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What are the best bushes/plants for a front garden border? and when is it best to plant them?

I don't want to build a brick wall around my front garden I would like a bush shrub that is shapable into a long box to border the garden. which plant is best and when should it be planted ??

Public Comments

1. cannabis
2. A bush that is shapable into a long box is a hedge. There are many hedging plants, but typical hedges are Privet, Lonicera nitida, Box, Laurel, Beech etc. If your garden is small you need a small hedge like Box. If it is large you need a large hedge like Beech or Laurel. Medium-sized - Privet. All hedges will eventually need trimming, some more than others. Box is very slow growing, but the plants are quite expensive. Privet is probably the cheapest. The best time to plant them is any time other than the depths of Winter, or when the soil is really wet and cold.
3. Andrew L has good suggestions. I would add that the recognised ideal time to plant any shrub is in October. The ground is still warm and rain will water the plant. You can plant container grown shrubs at any other time but they will not establish as quickly and you will need to water them through the summer if you plant in spring. As for preference. Consider maintenance. If it's a small hedge, anything will be ok. If it's large choose a soft stemmed shrub. Trimming privet is hard work, especially in the summer.
4. try Euonymous...not sure of the spelling here. A good hardy evergreen shrub . But be careful...it will naturally grow towards anything it touches. good luck c.
5. aside from not having your area it is impossible to know the proper plantings. Do you want a planting before the planter or one in the planter? Do you want evergreen planting or ornamental? Despite opinion you can plant a healthy plant at any time of the year. Problem is availability. I would, in your situation tend to favor a planting of evergreen at the edge ( three per edge) and two in the middle. The remaining can be either small evergreen, perenials, or annual plantings. On a long bed place an upright planting such as a fastigate juniper or pine. A great place is the center which, if narrow, is a fastigate blue hemlock or spruce. Make the center the attention point.. The key is Fastigate. They are upright and do no spread easy. Use some different plants such as Dusty Miller, Purple Palace, Silvia, or Hosta to accent the plants. A blue Fastigate with Purple Palace set with the Palace outside the drip line is a treasure. I've used it at many Toll Bros. Builders sites. You can plant when the plant is available. Aside from a foot of snow go to it. Find a Nursery (Landscape Oriented) versus a box store and you are ready. This will give you time to prep the soil and get the tools you need. Prepare by plan, prep, then plant. Remember to get the soil additions, the basic fert (10-10-10 with minerals granular) and go for it. Sounds much! You can buy the uprights, 2 Juniper and 1 spruce for about $50. These would cover 80 to 100'. The other plants you can buy at either the box store or the nursery. Put in good stock foundation plants and go from there. Buy container plants with warranty. The Dusty Miller with Purple Palace, in a spot of their own is remarkable in appearance all season long. This to is cheap to purchase. Good Luck. I am at gjgjobs@yahoo.com
6. Around here there is a habit of throwing people into toy hedges for the fun of it , and to see how much it breaks up the hedge. Include a briar (wild rose) in your planting -it will not stand on its own but thread through your other plants- and they will stay clear. Funnily enough my hawthorn and briar hedge hasn't been touched, although the chain link /leylandii opposite has taken a hammering. I like to think if they did 'accidentally' find themselves more than a few feet embedded in the hedge, they would probably not get out. It has a habit of wrapping round things when stressed. lol