Hi, I’m looking to plant a privet hedge at the front of my mid terrace property and wondered if anyone could recommend a good species please?

There’s not much sun at the front as there’s a big tree blocking light. I’m ideally looking for something that is evergreen and mid-green in colour that reacts well to being trimmed.

Thank you.

Privet is normally grown as a hedge and comes in two varieties – Golden (Ligustrum ovalfolium Aureum) and Green (Ligustrum ovalfolium). It is the green one that you are referring to. It has oval rich green leaves, is fast growing and will make a dense hedge which you can keep trimmed to the height you want. It is normally evergreen but may lose leaves in very cold winters although I have never seen that happen here in the South UK. It is shade tolerant so will be quite happy where you are thinking of growing it. It also reacts well to being trimmed at any time, although you should keep the top narrower than the bottom so the bottom gets some light. It has creamy white flowers inJuly that are attractive to insects.

For hedges 3-10ft plant 12-15" apart or for a denser hedge plant in a staggered double row with 15" between rows and 18" between plants. A very good supplier that I have used over the years for hedging is Buckingham Nurseries at www.hedging.co.uk. Bare root green privet works out at £1.15 each for 5-49 plants. If you are going for bare roots best to get planted up in the next two months. Keep them well watered during their first year. Don’t go for the other suggestions I think green privet will be ideal.

I was wondering how you make a frog pond,a turtle pond or a fish pond because my family eventulally wants to have ponds in our yard when they get better jobs and a better house and when they can afford it,I live indiana,what are some frog and turtle species native to Indiana that can live in ponds in back yards,I think frogs,fish,and turtles should be separated and not live In the same pond because fish eat tadpoles and small frogs,and big frogs eat fish,And turtles eat frogs and fish,I know in nature they all live together but if I have small yard ponds,they should not all be in the same pond,and I know they all have different needs,and I would rather to have a pond with these animals than have them as pets in a Aquarium or a tank because they carry germs and salmonella,I had these as Pets before. Frog Pond-What Frogs are Native to Indiana?how big and Deep would the frog pond need to be for frogs such as Bullfrogs and toads,how would I need it to be to be for it to be attractive to frogs and toads to make a new family?how would I need it to be for them to be able to hibernate in the winter? How else would I need my yard to be to attract frogs?do I need a garden?do I need bushes? Turtle Pond-can turtles come on their own like frogs can?if I had a pond for turtles,would I have to have a fence around it?how would I need it to be so the turtles can hibernate in the winter?how would I need the pond to be set up? Fish pond-how would I prevent turtles and frogs from getting in here?i already know how this would need to be set up.

You won’t keep the frogs and turtles out of the fish pond.
Can’t be done.

Keeping the pond from freezing solid should be enough for your turtles to hibernate… they don’t really hibernate, so much as get really slow…

I have a frog pond… by the simple expedient of digging a hole for one of those plastic garden pool tubs that you get at the big box store. It’s full of tadpoles.

In Indiana, your soil might be clay enough for you to dig a pool and let the rain fill it… stock with water lilies and wait for the frogs to show up.

In my last garden, I dug out a seep spring and stocked it with gold fish. And pond lilies, pickerel weed, iris, and other water plants.
The frogs and salamanders came on their own.

I live in North Yorkshire (England) when will the danger of frost be past and it be ok to put bedding plants in?

You answered your own question! When all danger of frost is past it is o.k. to plant.

We have a big fish pond in our patio with a palm growing through the side of it. The ants are under the palm. It’s to big to take out. The ants are taking over my patio. My 2yr old can’t be out there for to long cause he gets bites all over him! I need an organic soultion so it won’t harm my boy, the fish or the plam.
HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can put around your fish pond (and around the anthills if you know where they are) a mixture of 50 percent borax (sold in laundry aisle of supermarkets) and 50 percent confectioner’s sugar and place near anthill. The ants are attracted to the sugar and carry the fatal borax/sugar combination back to the nest to feed the queen and other ants. Soon all ants will be dead. Do not put this mixture where children and pets can ingest it. To get rid of anthills, pour 3 gallons of boiling water down them. This is best when done when the ants are active and at the surface. Do not do it near flowers or they will die.

I want to ensure that the privet hedge I grow is thick all the way down to the ground. I have seen some good privet hedges which are entirely thick and square, but also many that have gaps and exposed trunk at the bottom… I do not want this. Also, i have heard that privet grows well from cuttings… is this true, and how should I do about this? Or should I buy plants from a nursery? If I bought plants, how could I ensure that there would be no gaps at the bottom?

The BBC Has a very good gardening website with a question and answers message board. I feel sure you will get the answers your looking for without fail
All this providing your in the UK of course although perhaps this shouldnt make a differance

it’s one of those pre-molded black plastic fish ponds that you can buy at Home Depot and it’s developed a leak somewhere. So I need to empty it, clean it it, dry it, repair the crack or leak, and then let that set and dry, then refill it and put the fish back in. I don’t want to use something that would be toxic to the fish.

BONDO

The bedding plants that I have planted in containers (large ones) have started turning yellow…I have not had this problem in years before. They are regularly watered and fertilized and are planted in adequate sun or shade. I live in Manitoba Canada. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Too much water? Too much fertilizer?

Hard to say without knowing what they are.

Some of my privet hedging is a bit sparse around the bottom, which leaves huge unsightly gaps. Is there any way of encouraging it to sprout some new shoots, e.g. making nicks in the main stalk?

I have a great privet hedge that many neighbors comment on.
Make sure that you avoid the tendency to trim the top wider than the base. Your verticle lines should be 90 degrees to the ground. I do my main trimming after the blossoms have mostly disappeared. In the winter, cut out about 1/3 of the oldest main branches at the ground. Fertilize your hedge with a balanced fertilizer. I prefer 12-12-12. Water in times of drought or if your hedge is young.

I wouldn’t do the 1/3 winter trimming thing untill the hedge has been in place 10-15 years.

I have a 6X3 fish pond and I also have a waterfall and 1 fish.

this link should help you figure it out. I think the "balance" of animal and plant life is most beneficial.
Plants suck up the excess nutrients that the algae are drawn to, so in a way just adding plants could help a lot.

In an effort to save money, I plant a lot of my bedding plants from seed instead of buying blooming plants. Does anyone know how long those plants that nurseries sell have been growing? It seems like my seedlings (particularly dianthus, sweet william, and snapdragon) are very straggly that whole first growing season, winter over nicely (we have fairly mild winters), and look great the following spring.

seven or eight weeks at least in ideal light and moisture conditions.