HEDGES

Now that the barn has been removed (more on this later) a large, relatively flat space remains to east of the house. I'm interested in turning this space into a series of loosely-programed garden rooms. I'd like to create spaces for lawn games such as petanque or bocce, another for a future swimming pool, and perhaps a third for outdoor dining or just reading and relaxing (hammocks!). The big question (after 'who's paying for the pool?') is what type of hedge planting will define the space - wildly loose or sculpted formal, deciduous or evergreen, mixed species or uniform, fastigiate or rotund, traditional or avant-garde, pleached trees or simply shrubs.