Yep those are some ugly pines. They start out so pretty and then get all scraggly. I am not familiar with your zone but wonder if either of those plants are evergreen where you live?

Since pomegranates are deciduous, they would not give you as good a screen, but I do prefer them. I think overall, that all one kind of plant do not look as well as a mixed border. You have so much space there, why not make a mixed border of several kinds of shrubs? Maybe even add a few trees for variation in height. A mixed shrub border, using both evergreen and deciduous shrubs is healthier, and a more enticing habitat, as well as more attractive. Staggered 2-3 deep, the shrubs prvide variations in height, flowering times, coloring and so on.

I agree thanks for the help on Zones. i think that would look very nice, if you planned it according to intrest you could always have something putting on a show, even if it is interesting bark on a tree or fall foliage.

Amazon6...thanks for the advice. I hate those pines. They are forever dropping thier limbs and even a few have completely died. The picture only shows part of the front yard. We also have them bordering the back too and it is twice as many. As for my zone, I am sorry. I meant to add that before. I live in Zone 8b, Louisiana. I don't believe either are decidious but the oleanders may be. I will have to look and see.

DebbieCa, thanks for your advice too. I don't even know if I can explain this correctly but I will try. I have trouble knowing when to start and stop a mixed border. By this I mean, do you zigzag different shrubs or have ex...3azaleas, 3 roses, and then 3 pomegranates? Why do you prefer the pomegranates to the oleanders? Is there any way for me to have a mixed shrub border but still have the espalier pomegranates? I mean how would I flow from one to the next? As for as screening our neighbors yard, I really just need it obscurred rather than fully screened.
Btw, I am already underplanting the trees along the road/ditch with shrubs so I guess it would be a mixed border in some ways as well.

I guess my delima is how do you flow from one thing to the next? I mean how could I incorporate an espalier into the design with shrubs as well? I know I have the space but not the knowledge.

kahlanne, I used to live in zone 9b. now I'm in 7b (after Katrina). I hope you don't take this the wrong way when I say that you should go and get a book on garden design, landscape design, or the like. You are embarking on a big undertaking, and you will have to live with this for a long time. And you have a pretty large piece of land to work with. I just the love the Southern Living Landscape book (not sure that is the exact name) but it is an excellent book for all parts of the south and I believe it covers design as well as all the plants you could chose from. I do not care for oleanders becoz they don't look good all the time, and they get very large and ungainly. However, that might be good for a screening purpose. They may stay green most years, except for colder years. One design concept is repetition, so you might place 3 pieces of fencing or trellis and put your espaliered fruit trees spaced apart, then in between do your mixed shrub border. Usually groupings of 3 or more (odd numbers like 5,7) work well and give a much more naturalistic look rather than a "new house just landscaped" look. I would consider some crape myrtles for year long interest, nandinas, sweet olive, cannas, daylillies, shrub roses, etc. There is a wealth of plant material you could choose from. Don't put one of many plants in there, but choose some good performers for sun or shade (whatever your case may be) and put groupings and repeat but not in a strictly symmetrical design. Lantana is a star performer in the south also. Good luck, I sure do miss Louisiana; altho Mississippi is a great state too.

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