I would personally churn it over well with a rotavator and prior to planting work in a ton bag of composted stable manure . As others have pointed out leylandii is not the best option and can easily get out of hand and doesn’t usually respond well to hard cutting back I think a traditional chestnut fence with a low Portuguese laurel behind would look very smart and easily managed (the posts can be banged in with a tractor )
If you are looking for something evergreen I would choose Holly, Photinia red robin, pyracantha or olearia traversii. It is hard to beat the Leylandii and the laurel for speed of growth but I think it is worth allowing a bit more time to get a nicer hedge established.
Thanks for help. Ok I'm now planning to hire a turf cutter and tiller for a day to remove a strip of turf and then till the ground a bit.
I have plenty of horse manure piled up in the paddock at the back but I've heard stories about it having herbicides in it due to the hey the horses eat?? Also a few vids on YouTube have said not add anything to the ground.
You have changed my mind on weed fabric. I'm going to mulch instead. Can this be bought in ton bags??
I am now planning to do all the hedging front and sides of the house in one go. So roughly a total of 230m.
Still cant decide on the hedging. I know this will cause a bit of upset. but my primary goal is privacy and wind/noise protection. We ill be planing the garden and paddock with plenty of new trees shrubs and plants afterwards for the wildlife.
My options I think are between Laylandaii, Griselinia (or other type of Laural), Thurja Plicata. Are their any other evergreen hedge that are fast growing that I've missed?
I totally disagree with the people who think leylandii isn't a good choice. It sounds perfect. As is thuja.
It is also great for wildlife. I maintain goodness knows how many leylandii hedges (very easy to do - 1 or 2 trims a year, the same as any other hedge), and know for a fact they are very attractive to loads of kinds of birds, for nesting and for shelter while feeding. Great for insects, spiders, woodlouse, and others take shelter in the root area and branches.
It's neat, tidy, dense, grows to size and fills out quite quickly, doesn't take up much space, stays green all year, fairly cheap to buy, easy to maintain....
In terms of ground prep, I'd hire a turf cutter and a motivator and get it done in a day, with 300-400 litres of compost added as a mulch layer on top once rotovated.
I think the problem isn't so much the leylandii itself @glasgowdan, it's with the maintenance of it. Or to be more accurate, the lack of maintenance. That's what gets it the bad press. If the OP is willing and able to keep on top of the growth etc. then yes, no problem. As you say, it grows to size very quickly, the problem is that it doesn't stop there ! That's why personally l suggest thuja plicata, a very similar look, but less "thuggish" .
I think the problem isn't so much the leylandii itself @glasgowdan, it's with the maintenance of it. Or to be more accurate, the lack of maintenance. That's what gets it the bad press. If the OP is willing and able to keep on top of the growth etc. then yes, no problem. As you say, it grows to size very quickly, the problem is that it doesn't stop there ! That's why personally l suggest thuja plicata, a very similar look, but less "thuggish" .
It just frustrates me seeing people giving bad advice because they focus on headlines and create an imaginary problem. For every 1 Leylandii that never gets trimmed and creates a problem, there are 100 that quietly get on with the intended job and owners that do a trim each autumn.
I do agree, Thuja is a nice plant. I put in a thuja hedge in my own garden as I like the multi-stemmed look.
My concern with the maintenance is that, as I understand it, the local farmer is going to do it.
"...He has said he would like to keep the hedge Hawthorn around the paddock and will do the external cutting for us with his tractors around the whole property...."
I come from a farming family ... I know farmers well ... he will do it when he has nothing more important to do, and he'll give it a good hard going over so that it doesn't have to be done again for a good while. Fine for the majority of hedges farmers have to maintain ... hawthorn, blackthorn and the like. Disastrous for Leylandii ... cut back into the brown wood and you'll never have a green hedge again ... Thuja plicata will cope much better with that sort of treatment. Hawthorn would be even better.
“I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” Winnie the Pooh
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As others have pointed out leylandii is not the best option and can easily get out of hand and doesn’t usually respond well to hard cutting back
I think a traditional chestnut fence with a low Portuguese laurel behind would look very smart and easily managed (the posts can be banged in with a tractor )
It is also great for wildlife. I maintain goodness knows how many leylandii hedges (very easy to do - 1 or 2 trims a year, the same as any other hedge), and know for a fact they are very attractive to loads of kinds of birds, for nesting and for shelter while feeding. Great for insects, spiders, woodlouse, and others take shelter in the root area and branches.
It's neat, tidy, dense, grows to size and fills out quite quickly, doesn't take up much space, stays green all year, fairly cheap to buy, easy to maintain....
In terms of ground prep, I'd hire a turf cutter and a motivator and get it done in a day, with 300-400 litres of compost added as a mulch layer on top once rotovated.
Or to be more accurate, the lack of maintenance. That's what gets it the bad press.
If the OP is willing and able to keep on top of the growth etc. then yes, no problem. As you say, it grows to size very quickly, the problem is that it doesn't stop there !
That's why personally l suggest thuja plicata, a very similar look, but less "thuggish"
It just frustrates me seeing people giving bad advice because they focus on headlines and create an imaginary problem. For every 1 Leylandii that never gets trimmed and creates a problem, there are 100 that quietly get on with the intended job and owners that do a trim each autumn.
I do agree, Thuja is a nice plant. I put in a thuja hedge in my own garden as I like the multi-stemmed look.
"...He has said he would like to keep the hedge Hawthorn around the paddock and will do the external cutting for us with his tractors around the whole property...."
I come from a farming family ... I know farmers well ... he will do it when he has nothing more important to do, and he'll give it a good hard going over so that it doesn't have to be done again for a good while. Fine for the majority of hedges farmers have to maintain ... hawthorn, blackthorn and the like. Disastrous for Leylandii ... cut back into the brown wood and you'll never have a green hedge again ... Thuja plicata will cope much better with that sort of treatment. Hawthorn would be even better.