Solved Looking for help identifying these hedges!

When I considered privet, I thought that doesn`t get so woody. Privet also flowers - notice the different shaped leaves rs...

 

I saw this Tetters while looking at privet but because @greenasthegrass hasn't seen flowers so far i thought it can't be that

 

Ive zoomed in a bit it might help, ive always called it privet from being a kid it could be anything , what i can tell you its a pain to dig out .

 

Your right there mate ...last time i saw some being dug out was donkeys years ago when i lived with my parents ...the growth rate is another issue

 

Last time i saw some was when i bought this house about five years ago, i don't want to see no more after getting this lot out.

 

Martin that was a lot to shift mate besides a tree behind it ....Just showed my hubby and he said it does look nice and i think the same and it makes your home look totally different

 

The leaves on Escallonia have a serrated edge and if crushed have a citrus smell to them.

 

Thanks Gail we only bought it to do up and sell on, but we like it here neighbors are good and our grandchildren go too the school at the end of the road it was very cheap and allowed me to be able do others, only me and the wife at home now we don't need anything bigger so make it home and put value on it while doing so .

 

Well Martin it's served it's purpose good regarding neighbours then the school mate and if your both happy there i would stay plus your doing a lot of work mate besides...it does add value like you say but also you and your wife are enjoying the achievement

You could move somewhere else and live next door to nightmares

 

Thanks for your replies - I have looked up all your suggestions - it's quite difficult to tell! But I think the second one looks like the images of privet although as it has been left to go wild and had much of the sun blocked by overgrown ivy etc from next door's garden it has become quite thin and spindly. Not sure when it is best to take action on sorting it out - or what the best approach is?

Hard to tell with the first one... I'm hoping @Tetters is right as flowers would be nice - but I think it looks different to the pic you provided (leaves seem to have slightly serrated edges whereas our hedge doesn't). We were delighted to discover that the tree at the front of the house was a Camelia and has been bursting with flowers since January (even in spite of the snow killing lots of them off) so it would be lovely to have another splash of colour now the Camelia is coming to an end.

 

From my experience with privet chop it to the height you want and in one/two years time you will have a nice hedge.

 

Replied before I had seen a second page or replies! So its looking increasingly like the opinion is that both are privet - so if i want to prune it back hard at some point it will probably survive as I understand privet grows like mad?

 

Thanks that's helpful - sounds like I can be quite brutal with it and don't need to worry about killing it off!

 

Just had another thought about the first hedge - could it be box?

 

Yes i chopped mine to the ground dug round it with a spade pulled it out with block and tackle put it on the compost pile and next year it was growing again,

I understand that birds are breeding but that hedge looks too thin for nests, personally if it was me i would have a good look through it and if nothings nesting get it cut asap you should see some growth later this year give you a good start for next year.