Front of house hedge screen query

Steven105

Hi,

I am an inexperienced gardener but looking to plant an evergreen hedge between 1 - 2m high against the front of my house to hide an ugly facade.  I do not want to plant anything that could cause subsidence through root damage, or too much water consumption as the soil is clay based, (south east, England).  I was thinking prunus lusitanica but I really have no idea.  All feedback will be gratefully received, many thanks.

Guernsey Donkey2

If you grow a hedge against any walls of your house Steven105, please leave an air gap of a few inches between the plants and the wall, otherwise you will be encouraging damp walls and possibly damp inside your home too.  All house walls should be free of plants, so that they are not continually damp/wet in the winter when we have so much rain. If climbing plants are used against a house wall, these plants should be attached to a trellis so air can move behind the trellis - thus drying the walls behind.

yorkshirerose

How near to your house are you planning to plant. Guernsey Donkey is quite right with the advice given.

Prunus Lusitanica, Prunus Laurocerasus, Photinia x fraserii 'Red Robin' are all good evergreen shrubs that will reach your desired height in time. Bear in mind that they will need  good moisture retentive, free draining soil. As your soil is clay based you should check you don't have a 'clay pan' below the top spit of soil which could prevent roots from developing, and stop adequate drainage. Horticultural grit is useful for adding to any planting in clay soils as it aids drainage and allows roots to spread freely.

Fairygirl

I'm not sure an evergreen hedge is the way to go in this instance. You'd be better with decent climbers. 
I'd have to disagree re the climbers directly on walls. Most self clinging climbers cause no problems as long as the walls are in good condition to start with. It's only when they're  already in poor condition that there's an issue.
 
If you want an evergreen hedge, you'll need to put a solid barrier between the hedging and the house wall, and a decent gap, otherwise it'll just grow outwards to meet the wall, and you'll have no way of getting in to maintain it.