Hi, just an immediate thought, I’ll come back with something more considered later. I love beech hedges, however, it would have to be incredibly tall to block those buildings. Would suggest that you need a fast growing tall screen, not totally block but break up the unwanted view, to make it recede. Our neighbour planned a huge extension which came right up to our garden wall. We planted a row of silver birch. They look beautiful, airy and breakup the view of the extension. They grow very quickly, especially the one we planted where the old compost heap stood.

Thank you Karen for taking the time to reply. Good point - I will probably maintain the hedge at 2 metres so it won't screen it all. It should provide a screen from anybody on the farm seeing straight in but needs more to screen the building. A row of silver birch is a lovely idea - one of my favourite trees. I will do that - I have the option to plant behind the hedge in the field or in front but they do get to 12m plus so maybe behind would be better. In terms of plants for new beds and ratio of shrubs v perennials - any other ideas appreciated as my plant knowledge is limited! Thank you again.

Thank you Jonathan too... I will get researching trees!

The hedge will be amazing for wildlife - the birds are going to love it! Lovely to see a garden that has space for some proper trees. My utter favourite tree is the Himalayan Birch, it has the whitest bark of all the birches and looks wonderful even when branches are bare in winter. It also supports the highest amount of wildlife, after the Oak. Others great trees are Sorbus (Rowan) with lovely berries in autumn, Ornamental Cherries with their stunning flowers, Acers, Hawthorns and Amelanchier with white flowers and great autumn colour.

You could also plant evergreen shrubs such as Viburnum, Holly (more a tree), Ceanothus, Mahonia, Fatsia japonica. You could also add bulbs, perennials and grasses, just depends how much maintenance you want as they will need tending, dead heading and cutting back in spring.

Hi, just a few things to get an idea of your garden’s requirements. Where are you, what is the orientation of your garden, who will be using it, what styles appeal to you, how much time are you looking to carry out maintenance, what do you envisage you will do in your garden,what is the size, is this the only garden? Ideally, if you can draw out a rough plan with points of compass, outline of your house in the plan and indicate windows/ doors looking into the garden. Sorry to ask for so much but very necessary to make appropriate suggestions. Karen

Thank you Sonia for all your plant ideas. I agree about the birch. I was at an RHS garden this week and there are so many stunning examples. And I saw a lovely sorbus to add to my list.
Thank you Karen too for asking for more info. I attach a scaled plan I did a while ago. I also have access to plant in the field the other side of the fencing (to help block the red shed). Currently the only flower beds are under the garage wall where I have 2 beautiful cream roses and at the front and side of the house just 60cm/2ft deep. We are in Yorkshire. Good sized windows all around house except for driveway side. Thank you - hope I have answered everything. Wind mainly comes from south west I think. Thank you very much.

Hi, Karen again. Have just drawn out a sketch from yours. My first thought is, having lived in Yorkshire for a 18 months and experienced the wind, why not hedge completely? This might sound expensive but if you buy bare root through a local nursery it is very affordable. Now is a good time to plant. Our garden is affected by high winds as we are in an exposed spot. We are fortunate to have inherited a very mature holly and cherry laurel hedge which is a fantastic wind break. Wouldn’t recommend laurel as it is very fast growing and so makes for a lot of work. The hedges we have planted are mainly yew. These grow surprisingly quickly, in the right conditions(they hate being waterlogged and it will kill them). The yew is used within the garden to compartmentalise areas and restrict views as the garden is on a slope and would otherwise be fully visible at first glance. However, on the boundaries we planted a copper beech hedge (stunning in full leaf) and a native hedge. The native hedge has been laid and is so beautiful. We had it done by a chap who works in National Trust properties. I have done some hedge laying,having chatted to him and, while I cannot produce the quality that he can, it is possible for it to be done by an amateur. I’m sure you could find videos on line. Laying strengthens and thickens a hedge making it a better windbreak. I wonder of your existing hedges could be laid. Unfortunately I have to stop now as I am planting tulips. A dear friend, now sadly dead, used to say “you can’t have too many spring bulbs” and she was right.

ridiculously cheap. Native hedging is wonderful

Thank you Karen - it sounds like you have a wonderful garden. I have bought 36 beech bare roots which are being delivered in 2 weeks but could add on some native mix too and continue around to the right a similar length. Should I mix the two in together? I'd like to leave the view to the moors open (right hand side). Also we have wild grasses and flowers growing in the field behind and it is nice to see bits of this in the summer. Thank you. It is one step at a time and first I need to get the structure in place - hedges and trees. I would like a patio in the top left hand corner as this gets the evening sun but it is so expensive! Thank you again for your ideas.

My pleasure. Planning a new garden with an almost blank canvass is very exciting but also daunting. You are right about your structure. Also, knowing where you would like a seating area helps to give you a great starting point. Hard landscaping is expensive but there are other ways to create an area for garden seats. Bark chipping laid over a porous membrane, very cheap but might get blown away. Gravel is a better option but more expensive. In a previous garden I inherited a load of bricks and old paving slabs. I laid these into the soil, without bedding them in to form paths. It looked attractive and cost me nothing but hard work. Something like that could work as a temporary measure. Do you have Freecycle locally? It’s worth placing a wanted post to see if you can get materials. I attach a picture example below. As to mixing your beech with your mixed native species it is a matter of personal taste. In my big laid hedge I have let some holly grow taller than the hedge and trimmed them into cones, but then I’m mad on topiary. There is no right or wrong in gardening, if you like it then do it.

Hello LJ,

You have a very nice outdoors space there!

I have some advice for you to build up on the good ideas that other Houzzers have already given you:

When building a garden in an exposed location, there are two major points that you should take into consideration:

1- Shelter from the wind at least in the seating/entertaining areas.

Please, have a look at one of our designs in which we created two layers of wind protection with trees and shrubs: one all around the whole garden and secondary ones around seating and vegetables growing areas for some idea/inspiration on how to create shelter from the wind. https://www.houzz.co.uk/hznb/projects/contemporary-rustic-garden-in-a-windy-location-pj-vj~6310175

2- Choose plants that are resistant to the exposed condition. It is always important to choose plants that match the conditions of your garden so that they thrive - aspect, soil, temperature etc. Exposed sites add another one to the list. You did well with beech as they are wind resistant. Just keep this in mind for your other plant choices. Hawthorn, aspens, willow, dogwood shrubs, viburnums are other good options for exposed sites.

I wish you all the best with your garden and if you need any further help, I offer online garden design services (which include many affordable options, such as planting plans).

Deborah Biasoli

The Rooted Concept Garden Designs

Just happened upon this today and wondering how your garden has progressed. Kind regards, Karen