It is a big expense to contain your property with traditional fencing.
A natural screen created using hedging plants can be a much more economical and natural looking alternative. Plants are capable of providing excellent privacy and security for your home, once established. They can also be used to screen off unattractive areas that you do not wish to look at such as a road, and ugly buildings.
Clever planting, instead of fences is typically much cheaper than purchasing, installing and maintaining traditional fencing and has the added bonus of giving your home curb appeal.
There are a huge variety of different plants you can choose from to create a stunning hedge for your land. You will get the best results by selecting plants that are well suited to the local weather conditions in your area. Find out what type of soil you have, because this is an important factor in helping you to select the best plants.
There are certain shrubs that tend to be extremely popular and these include: yew, privet, boxwood, laurel and photinia.
Native to Britain and a popular choice for boxed hedges and topiary’s is the yew which lends itself very well to being clipped. This plant can be grown successfully practically anywhere which has good soil drainage.
One of the toughest shrubs is the privet. This is a fast growing plant which will thrive in poor quality soil. Good preparation of the planting area before you begin will give your plants the best possible start.
Boxwood produces pretty littleattractive blooms throughout the spring and is the best choice for shady positions. It continues to grow for years, provides excellent protection and is extremely hardy. Boxwood however grows rather slowly compared to other plants.
For a brilliant windbreak, laurel is a popular choice and grows up to fifteen feet tall.
Photinia is an attractive choice with deep red leaves that later turn to green after spring.
If you are on a tight budget, you can keep costs down by purchasing small shrubs, however these will obviously take much longer to become established. An almost immediate hedge can be produced using large plants.
It helps to cut costs if you can put the plants in yourself instead of getting a professional to do it. It is quite a straightforward task to undertake, although it is time consuming and you will need to be strong enough to dig trenches for planting. Good preparation and regular watering will be vital.
For an attractive, natural look you could try planting a selection of different hedging plants. Use evergreen hedging plants as an attractive low cost alternative to fencing.
