Advice on what to plant as a natural barrier

Hi all,

I'm wondering what we could plant in this very narrow border currently covered by gravel (width 15cm). Essentially we'd like to have hedging or some sort of natural barrier as the wall bordering our neighbour is very low (40cm) to the ground and would like planting to a height of at least 1m instead of putting in a fence. The depth is very narrow and can't have it spilling over the other side of the low wall. Any options? It's west facing aspect.

 

A border of 15 cm is really too narrow for any hedging plant to grow successfully. The roots will also need adequate depth and good quality soil to be able to establish. Is the wall jointly owned or does it belong to your neighbour @Mattyp? Unless you can widen the border, which looks doubtful because of the driveway, a fence may be the only option. There are low fences at the front of my house between both sets of neighbours, one within my boundary which I own, and one within my neighbour’s boundary which he owns. They help to avoid car doors being opened onto neighbouring driveways or gardens and careless parking!

 

Looks like a very tough site for a hedge to live in but if there is good soil beneath the gravel them you could plant Cotoneaster and trim it to the dimensions you would like to keep it at. I have some of this variety of Cotoneaster set by the birds growing well out of the driveway in places here and the bees like the small flowers in summer and the berries are good food for the birds over winter.

Happy gardening!

 

Hi @Plantminded, I think the boundaries here are shared so I think we both own it. Could put a fende up on our side was just trying to avoid it. Doesn't have to be a traditional hedge plant but not sure what else will grow there..

 

Whereabouts are you located @Mattyp ? That makes a difference. We can plant things here in very narrow borders, especially as the weather predominantly comes in from the south west to west, which helps enormously with moisture for hedging plants.
As @Macraignil says though - cotoneasters will manage very well, although you may need to do a bit of regular trimming, and you would certainly need to amend the soil a good bit as it will be compacted and sour from being under the gravel, and with footings from the wall and driveway etc.
Another possibility would be Beech. It will cope with drier conditions, and can be clipped tightly, but the same applies- that soil needs to be really well attended to before doing any planting. The prep for a site like that is them ost important bit. Lonicera nitida will also manage

 

@Macraignil Thanks for the suggestion that's not a bad idea. We have a cotoneaster actually elsewhere. Not heard of this species. My concern would be the berries as these will inevitably end up on my neighbour's side I woule have thought when they drop.. And trying to have no impact on them. Unless you can treat it in a way that it will not produce berries..

 

@fairygirl, thanks for the comments I will look into beech. As I mentioned whatever it is will need to be kept very narrow both for drive access but also to but spill over wall too much. Also, doesn't have to be hedge plants necessarily but would produce a filed in barrier to some extent. I'm east Scotland central belt.

 

The other option is to add some trellis to the wall - nice tight stuff, not teh kind with great big gaps, and have a climber. Some of the early clematis would work - I grow a very easy alpina [Constance] which copes with all our weather, and it's in a very very tiny raised bed - the sort of width you have there. Many of them are generally smaller in size, and once traiend to the site, you don't have to do much to keep them happy
Those early ones don't need the richer, moister growing conditions the large flowered, later ones do. Mine are in raised beds to help cope with the rainfall on this side of the country. It's a bit drier where you are - my sister is in a similar location, and that will help.

 

Lonicera nitida which @fairygirl mentioned might be a good option @Mattyp, provided you can improve the soil and the soil has adequate depth. One on my neighbours has a hedge of it in his front garden and in quite a narrow bed. It is evergreen and easy to manage and also attractive. I was admiring it the other day!

 

Thanks for the comments both, things to look into! I think we already have a lonicera hedge on the other side actually if I ID'd it correctly. but it is in a wider bed. One concern with any of this is that the soil will immediately border the driveway and at the same level, therefore could be a recipe for a messy drive as soil ends up spilling over. I wonder if I could fit some thin edging to formally separate the two, might look a bit odd though if it juts up above slab level.

 

I think you're setting yourself up for a lifetime of tedious chores if you go with the hedge option. It's something you'll have to maintain constantly forever, otherwise it will encroach over to the neighbours side and being the driveway, it's not even like you can leave it a couple of weeks if you're busy with something else or unwell or away, because it will just narrow the driveway.

Sorry to be a naysayer. I would always choose planting over hard landscaping where feasible, but I think in this specific instance, a fence is likely the way to go.

 

About 6" below the level of the gravel, you'll probably find the foundations of the wall spreading about 5-6" outwards from the wall, so you may have very little (if any) soil to work with. Because of that, I'd forget about growing anything there and go for a low fence.

 

Hmm yeah doesnt sound too promising. Don't mind the effort of trimming hedges but as it's so narrow I guess it would have to be done more frequently and if the ground is shallow, a fence is looking like the easiest option at least. Thanks for all the feedback.

 

I can easily plant stuff near footings etc, because it isn't persistently dry here, but the other option would be to add another small border at the edge of the slabs, and basically create a raised bed, which would then allow you more scope. You could plant something smaller which would give a bit of height more easily. For example, there are varieties of Euonymus which are naturally quite upright, and box is generally fine up here re blight or moth problems.

 

We have an easily maintained rosemary hedge. Pruned regularly for BBQ aromatics. It's planted in a narrow border.
The birds love it for nesting, too.