Growing a new screening hedge and the law

I am about to buy some hybrid willows to plant along my back garden,i have neighbours either side of me and at the bottom of my garden too,
So would like some privacy hence planting these willows but im just wondering where i stand with planting them,at the moment i have a 6ft hedge between us but i need a screen of roughly 10ft to block out over seeing windows etc,.its a lovely garden but needs privacy,i will cut and maage the hedge every year once it is to a height i want it to be but am wondering about what the neighbours may think and possible moan
Is there any laws against this

 

I don't know about the legal position, but unless you're garden is huge, it is going to feel pretty boxed in if you go for a 10ft hedge.

Your neighbours might whinge when they find that their gardens suddenly start dying off, due to the Willows sucking all the moisture out of the ground, and casting big shadows.

Is it not practical to use something like Elderberry trees carefully positioned to block the view but without completely boxing the place in?

 

You need to think about the impact a 10' hedge would have on the adjacent gardens - try to imagine how you would feel.

See this -

http://www.gardenlaw.co.uk/trees.html

It might help.

 

I can understand your wish for privacy, but unless you've a large plot, 10' is very high - consider the average room which is about 8' and you're hoping to go 2' beyond that. So far as I'm aware, there are no legal hedge height limits but before planting anything it would be advisable to check with your Local Authority that there are no by-laws in your area.

Assuming you are allowed to plant pretty much anything, you could still fall foul of your neighbours - the roots of anything at 10' high will 'trespass' onto their land, branches (while they're growing) will do the same to their air space and anything which blocks out your view is, inevitably, going to do the same to others, furthermore by blocking a view, you're also going to be blocking out a surprising amount of light to all the gardens concerned - yours and theirs. One other thing to consider is, despite what I'm sure is your genuine intention to keep the hedge trimmed, if your neighbours don't think it's trimmed often enough they could sue and, in extreme cases, you could find yourself subject to an anti-social behaviour order.

Just as a bit of (possibly irrelevant) information - the hedge belonging to one of my neighbours is, at it's nearest point, 35' (about 10 metres) from my kitchen window; for various reasons it hadn't been cut for 2 years (although he usually keeps it trimmed) but even at that distance, at 12' high it made the room sufficiently dark to require the light to be on, on all but the sunniest of days - after it was trimmed back to it's normal 8'not only did I not need the light on, but every one of my plants became less leggy.

This isn't meant to be as negative as it may appear, just 'points to ponder' - but I wonder whether, rather than a 'full-blown' hedge, you might consider planting a few trees instead?

 

Willow is a bad choice anyways

 

I agree!

I'd never plant a willow hedge anywhere near a garden

 

My dad, who is a far better gardener than me, has willow all around the edge of his garden, against his fence. It looks good, and he has no difficulty getting his flowers to grow. However he does admit that there is a downside. Apart from having to trim the Willow regularly because it grows so fast, he also has to feed and water the garden more, especially at the foot of the willows. Next door's garden also grows fine. The key thing to note here is that my dad keeps the willow well under control, and at a reasonable height (he lets it get to about 6 inches higher than the fence). Every few years he chops it right down and digs out the roots (he doesn't let the roots develop too much) and then replants from the choppings. The net result is that the roots never become a problem, but it is a lot of work for him.

I once asked him why he grew the stuff knowing he was creating so much work for himself. He just shrugged and said he liked it, and the extra work gets him out of the house.

 

I have one willow that seeded itself 4 years ago in a corner of the garden - clever thing managed to do it the wettest, boggiest part of the garden...so I left it there. It can compete with the neighbours leylandii hedge (which looks very bare and straggly in the part of the garden!).

But I'd agree with the others - whatever hedge you decide on, consider your neighbours in terms of height, but also them having to cut their side of the hedge. They may not thank you for giving them extra work, although you can offer to do it for them.

 

i say i want it a certain height but im not 100% sure when it reaches a height i want it at i will keep it there,but as many have said here i will get a few and just block out the major windows that are in view and see what happens from there.
with these willows will they grow now if planted?

 

What are you planning to buy? Are you planning to get the sticks that you just shove in the ground, bare rooted trees, or potted?

Good suppliers won't sell you bare roots or whips (the sticks with no roots on) until the correct time of year for planting them, which usually starts at the end of November, through to early February.

With the whips, having prepared the ground, you just shove them in where you want them.

Willow won't grow now, at least not topside. It will just sit in the ground, slowly thinking about developing some roots (it won't even do that once the ground gets really cold) then in spring it should start to green up and grow.

Are you sure Willow is the right choice? You mentioned hybrid willow. Many of these are bred for their fast, upright growth, and they don't bush up very much for the first few years, they just aim for the sky. I doubt that you'll get the privacy you're aiming for with just a few of them, as they don't have very big leaves and are not very bushy.

I like willow, but I personally don't think it is the best choice for what you are trying to achieve.

 

yes just cuttings from here
http://www.willowworks.co.uk/html/kits_prices.html

i will then cut them back each year until they thicken up to what i want

 

Those are not bad prices.

 

This is what my trees look like at 10ft tall. Im going to take about 2 feet off them so the neighbours get a bit more light and also make it easier to keep the top trimmed level.

http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=710&d=1242589112

 

Which way will the shade be cast? Will it be into your neighbours gardens or yours? If you throw the shade into their garden then you are just asking to stoke up a neighbourhood row. Generally i find it better to work with and consult with the neighbours. Hybrid willow is intended as a quick and cheap source of timber. It also has deep penetrating roots and has a reputation for seeking out water, including water and sewage pipes. If the roots get into any pipes on nearby properties then you are liable for the repair. Unless the gardens are huge and the willow will be a long way from any pipes then i would forget it, willows can cause a lot of damage.
Consider which parts of your garden you really need to be kept private. Is it really perhaps the patio rather than the whole garden? I use bamboo canes to site where I would plant a screening tree and then line it up. A tree half way down your garden can be more effective for a particular spot than one on a boundary.
One tree that is really good is a cherry called Spire. It produces a tall columnar shape and casts very little shade and it looks very beautiful in spring, the flowers are soft pink.
Something like the yellow Robinia pseudoacacia frisia would look nice. You would not just be producing a screen but also something that would add to the neighbours view as well. The neighbours that I have had have always admired the trees I have placed on my boundaries. When you have something like Robinia or a nice Acer overhanging branches are not an issue. One neighbour used to love a white and green varigated Acer I have in the bottom corner. There was no one at the back, it will grow to about 30 feet but they were pleased it was on their side because they had the view from their kitchen window.