Madonna has planted thousands of hedges at her summer horse ranch - to keep prying eyes away, it has been claimed.

The Material Girl is said to have demanded more privacy at the property in the posh Hamptons resort on New York's Long Island, so gardeners have been hard at work planting.

Neighbour Benny Graboski estimated that "a couple of thousand" hedges - each about eight to 10 feet tall - had been put into the ground.

He told a US newspaper: "They'll take a couple of years to fill out nicely, but they'll make a nice border. It'll help out a lot. She'll have lots of privacy."

He also claimed that a new electric gate had been installed on the property in Bridgehampton.

Madonna recently bought the land in two lots - the agricultural rights on 24 acres for $2.2 million, and the farm next door, for $5 million, Newsday reports.

WELL DONE MADONNA...U R A GREEN ECO QUEEN = )