The new hedge

Hmm. Rhododendrons can get absolutely huge. Depending on the sizes of the gardens in question, I think making a hedge of them could even be seen as naked aggression towards someone who, for whatever reason, does not do much hedge and fence maintenance. You do realise your hedge persuasiveness is only going to get harder, I presume?

How to drive a recluse into even further reclusiveness in one easy lesson ?

It's never my intention to annoy him nor any of my neighbours .

I asked him last time I saw him .
He loves and admires my flowers .
He says that he always enjoys my garden .

And I prune back one of the larger rhododendrons every year after flowering .

The hedge was started over 35 years ago by my mother .
He enjoys the privacy .
So no problem with him !

I think Red Robin and Bay (Laurel) they are lovely colourful faster to establish and somewhat cheaper than rhododendrons.
The likes of B&M often have them in I think some garden centres can be quite pricey so it might be worth shopping around.

Glad to hear there won't be a problem for your neighbour, esmay.

We are doing the same (with laurels) as the fence keeps falling down and we have to keep putting it back up. It is better to have a hedge anyway for wildlife and if he doesn't have a problem, crack on with it

I love hedges. I know they are a commitment but I live in first floor flat and all the different hedges look lush at this time of year.
Through my windows I get a great view - much more preferable to fences that are constantly in need of repair/maintenance.

I would tell him you will pay for the new fence. If he is a recluse a strong six foot fence may well please him. I had the my broken down old wooden panels and my side of a shared double line of privets. I had the fence people cut away my side of the line of privets and install the fence in their place. The neighbour doesn't care about gardening and the new fence improves his property so no bother.

Please can you tell me if a hybrid rhododendron can thrive in shade?

My mother planted a beautiful hedge of Japonica , Pittosporum and Camelia so I'm just continuing it .
She loved rhododendrons .
So when I garden I think of her and never plant anything which she wouldn't like .
I've planted a hedge of pure white Japonica in the front garden ,which the neighbour likes .

His wall had fallen down !

I think that
hedges are preferable to fences if you have time to maintain them .

Thank you for your comments and ideas .

Esmay I agree hedges are better than fences . I have good fences only because I need to keep the dog safely enclosed so he can run free in the garden. Your hedge is lovely and I hope it flourishes!

I also have two large piles of logs beside the fences . I had a large tree cut down and the logs look nice and are home no doubt to many wild creatures.

Many years ago I found a book called The Romantic Garden. One of the first ideas was to lose the boundaries which you obviously need to do with planting. I've followed this thought with all the gardens I've had since then. I would always plant next to any fence, using any evergreen. I've still got the book!

Sounds like a great idea. The birds will love it.

Caleo hydrid rhododendrons do well in partial shade but won't thrive in full shade.

Daisymae-
I'll Google that book .
Sounds lovely.

I'm planting in .dappled shade .

Hi Caleo -
I thought of paying for a new fence, but I'll end up paying for all of it as more falls down.
And there's a high wall section near his house .I don't want to pay for the repair either !
Rhododendrons like partial shade. The species seem tougher and more tolerant than hybrids.
I've grown lots of them - hard to propagate even with air layering !