Advice on planting in front of a Hawthorn hedge

Jeaniejive

I have recently planted a 7m (zigzagged) mixed Hawthorn hedge.
I would now like to plant approximately 5 low bushes in front of the hedge: They will be about 1/2 m from the Hawthorn.
I had thought of ceanothus, but am not sure if this would be good, or detract from the Hawthorn.
All advice gratefully received.

Dovefromabove

All the ceanothus shrubs I’ve ever known have been as big as any hawthorn hedge. 

Jeaniejive

Thank you so much. 
Any ideas on what else I could put in to add more interest and colour?

Dovefromabove

What’s the soil and situation like?  Is it damp or dry? I was thinking of a Cornus that could be coppiced hard back in the early spring when the attention would be grabbed by the hawthorn blossom, and then you’d get the beautiful colour of the new cornus growth in the winter when the hawthorn is looking a bit drab. But cornus needs plenty of moisture. 

robairdmacraignil

Jeaniejive said:

I have recently planted a 7m (zigzagged) mixed Hawthorn hedge.
I would now like to plant approximately 5 low bushes in front of the hedge: They will be about 1/2 m from the Hawthorn.
I had thought of ceanothus, but am not sure if this would be good, or detract from the Hawthorn.
All advice gratefully received.

I have planted a few shrubs in front of an existing hedge line which had hawthorn as a good proportion of the hedge plants. I found ceanothus is nice as it offers flowering at a different time to the hawthorn and hebe, potentilla and osmanthus have also worked well. The hawthorn being more established has at times overshadowed the new planting so I have maintained a path that I can go between the newly planted shrubs and the older hedge so I can cut back the hawthorn and beach when necessary. I have kept the progress of this part of the garden recorded on this play list of video clips.

Happy gardening!

Cambridgerose12

As you’ve put this in wildlife gardening, how about some shrubs for the birds and bees, etc.... Brachyglottis ‘Dunedin Sunshine’ is good for insects; alternatives would be Phlomis fruticosa or Bupleurum fruticosum. A Cotoneaster x suecicae ‘Juliette’ or Cotoneaster horizontalis will give your birds berries and, in the latter case, brilliant red autumn colour. These would all go well with Ceanothus—I’d recommend either ‘Concha’ for intense blue flowers, or Ceanothus thyrsiflorus varieties for a more subtle blue. An excellent addition to the front and loved by butterflies would be Ceratostigma willmottianum. Then to round it off, you could either go for Phormium ‘Tricolor’ for a strong architectural feel, or something with winter interest like Hamamelis ‘Aphrodite’, or a shrub to add colour in summer like Spiraea japonica ‘Goldflame’, or Pittosporum ‘Tom Thumb’.

garyd52

To complement the Hawthorns thorns and add to them how about a few of our Native Burnet roses which top out at around 3 foot high , they are as tough as old boots and will grow just about anywhere except deep shade .