Thought it could be helpful to see how the hedge was before the fire :-(

Sorry to hear about your hedge that’s so stressful. For low-cost privacy, you could mix budget fencing or trellis panels with fast-growing climbers like ivy, honeysuckle, or clematis for quick green cover. Add bamboo or reed screening rolls for instant privacy, and plant a mix of cheap bare-root shrubs like laurel, privet, or beech to form a new hedge over time. You can also use recycled pallets or planters with tall grasses for a natural, family-friendly look while everything grows in.

oh and christmas coming soon you can use this chances to add christmas lights on the hedge

after that you can place faux plant ivy outdoor until the real plant grow big enough it pretty affordable and it fun if you prank someone to water it daily and said its all faux plant, even if its not true they will be so confused

Hi, so sorry to hear about your hedge, thankfully everyone is safe. I would suggest something similar to the below :)

Hi Lucy, would your insurance cover it, or the vans insurance. Whatever you plant as a temporary measure will need to be dug out years ahead and that could be a big job.

None of the insurance will cover it only £1500 for plants in the garden :-( I’ve been arguing with the vans insurance for months now and really just want it sorted.
I know in the end it’ll be a big job to get rid of it all which we’re going to have to first - it’s just a night mare :-(

Thank you for the idea above - I will have a look at those fence ideas :)

Thank you for the other ideas Devyra - I guess I’m going to have get everything removed first which is just going to be so expensive

there are companies that do take wood / garden waste and recycle it, and some of them convert wood into biomass fuel.If you have a lot of hedge wood, you could contact them for a quote maybe it Will be cheaper

Thanks Ann! I will look into yew trees - they are currently Leylandii at the moment. Currently looking at the damage right now and getting sad! 🙈

Hi Lucy, throwing you another idea do you NEED trees? What about a wall with pillars to match the house and put trellis inserts on top, using the word trellis very loosely as there are so many designs that would give you privacy. One bit of advice don’t put shrubs close to a wall as eventually they can undermine the footings, The advantage is not watering for the trees, no pruning and maintenance.

Hi Ann do you know how I could blend a wall into half the existing hedge? I will post another photo as the fire took out about 30 m of the hedge but there is still probably another 20 or so metres left which is salvageable. Thank you for the suggestion! :-)

Here

Hi Lucy, thank you for the new pictures i love the view. Its difficult to judge without seeing the site, it looks like quite a steep slope i would suggest you talk it through with a builder, it will need deep footings because of the slope maybe not such a good idea as it could be expensive but do ask questions/advice. If you have a garden centre near ask what they would advise. which ever way you go make sure you get a written guarantee.

Wishing you all the best.

Thank you so much for your help!

Hi Lucy,

Just seen the post. It looked like a nice tight hedge that you've lost, but thankfully only a small section. If money is the issue I wouldn't even consider fencing or alternatives like Taxus (yew) as this would not be that cheap and would not tie in with what you already have there.

Just have the burnt hedge removed, or saw them off at the base yourself and dispose of them in a small skip and get the roots either dug out or get a stump grinder to remove them.

Then replace with the same Leylandii as it was before. They are one of the cheapest hedging plants and fast growing. You could get something that is already 1.5-2m tall and it will soon blend back in seamlessly to the original hedge.

Ian

Hi thank you for your reply. I’ve only photographed the worst burnt area, if you look in the comments you can see how long the damage runs :( . The whole area is about 30 m long and then to buy Lelandi that are mature they are hundreds of pounds? Just not really sure what to do at this point :-(

Hi Lucy,

You should be looking at £15 per plant or there abouts for something that is 1.5-2m tall, yews you could pay upwards of £50 per plant for something that is only 1m tall. Fencing you will be in the thousands for 30m, even cheap fencing. You will need approximately 45 plants to cover 30m or so, so not to bad.

I just can't believe that the van insurance won't pay or your home insurance won't fight for you. Typical insurance companies now, can't be bothered attitude and hope you'll just drop the case!

Ian

The problem is we need the hedges to be mature so they’re about 10ft to blend in with the ones we have now as it borders our home and people would be able to see into our garden if not :( Thought about fencing but we are only allowed 6ft fence by law and it’s not tall enough.

The insurance companies are just not helping at all. Been fighting so long :( we just want our house back to normal for our kids. It’s just awful 😞 Thank you so much for your suggestions, I’ll look into the prices again.