Fast growing, shade loving, evergreen plants

I’ve recently removed a row of conifers that had grown way out of control.

The area behind is sloped down towards a busy road with a lot of trees and large shrubs.

What would be be fastest growing, evergreen plants to cover the ground, fill in the gaps and provide more privacy/security?

I’d consider shrubs, ferns, grasses. Pretty much anything that grows fast and creates really dense vegetation.

Thanks

 

Grasses like miscanthus will make 6’ in a year....although not evergreen they still provide structure over winter.
Pittosporum, although liking sun, will grow fast in partial shade. Mahonia Charity and others too. Eleagnus, griselinia, taxus fastigiata, camellias, fatsias, hollies, Berberis Darwinii, viburnums will grow tall.
Ferns like dryopteris, daphne mezereum, sarcoccoca, lonicera winter beauty, skimmias will all add density in shade.
However, consider hellebores, dicentras, astilbes, astrantias, cimicifugas, brunneras, some of the sanguisorbas and persicarias will provide lovely depth of planting.
For the front of a shady border check out a truly wonderful grass,,viz., hackonechloa macra aureola. Deciduous but already here it is making great colour at a height of 40 cm and will get taller. Other grasses like Bowles Golden Grass, sedges like carex testacea, heucheras, tiarellas, Japanese anemones, arum lilies, etc.
I’m sure plenty of other plants will be suggested K78 to make your area a very attractive one.

 

Hi @K78 , can you post a photo or describe what kind of effect you are after? Wild hedge- like boundary, tall, bushy, more formal...? An area or a boundary?

You can't go wrong with ferns

 

I’ll take some site photos tomorrow.

I love ferns. I planned to take some cuttings from a friends garden. He failed to tell me they weren’t evergreen. I went today and they were just a dead brown mass. He didn’t even notice.

I want a really thick, wild, dense woodland look. It will provide a sound barrier, natural screen and a nice secure habitat for local wild life. It’s also a security risk as it is as it provides easy access to my site and the neighbouring house.

The trees look bare in winter exposing the road and the bungalow which is elevated above my plot.

I’m thinking planting yew trees with evergreen ferns, shrubs and blackberries will solve the problem?

I also love some of the grasses Verdun suggested.

 

I bought some plants over the weekend.

Didn’t have a clue in the garden nursery. Ended up with 4 large pots of Ivy, a 5’ prunus, 6 x chamaecyparis col gauca, a cotoneaster and a pacific night plant.

Cost me £65 in all. Don’t know if that is good or bad?

Looking to buy some evergreen ivy but they haven’t got any for a few weeks.

 

Progress has been slow and I’m impatient.

The hawthorn I planted is doing well as are the small conifers. 2 of the 4 large conifers I bought seem to have died.

I don’t think great care was taken removing them.

The others are doing fine but growing slowly.

I’ve decided to buy some miscanthus giganteus for the top of the bank towards my neighbours garden and bamboo to fill the gaps.

Can anyone recommend fast growing, shade loving bamboo?

Thanks

 

Hiya K78.....my advice about bamboo is to be absolutely sure you want to plant it
There are clump formers...fargesia.....but most bamboos are incredibly invasive and incredibly difficult to eradicate. Horror stories galore about bamboo
Not a plant I like either but pampas grass would fill that spot. Anything but bamboo!!
How about shrubs? Holly for example? Golden King is an attractive variety?

 

Thanks for the advice.

The area in question is around 8m wide and 30m long. It’s a steep bank full of various trees and rubbish. I’ve tidied up around 10m into it. No further as it is not mine.

I thought bamboo might solve the problem but I guess not. Can it damage foundations like Japanese knot weed?

 

Yes, yes it can K78

 

If going for Pampas Grass, then Cortaderia richardii would be my preferred choice. Looks more stylish.

 

I bought a pot of bamboo from the local garden nursery earlier. I think it will be going back.

Are the clumping varieties a problem? They’re not cheap.

 

fargesia is quite handsome and is well behaved K78.

A neighbour here grows a variety of pampas grasses but the clear stand out for me is Sunningdale Silver. Late August into autumn it is stunning Avoid the pinks though....for me they look messy

 

I’m not sure what type I have. The label has fallen off. The guy at the garden centre said it was relatively slow growing. I will check tomo.

I’m definitely getting pampus grass as a screen at the top. What size is the best to buy?

 

Life is too short K78 to go for small plants .....I would buy at least 5 litre pots to make an impact ASAP

 

I’ve just bought 12 miscanthus giganteus via eBay.

On the look out for 5lt pampus now.

Does anyone know what type of bamboo that might be?