me even in the cold months ... such as pressure washing the paving, or cleaning the greenhouse etc

 

Off topic but if you go down that route in the Winter (as clients often want gardeners to do) do you do the gutters as well? I was gobsmacked in my first year on my own when word got out that I'd done a good job cleaning and fixing a client's gutters. I'd set aside four weeks of working 2.5 days a week to give myself a rest and ended up using the time to do about 20 properties instead. Hourly rate + snow on the ground + hands in a bucket of warm water = :yess:

 

In his book Flowering Shrubs, Alan Titchmarsh recommends for shadey areas the following: mahonias, skimmia japonica, sarcococca confusa, viburnum tinus,camelia japonica, vinco minor 'Argenteovariagata', among others. He says these will tolerate dense shade.

I have this problem with a long border which runs alongside a six foot solid fence and which hardly ever gets direct sun.