[Two Sunflowers]

Hi, I am after ideas for plants to put in a hedgerow

It will be dividing our back yard, hiding the veg patch and clothesline, it will also offer a bit of privacy from our neighbours (farm fencing only) who look down into our back yard (actually there is no house there yet, and the land is on the market, but there will be neighbours one day... It will start from the house and extend outwards.

I would like the hedge to be:

2m tall
approx 10 long
will need access to the other side, either in the middle or up by the house
preferably native (low watering requirements)
pretty! flowering would be nice otherwise, nice leaves.
can be shrub or tree


So gardeners, what can I plant???

[fi73]

We have Lilly Pilly hedging, there are loads of different varieties you can chose from.Ours are about 1.5 metres high at the moment but our neighbours is about 3 metres high and looks good it is also reasonably fast growing.They have pleasant foilage,flowers and some produce berries as well.
Fiona

[noi'mnot]

Where are you? Does the area get full sun? What's the soil like?

You can hedge lemon myrtle (depending on where you live, and you're more likely to be successful if you're further south), it's native, and it has the dual advantage of being a lovely herb! Likewise, bay trees are easy to hedge and very useful.

Have you thought about espaliering fruit trees in a row? Apples, pears, stonefruit, citrus, all work well like this. It requires a little maintenance, but again is super useful!

Then there are more traditional hedge type things like lilly pilly (native, some use the berries in cooking, if you have a fruiting variety), pittosporum, etc.

[Two Sunflowers]

fi73, I find myself going back to the lilly pilly! Didnt realise they grew so tall, thanks for the suggestion.

noi'mnot, rural Vic, clay soil Will have to improve it. We already have an orchard, so wont plant the fruit trees - lovely idea. Also, the hedge will go at right angles to the wall, not along it. Lemon myrtle looks lovely - will have a look at for it at the nursery. thanks.

[Mum2TwoDSs]

We had gorgeous golden sheen, beautiful and bushy have small green and yellow leaves. They grew so well and take trimming very well to form a tall privacy wall within two years. They grew really fast and are very pretty...no fruits. We also had a low fence.

[TheGreenSheep]

How about a Luma Apiculata hedge? Or a Robin grevillea?

[Schnitzelvonkrum...]

We are in the process of planting an avocado hedge (in Melbourne). We started with one tree, just to see if it would work, and it has grown beautifully and has fruit, so we are going ahead with the remainder. In 10m you would probably need approximately 3-4 trees, and they grow to about 3-4m tall, but can be hedged quite easily.

In another section of the garden, we also have a lily pily hedge, and it looks lovely when flowering.

we also have pittosporum hedges and I wouldnt recommend them - too much maintenance. We are replacing the pittosporums with avocados and blueberries.

[noi'mnot]

Lemon myrtle in a hedge would probably work pretty well in rural Vic. I like PP's suggestions of avocado and blueberries too, if you don't have them in your orchard. Bay trees might grow too big now that I think of it, they need to be very well pruned if you want them to stay in a reasonable hedge.

Chilean guavas would be ace, too! They're very hardy and have lovely fruits.

You can get dwarf and smaller lilly pillies, if that's what you decide on.

Do you have anywhere near you that has an indigenous nursery section? They might be able to give you some advice, if you do decide to go with natives.

[Silvers]

We have a variety of lilly pilly called Hinterland Gold. It has lovely golden/red new growth which then turns to a mid green colour.

We have clay soil and they have so far grown around 80cm since planting a year ago - expected height between 2-3m.

[roses99]

We have a hedge that is everything you want - planted from grevilleas. It grew very, very quickly - full height within two years - and by trimming it back regularly, it is now nice and thick and provides a solid screen. No watering required and it is constantly in flower. The gorgeous birds that are always in it are an added bonus.