Advise on what to plant

miss-bored

I am in the process of building a new house in Co Meath. Half of the site is surrounded by a ditch but the other half is only fenced off by a single wire. On driving down the hill towards the house everyone can see around the back/side of the house. I need to ensure I get some privacy in the future. I am looking for advice on what sort of trees and hedge to plant. I also need know when is the best time to plant these?
Any advice would be appreciated or if anyone has any pictures of their garden I would love to see them.
Thanking you

pwurple

Well, the best time to plant anything is when it is dormant. So that is mainly autumn winter here. A long as the soil is not frozen of course.

As to what to plant... Do you want complete wall-like privacy? Or some lighter wafting branches?

For complete privacy, without putting in an actual hedge, i would go for a mix of holly. A great native irish small tree / large shrub. There are varigated ones for a bit of all year colour. Look for a pic of ilex silver queen or ilex golden king. There are non varigated ones also, and best of all you get evergreen glossy leaves all year, with a smattering of blood red berries in time for winter decorations. And they feed the birds.

If you have a bit more space, you could add some hyrandgas for big bursts of colour.

Also consider underplanting with a mix of spiky plants, like phormiums, blue fescue or astellia to break up the 'wall' effect.

miss-bored

thanks, great advice there