It depends on what best means - best for wet/dry or clay/loamy/sandy soil, NEWS aspect etc, best for wildlife, best for colour, best for small space, large country estates etc. :)

And a quick growing hedge is going to require a lot of work once it is the height you need it to be. This is why leylandii hedges are such a problem.

Photinia red robin makes a beautiful hedge and takes well to regular trimming, laurel, privet, and beech and loads more. Google Hedging shrubs. Good luck!

Michaella I would not call any of your suggestions 'quick growing'

If you can find a nursery with large 150cms Escallonias or 120cms. Ribes you may have to wait a little longer to form your hedge, but you can enjoy the flowers, birds and bees. In Sussex with good compost on your clay soil you should get the results you require without a hedge war.

Right you are Moon grower, but I do find the red robin a very fast grower, I have 27 of them, the oldest 7 yrs old over 7 feet tall...constantly having to keep some of them under control.

Forsythia, [ lynwood gold] is quick growing and is ideal for hedgeing it will flower in spring with masses of yellow flowers a fantastic performer, prune after flowering, responds well to hard pruning, how about a lovely hedge of cornus,planted correctly you will have a jaw dropping hedge, of lovely foliage and flowers and once the foliage has dropped in the autumn you are left with a myriad of coluor stems, bright reds ,yellows, lime, and midwinter fire, these are quick to establish and in the spring hard prune, the new growth that is put up through the summer will give fantastic coluor stems, agreed red robin are quick growing, you could try a tapestry hedge, this will give different points of interest through the year.

www.readyhedge.co.uk ... huge range, lots of advice. Envisage what you want - evergreen, scented, flowers, topiary, screening ... variegated mixed euonymous is a lovely, easy maintainence hedge (though takes longer to establish) as is king holly. Then there is beech, forsythia, cornus as julien says for the winter shoots. Red robin is nice if you prune twice yearly to catch the new red growth.

Thank yu for all the helpful info. I love the idea of a Tapestry hedge. I saw one at White Flower Farm in Ct, and it was very attractive. Thanks for that idea, I have a little one growing slowly in another spot. Thanks again Wells