Leylandii Hedge
Question:
I have just moved into a new house and there is a 20 foot high leylandii hedge down one whole side of the garden. The bottom is a bit sparse, and I really want to plant a border in front of it. Can you please give me any advice about what plants would survive?
Answer:
Leylandii are a nuisance in the garden as they grow very quick and if not kept in check can soon take over a whole garden!
It is extremely difficult to grow anything under a hedge, particularly leylandii as they remove so much moisture from the soil.
I would not advise trying to plant a border under the hedge as the shade and lack of moisture means that not much is likely to grow there successfully.
I would plant up pots to provide colour and interest, just place them under the hedge and keep them well watered.
Try planting a few pots with spring flowering bulbs layering different types to get a succession of flowering e.g. daffodils in the lower layer, followed by tulips, then crocus or iris; anything that takes your fancy will do. Once flowering is over these pots can be moved into a corner out of the way until next spring. Replace them by pots full of summer bedding plants.
For all year background interest you could have your evergreens and grasses; conifers also do well in pots and their size is kept in check.
A good plant for autumn interest is Skimmia, they don't mind low light and are great in pots. click here to see a selection from Crocus
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