Would a conversation with the neighbors about relocating the trampoline and repairing the fence be something that should be taken up first?

If it is "their fence," perhaps you could volunteer to replace it if the trampoline is moved.

A 5' backyard fence doesn't provide much privacy so a 6' fence would be a "step up."

Above and beyond that, mature plants that are available from your local nursery might be necessary. By the time some vines and immature trees & shrubs are tall enough to make a contribution, those kids will be over 6' themselves.

Steve

I came across this linked information from Colorado State University.

The idea of a lilac/Russian olive screen really appeals to me but it requires a fair amount of room. Moreover, the last time I suggested Russian olives, it was pointed out that they are considered invasive in a good deal of their range! I didn't know that!

So, certainly I'm not the best person to suggest appropriate plants there in Colorado. I hope CSU is of help.

Steve

Here is a link that might be useful: Creative Screening with Plants

Steve, thanks for the replies.

We've repeatedly asked the kids to use the gate instead of hopping the fence, to no avail. The parents are uninterested and uninvolved and we're reluctant to mention anything about their kids because we've been "warned" about this family and we don't want to become a target. (In fact, the wife has never made eye contact with me, nor has she been outside long enough to start a friendly chat!)

The tramp can't be moved because 1) it's mounted into some kind of large sandbox that was obviously built for it and 2) The rest of the yard is so full of other things (decrepit play structures etc) that there is no other place large enough for the tramp.

I found records that the fence was installed by a prior owner of our house - so in fact it is "our" fence. The neighbors probably know this (original owners) but I hesitate to bring it up because it's their kids who have done all the damage, and I hope when the time comes they'll step up and fix it (benefit of the doubt.)

As a non-plant idea (and ugly, ugh) I'm considering putting up a row of iron fence stakes along the loose panel to protect my plants from getting smashed WHEN it falls over, but if I could deter them from touching the fence at all or put an obstacle/screen in the way of hopping over it, that would be better. A tack strip has come to mind more than once, but again, we're leery of the adults' reaction.

5' fences are an HOA guideline...

I'm not wild about Russian olives, but thanks for that suggestion. Gotta start somewhere. I will definitely check out the link as well.

Thanks Steve for that link! There was a suggestion in there to use BAMBOO as a living screen, and all the follow up I've done on that is indicating bamboo is a fantastic option - fast growing, nice height (about 8'), small footprint in this region, and all the nurseries have it for 50% off to boot.

I think you may have indirectly solved my obnoxious neighbor problem! :)

Hi Pumpkin,

Since youre thinking of bamboo, hereÂs a bamboo thread that has some pretty good info.

About the Russian olive, DigitÂs right! ItÂs on the Colorado Noxious Weed B List! Back in the early 70's they were putting it into the landscaping around new houses EVERYWHERE out here. Kind of like junipers still areÂbuy a new house and get your "built in" quota of junipers! Back then the quota included Russian olives! Suddenly they were all over the place, and then they started SPREADING all over the place, naturalizing wherever there was a water source and crowding out native vegetation. One fine day "somebody" went, UH-OH, and while eradication is not yet required, I donÂt believe you can legally buy them in Colorado anymoreÂnot positive about that.

For those of you here in the Front Range areaÂI guess anywhere in the state!ÂhereÂs a link to some really good info about Noxious Weeds on this page of the Boulder site.

What are the neighbor kids doing in your yard? UNINVITED neighborhood kids would be SO not welcome in my yard, whether they came over the fence OR thru the gate!

On an optimistic note! The neighbors on one side of meÂmy little (raised) deck directly faces them, have a trampoline! When I moved in here (about 5 years ago now), the (2) girls were still pretty little, and they jumped for HOURS, and hoursandhoursandhours! TheyÂd be out there more than half the day sometimes! I never figured out how they could jump that muchÂand not DIE! I like them, BTW! When I was moving in the mother came over with some cookiesÂand the girlsÂto say hi and welcome (the girls were hoping I had kidsÂor grand kids!Âfor them to play with). WeÂve been friends ever since I moved in and we get along well. But, back to the trampoline! It bugged me a little bit in the beginningÂthe trampoline is right against my fence tooÂbut I just kept thinking: TheyÂll grow up! TheyÂll grow up! It worked! They grew up, and now itÂs extremely rare for them to use the trampoline at all, and itÂs usually for less than 15 minutes when they do. I figure by next year itÂll disappearÂlike the old wooden swing set did last summer! [Both girls play softball, however, and theyÂre still both out there practicing their pitching! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! This too shall pass!

