Large plants for topiary

Hi,

I have a ghastly Leylandii hedge at the front of my house, and I want to replace it with something nicer, and more formal.

The hedge has a rather useless border in front of it ...

What I am after is a hedge against the road, but with also some topiary on the house-side.

Any advice on what I should use for the hedge, and where I might get some large plants to speed up the process would be appreciated

The hedge is 46 meters long and I reckon I will need 6 yews (see photograph). My thoughts for the hedge are either Hornbeam (clay soil here) or Beech, or even Copper Beech. I think the cooper beech would give nice contrast against the yew, ordinary beech would keep its leaves in winter (also nice contrast), but I can't remember whether Hornbeam does that or not.

I have found 120-150cm : Copper Beech @ £6, Green beech @ £2.50 (I'm assuming to plant a double-row at about 4-5 plants / metre)

Bushy yew 180-200 cm @ £95 each. Whereas 250cm would be £170, which seems a lot extra for probably 2 years extra growth at the most.

Sorry, I can't find a photograph from just the right angle to demonstrate the effect, but hopefully these will help illustrate:

The above picture shows the topiary and hedge on the right

The above picture shows them on the left

and finally this one shows the topiary on the opposite side (where there was no hedge). Dunno who the "model" is (found the picture with Google) but it maybe helps give an indication of size

Replies

Nick Steele September 22, 2008 at 5:20pm

I assume you're planning to buy bare root hedging ? What part of the country are you in ?
Kristen September 22, 2008 at 5:30pm

Nick Steele said:
I assume you're planning to buy bare root hedging ? What part of the country are you in ?

Yes to bare-rooted. Got to pull the existing Leylandii out, planning to do that in the next couple of weeks (JCB job ...), so should be ready to plant by end October.

I'm in Suffolk

Thanks.
Nick Steele September 22, 2008 at 6:04pm

4 plants per running metre in a double staggered row, with 50cms between plants in the row, and 30 - 60 cms between the rows should be okay. Smaller plants (60 - 90 cms) are easier to plant, and will establish marginally quicker than the larger sizes, and will of course be cheaper. You ought to be able to get better prices than those you've found already, but I do not know (or cannot recommend) any suppliers in your area. Hornbeam may be happier in your clay soil than beech, and looks very very similar. Coper beech is lovely, but as you've found, very expensive, and can be temperamental - much harder to establish, and considerably slower than green beech.
Kristen September 22, 2008 at 9:25pm

Thanks all. Do you think Hornbeam or Green Beech will look "smart" next to the Yew, or would Copper Beech provide a nicer contrast?

(Lets assume I have enough pennies in the piggy bank for now! - actually the cost of the Yew is probably going to significantly outweigh the difference between Green / Copper Beech)

Personally I think the top photo with the yew next to autumn-coloured Beech provides a nice contrast, and the middle picture "all green" looks a bit bland by comparison, but I'd appreciate other's views.
Nick Steele September 22, 2008 at 10:28pm

Its a personal choice - I think the differences in leaf form and shade of green would be enough contrast between hedge and topiary, and if you chose the green hedge option you'd have the best of both worlds - green hedge half the year, brown the rest! But copper beech would be magnificent - you just need deeper pockets, and more patience (it is considerably slower growing).