Dig the edgy stuff

Smart ways to repel all border woes

BORDER disputes can bring countries to war – and the same goes for neighbours.

Two pensioners have been given criminal records just for trimming next-door’s clematis.

Planted to celebrate the birth of a grandchild, it had grown for 18 years before the pruning made it collapse.

That recent story, from Prestatyn, North Wales, shows how careful you need to be when creating a boundary or brushing up an old one.

If starting from scratch, drive in posts and run a heavy gauge wire along the boundary to identify it.

Get it right before you start and you’ll save a lot of pain later. I’ve known disputes over a few inches.

Your council should be able to supply plans if there is uncertainty over where a garden ends.

The easiest boundary and quickest to make is a decent softwood fence – most commonly lapped fencing where one panel slightly overlaps the next horizontally.

The side where the panels overlap from top to bottom is the front of the fence, usually on the owner’s side.

There are a whole host of shaped or arched panels that can mark your boundary and provide a feature.

Visit www.forestgarden.co.uk for ideas. If you have old concrete posts I’d suggest staining them to disguise the light-coloured cement.

Hedges create a lovely boundary but choice of plants is critical. Fastgrowing leylandii is a big cause of complaints from neighbours. Not only will they block the sun they’ll also suck the nutrients from the soil.

Popular hedges are beech, privet and hornbeam. They are easily shaped and give privacy. If you are dead-set on a conifer try the slower-growing and less invasive western red cedar (Thuja plicata ‘Atrovirens’).

Walls are popular but expensive. Stone or bricks and mortar give a solid defined boundary, but pick a material that compliments your house.

Climbers or shrubs will soften a wall, especially when it’s new.

Try different plants along the wall that flower at different times. Dutch early and Dutch late honeysuckle flower from May to September, one taking over from the other in June.