Shrugging over Shrubs - Help!

how about putting in some bamboo membrane in a line and getting a few different colours.you could even put a couple of climbers on it and it can handle the cold and the clay to a degree.be different and instant

How about a Pyracantha? They are evergreen and have small flowers but wonderfully coloured berries in Autumn that birds love - it's also very thorny so anyone "nosing" over the fence would think twice before getting another noseful of thorns.

Only things I'm sure will be fine in your Zone are both deciduous - have a look at Prunus cerasifera - there are several different cultivars which you could use as hedging, some grow quicker than others and get bigger, or one of the deciduous Viburnums, which are okayish for hedging, but not my first choice - from what I can see, the evergreen viburnums will not tolerate your low winter temperatures. Pyracantha or Berberis darwinii would have been my choice, but I'm not sure they will cope in Zone 4 temperatures.

Thanks so much for the speedy replies - I'm going to definitely check out the pyracantha!
Cheers!

your welcome you didnt like the bamboo snivel lol

lol I have heard some horror stories about bamboo - about how you have to dig physical barriers so that it won't spread into your neighbour's backyards. Have you ever experienced that?
(I mean, they're annoying - the neighbours that is - but I don't want to have rogue shoots invading...or do I? muahahaha)

yeah, go on, invade!
Give them something to work on instead of just being messy or nosy. V practical solution I think.

if you go on a specialist site like i hat to for that reasen you can get a special bamboo barrier other wise get clump formers and split split them every time they grow as to make a screen.allen titchmarsh has and it looks brilliant but that is my opinion lol
ps im nosey weeding lol

For bamboo, if there's any way you can watch this week's Gardener's World again on the BBC i-player, do. They had some useful info on bamboos.

ow brilliant weeding i love the info on bamboo ill have a look myself.bamboo is some things to all men and all things to some .the first light bulbs element was made of bamboo.it has at least 2000 known seperate uses.i believe it is the most usefull plant on the planet followed closley bye hemp which photosynthasyses the quickest out of any plant.bull kelp howevever holds the record for the quickest growing life form on the plannet growing over a metre a day which makes it possible to actualy watch it grow theoreticly.im full of useless information lol thanx again weeding lol.