Can I / Should I plant two Leylandii?

[Normandy Cow]

A neighbouring farmer has constructed a large barn and has connected it to the mains electricity. Unfortunately this involved inserting two huge (12m?) concrete electical poles along the boundary of our garden. Luckily these are at the back of the house so do not interfere with our main sourth-facing view, but they do upset me a little when I look out of our bedroom window and look to the left. If they'd been there when we'd bought the house I wouldn't think twice, but as I can remember how it looked before, it makes me sad...

I'm thinking that if I planted two tall trees they would eventually cover the ugly poles . . . "eventually" being the operative word!

Should I plant leylandii? They would not block out out our sun, nor anybody elses...
If so, how large should I buy them in order to get them to grow to the necessary height as soon as possible, and where's the best place (in Northern France) to get them?
Or does anyone have any other suggestions for planting something to block this view?
Finally, anyone have any idea how much this is likely to cost?

[Paul Carmel]

As an cheaper alternative, you could try some fast growing Ivy.

[CSE]

Russian Ivy?
It is not called a mile a minute for nothing. The white flowers do look attractive.

[domino]

Leylandii grow about a foot a year. Smaller/younger plants establish quicker and are obviously cheaper than large ones.

Or maybe just plant a prettier tree, nearer your house, to block the view?

[Jimbo]

Should I plant leylandii?

We have 8 ft Leylandii hedges surrounding two of our gites, a legacy from the previous owner. I cut them each year with a motor hedgecutter, they look smart with their golden-green glossy foliage and provide privacy and shade for guests - would be good windbreaks, too, but we're in a sheltered valley. I wouldn't be afraid to plant them if you have the space and you're happy to keep them under control. They thrive on our poor soil.

Back in the UK, we tried to remove a Leylandii hedge to plant with something native and more interesting but discovered that the hedge had a preservation order preventing this. Must have been the only one in Britain!

Jim

[Ju]

We've got some you can have We too inherited a leylandi hedge, but unfortunately ours is more like 30ft high, and is past pruning. We are slowly getting rid of it, but we only manage about 5 - 10 trees a year as it takes so long to cut and clear. We can't even burn the stuff on the stove as it is too resinous.

I think they can make a good hedge if cut properly, but on their own they are very unatractive trees. There are plenty of other fast growing trees which would make a better individual choice.

[Fifi]

How about rowan or larch? Reasonably fast growing, they won't be a wall of green stuff which you have to wage warfare upon annually, and pretty too. Have just planted a couple of larch and a rowan in front of the house - they are deciduous, but so lovely.

[Normandy Cow]

Thanks everyone for your feedback.

It would not be a hedge - it would be one single tree, to mask one single electrical pylon. The pylon is about as tall as our house, about 30m away from our house.

Someone suggested un peuplier (a poplar). Sounds good, because it would be more in keeping with the native Normandy trees - but how long will it take to get to the necessary height?

However, I think I would be better off with an evergreen. There are already some other deciduous trees/bushes around which will help to mask the barn etc, but this will only work in the summer, so I think I need an evergreen to mask the ugly pylon....

[Fifi]

Rather than a standard leylandii, why not something like Cupressus funebris - Weeping Chinese Cypress. An evergreen with more "interest". You may note from my posts that I'm not the world's greatest leylandii lover!

[Richard51]

Sorry NC - I'm with Fifi on this - IMHO you would be replacing one ugly thing with another....

[enid]

We inherited a Leylandii hedge too which we have juts cut down by half. I hate them unless they are allowed to grow into the tall tree they are meant to be - and tin that case there are many more attractive conifers

[Nightowl]

I really hate them. Our neighbours at our previous home [which are now our London rentals] had leylandii which ran the whole length of the fence bordering both gardens of our flats [both flats have gardens, one behind the other] . Whilst we lived there, our garden was completely overshadowed by these towering trees which were enormous. For several years, we rented the flats as tenanted lets and the trees grew and grew until the width of the trees encroached on both gardens by about 6ft or so all the way down and the monsters were about 20ft high and sucked all the light and water out.

When we decided to rent them as holiday lets, I spoke to the neighbours concerned who confessed that they hated them too but had no idea what to do with them. So we agreed to pay half the costs of getting rid of them and the new fence to replace them. Now both gardens are so much nicer, we have a proper boundary, everyone can enjoy the gardens and we have a nice fence with pretty climbers growing up them.

Would your neighbour let you put trellis up the concrete pillars and grow a climber up them maybe? Or could you put posts and trellis up in front of it?


Or maybe two poles with wires running between them and vines or hops or something like that running between them. Or canterbury bells, morning glory, spanish ipmoea, canary creeper or chilean glory vines - they are all quick growing - some are annual and will grow in a season,

A leylandii of sufficient size to block the beasts would cost a fortune and a small one would take some time to grow to sufficient size; it would require maintenance to stop it getting ugly and out of hand.

[Normandy Cow]

Would your neighbour let you put trellis up the concrete pillars and grow a climber up them maybe? Or could you put posts and trellis up in front of it?


Or maybe two poles with wires running between them and vines or hops or something like that running between them. Or canterbury bells, morning glory, spanish ipmoea, canary creeper or chilean glory vines - they are all quick growing - some are annual and will grow in a season,

I think it would have to be a pretty big trellis! http://www.flickr.com/photos/85467002@N ... 7/sizes/o/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/85467002@N ... 1/sizes/o/

The thing is, if that pylon and barn had already been there when we'd bought the house we wouldn't have batted an eyelid, because it is at the back and does not interfere with our main view at all - but I do remember a time (like, er, two months ago!) when we really were totally secluded and could see nothing man-made from our bedroom window.
This is the google earth photo, with our house on the left, and I've added an X where the new barn is. It's pretty big.http://www.flickr.com/photos/85467002@N ... 9/sizes/o/

I'm trying to stay very zen about the whole thing. In a few weeks time the trees will have leaves so I'm pretty sure the barn will be hidden, so that will just leave the horrible pylon.
And I should be happy that a young farmer has decided not to up sticks and move to the city, but is going to stay put, milk his cows in that barn, and make organic yoghurts - one more local artisan that I'll be able to enthuse about for my guests along with the local award-winning jam and cider makers.
I just wish he wasn't doing it so close to my back yard

[la vache!]

I wouldn't worry about it. I have electrical posts and cables all around my village, it is just French, although the wooden posts look slightly nicer than the concrete ones.
I have to say that all the new barns around here look lovely (there are lots as dairy farmers have to conform to new normes), much better than the corrigated iron monstrisity which my old neighbours who live opposite have. Fortunately it is on a downwards slope from my house and hidden slightly by a very pretty bread oven.

[Fifi]

For what it's worth, once the barn is screened from view (and it is a monster!), the pylon probably won't seem so bad - it's the combination which isn't so good. Enid is so right when she says the French just seem to put up pylons and cables wherever convenient, without a thought of how it affects the view!

We have a lovely view right up the valley - a farmer about 2 km away has put up what I think is a grain silo right in the middle of it - I'm hoping I'll get accustomed to it and stop "seeing" it as time passes!