wrote:

Okay, ongoing saga about the sister's new house...

Having got her central heating working, to a fashion, thanks to the help
and advise from this group, attention has turned to the garden.

In its time, with the previous owner, the garden was revered as a place
of beauty. The rear boundary was a fine example of hedgerow used to
separate the neighbours. As is the way of the world, maintenance became
a problem as the owner grew old, and the hedge fell into disrepair.

At the time that the owner died, the hedges were cut down by one
neighbour to the extent that there is now only 12-18" of stump above
ground. The hedges were obviously mature (the stumps are bloody thick)
and closely spaced.

Sister wants to secure the property to allow her dogs to roam in the
garden (the small enclosed "yard" is getting a bit deep in dog-****, and
she wants them to have greater freedom).

So, to the problem:

To fence in the garden requires the removal of all or part of the stumps.

To my mind, the easiest way would be to cut to ground level and using
some chemical to kill the plant by pouring onto the remaining stump. The
question is - is there any such chemical easily available?

The best, and by far the most difficult solution - to dig out the
stumps, root and all. This is difficult since the neighbour has erected
a series of rented-out garages along the property boundary. I'd expect
the hedge roots to extend underneath the garages.

My sister is open to option 1 - to cut/kill roots, effectively loosing
maybe 1ft/18" of the boundary and erecting a fence inwards of the
property. Is this a sensible approach?

As the winter months close in, any opinion / experience would be
gratefully received.

Mike

If the roots/stumps are still "live" and assuming the hedge formed the
boundary line, then simply drive posts in the hedge line in approprate gaps.
Stretch a taught wire at suitable heights between them to form a support for
a netting fence which you should erect as accurately as possible to keep to
the line. On the protected side (away from the dogs) plant 12" to 18"
Hawthorn rooted cuttings (obtainable from a local garden centre or Henleys,
Market Weighton, near York.
The netting will provide short term enclosure and the replacement hedge will
grow over a few years to form a sound and secure boundary. Alternative
varieties of hedging may also be employed but for security something with
sharp bits is best. Holly (slow to establish), Blackthorn, etc. a garden
centre can give advice here but avoid dogwood as its a swine to keep in
shape when it gets going