About your ÂKarl Foerster grass! The good news it that itÂs very upright and compact! The bad news is that even when itÂs blooming, itÂs not gonna be any/much higher than your fence! ItÂs pretty, but I donÂt think that oneÂs gonna help you much with the privacy issue! I donÂt know of any nice tall ones that donÂt take up a fair amount of space. I love the Miscanthuses, and a tall one thatÂs really pretty is {{gwi:1219739}}. This isnÂt a real name for them, but I call the Miscanthuses "Egyptian Grass" because I think the plumes look Egyptian! If I ever get rid of the rock in my front yard, IÂm gonna put one in. The problem will be deciding which one since there are so many. I love ÂMorning Light too, but I think the ÂMalepartus would provide better privacy. HereÂs a couple more pictures and more info. The plumes in this variety are pinkish, whereas virtually all of the others are white.

To help with the "kid issue," IÂd recommend putting up a couple of the heavy duty lattice panels just inside of the "trampoline fence" (TheyÂd need to be well attached to some solidly planted support posts.) and then grow climbing roses up them. If that wonÂt keep the kids a "safe distance" from the fence, nothing will. I donÂt know if your covenants would allow the lattice, but certainly there must be people around growing other vines up something. They canÂt expect you to never grow anything that vines, can they? When I bought my house, anything with an HOA was out of the running! I decided that I wanted to be able to do whatever I wanted to do, and that IÂd take a chance with the neighborsÂnot to mention the fees! If you should decide to use lattice somewhere, be sure itÂs the heavy duty kind. I got the lightweight stuff, and now I wish I had just paid for the "good" stuff. The lightweight stuff falls apart quite easily, and IÂm always out there putting it all back together again! But it makes GREAT, inexpensive, LARGE trellising.

About the only perennial I can think of right now what would be a possible help would be Joe Pye Weed, Eupatorium. Some varieties get up to 6' tall, and they get dense enough to provide some pretty good screening. If grown in full sun, the stems should be strong enough that the dried flowers would persist thru most of the winter. Butterflies love the flowers, and birds love the seedheads! I love this plantÂbut donÂt have enough sun in my back yard to successfully grow itÂyet! IÂm still trying. I donÂt have a pic since mine is still small at this point (but itÂs better than last year!), and IÂve always had trouble trying to find a really good picture of it onlineÂeverybody posts the flowers, but not the whole plant. I did find this pic which shows the whole thing (top right pic), but itÂs of a dwarf varietyÂbut you can still get the idea of what the overall plant looks like! And hereÂs another whole plant pic of a different dwarf variety. Still havenÂt found a good pic of one of the big ones, but if youÂre anywhere near PaulinoÂs they have one growing along the south fence by the pond garden, and it should be budding or blooming by now. (IÂm assuming itÂs still there! HavenÂt looked in a few years!) ThatÂs where I first saw it and fell in love with it. BTW, the flowers on the different varieties can range from a creamy white to rose to rose-purple. The one at PaulinoÂs was quite purple! A couple of the tall varieties are Eupatorium maculatum ÂGateway at about 5', and E. m. ÂChocolate at about 6'. There are probably other, newer varieties by now that IÂm not familiar with.

This was gonna be a "quick" post! Yeah, sure! I need to run out to do something, but if I can think of any other suggestions, IÂll be back!

Skybird

Ooo, what nurseries have Bamboo 50% off?! I've been interested in some bamboo myseld!

Great suggestions - thanks!

I've been looking at the Joe Pye Weed and it does sound really nice - though I think the taller varieties might also be much too wide for my relatively small bed. I think I will keep an eye out for one of the smaller varieties for elsewhere though!

The trellising with climbing roses (finally a usable spot for one! - too bad I can't move the beast near our deck) is another great idea and I need to look into whether the HOA allows it. Honestly, if they wanted to pick on our yard for having trellises, they would HAVE to also notice the neighbors' yard which is mostly dead.

The only other brief concern I get with the trellis is that it will be immediately obvious what I'm doing (ie blocking out the neighbors' kids) versus a plant which will grow tall....I'm not sure they'd figure that one out!

I dunno if this will help, but I grow ornamental sorghum, and that stuff, in reasonably fertile soil with a touch of fertilizer and irrigation now and again, will get over 10' tall, and stands up reasonably well over the winter. Seed from Johnny's, and then, if you want, the seed heads make wonderful dried flower stuff or if you go for sheaves of colorful grains hanging around the place, which is why I grow it.

