Here are some pics of 'electrically-friendly' and easy to manage hedges, as alternatives to leylandii and other so called 'fast' hedging.
Pic #1 -- A 4 year old mixed-hardwood hedge shown in spring. Mixed birch, chestnut, hazel, elder, oak, crack-willow and holly at 10"-15" centers. Establishes surprisingly fast and gives a good hedge in only 2 or 3 seasons. Cut only once a year in autumn by walking a hedge trimmer along, taking off perhaps 12" of growth to desired height, it's dense in summer and open fall/winter/spring. Good for small birds, hazelnuts, chestnuts etc., and you get a good supply of small twigs for plant supports, leaves for the compost bin and a windbreak Note the same hedging species used by local farmers in the background, with a mix of mature trees and hedging, used as a resource for firewood, fence-posts etc., - the legendary French bocage.
Pic #2 -- Hedge in full leaf mid summer showing the lovely dense foliage, behind my grand-daughters gardening in the veg patch. In the foreground is a parterre of box set round a herb garden. The pea-sticks came out of the hedge. These are 10 year old box plants, close-trimmed once a year.
Pic #3 -- A similar parterre growing round a gooseberry patch, again 10 year old plants. Easy to take cuttings from, box forms a neat, tight hedge eventually, and only grows 3 or 4 inches a year. Needs patience and time to get results, and must be trimmed/trained for compact form. Good for topiary.
Pic #4 -- Patience is rewarded, but not in one lifetime, unfortunately. An awesome 9 foot plus high box hedge, over 100 years old, dwarfs Mrs B. by a strawberry patch. No danger of this growing into powerlines! Only trimmed every other year, with occasional trips into the interior to snip off blackberry [briar] stems that tend to come up through from the pasture behind. Bonus: Odd stray branches are hoarded and dried for turning light pulls etc. - it's an extremely fine-grained cream colored dense hard wood. The grey and off-white thing is our Shitzui, William.