All great suggestions - THANK YOU everyone. Update - we bit the bullet and planted two "Yellow Groove" bamboo along our fence. We're excited to watch them and see how they do!

Thanks again,
Pumpkin

Another thought for in the Summer while the kids are out and about are hollyhocks. Mine can grow up to 6 ft. Also, after the hollyhocks have died out and dried, the stems become awesome poles for shaping into pointy, sticks : )... I've made numerous fencing with hollyhock stems as well as supports for things to climb up in the garden. The bees are also VERY attracted to hollyhocks...

Msty - sorry I missed your note above! We got our bamboo from Gulley's in Fort Collins. We were surprised to see another customer looking at them at the same time and we all got into quite a discussion with the nursery guy about the virtues etc of bamboo. General consensus was that it's fabulous :) They had four of them, and we took two. I can take some pictures if anyone's interested- just holler :)

Hollyhocks are another great idea Karen G. I think I have a tiny little mound at the back fence but their stems always seem to rot off before they get very tall - I've wondered if maybe it's not a hollyhock-looking weed instead? Maybe I need to try them again...I still have several areas in need of tall things. And pointy never hurts!

Pumpkin

Hi, that was my bamboo in Fort Collins, that skybird referenced. Since you're obviously here in town, if you'd like to drop by to discuss bamboo, and see how mine are doing after....hmmm..... 4 years? Just drop me a line at bhansen(at sign)veeco(dot)com

I need to post some update pictures but, well you know in summer it's hard to find time for that. If I can just manage to get out and take some pictures soon, then I'll try to post something soon.

Bruce

I'll be giving away hollyhock seed on Bonnie's Seed Exchange over winter if you decide you want to start some from seed. EXTREMELY easy to do!

How will you control the spread of the bamboo, esp into the neighbor's yard? What about when the linden gets large?

Dan

Bruce- thanks for the heads-up that you've got some bamboo going. We were also directed to a house in Old Town that has it growing really nicely as well and it's very tall and gorgeous. According to the homeowner, it hasn't been a problem to address the couple of new shoots every year.

Dan, according to the folks I've discussed it with, the bamboo is very easily monitored for spreading in Z5. We left some space between the plants and the fence to be able to get back in there and trim any new shoots coming up, which will supposedly be sufficient. I walk the garden most every day to keep an eye on what's happening, so I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to address any shoots between us and the fence.

DH, on the other hand, after watching the neighbor's cat relieve itself in our yard again, suddenly doesn't care if it spreads! :)

But, if it *does* get away from us, I've researched installing a bamboo barrier, and it really doesn't look that hard to do after the fact. I'd be surprised if the current neighbors noticed or cared, but if they did, we know the fence will be coming down at some point in the future and we could put in the barrier at that time. I'm not anticipating it will be an issue.

As for the linden, it's a good 10-15 feet out from the bamboo. Even at mature size, I don't think the linden's canopy will intersect the bamboo- might come close though. The bamboo will be kept to a 3 foot strip along the fence.

Pumpkin,

There is a possibility that you could harvest the shoots when they pop up in spring. Not sure about the genus you have now. That's how my sister keeps her berm down in VA - my folks will harvest the shoots along with some neighbours who are Korean - there is a specific method of preparing them and my mom knows how to. I always get a giant bag of frozen shoots when I go visit them! They are delicious in stews.

Hi Sugaralice, Harvesting the shoots is SUCH a great idea -I definitely need to figure out how to do that. Google here I come... And as luck would have it, a Korean family just moved in across the street from us. Maybe they know.

Also, I realized I still mis-answered Misty's question earlier. Gully's has the plants for 50% off right now, but only two left - Ft. Collins Nursery has them at 20% off but they'll go to 50% off starting Sept 6 and they had many more in stock than Gully's when I called.

Pumpkin, you'll certainly have shoots invade the neighbor's yard, increasing in number over time. They will spread to your yard as well without barriers. The 'ease of control in Z5' is the fact that the season for runners spreading and popping is shorter, and you'll get die-off comparatively to Z7-8-9 making fewer available runners overall to get everywhere and anywhere.

As far as the linden goes, I was unable to find any cardinal directions in the thread above (skimmed) so, there is a possibility that shade and water relations will be an issue.

That said, maybe one day in the hazy future in a different yard I can miraculously get family approval for some bamboo, in this place 'Yellow Groove' would be the choice, with good overengineered barriers and available water.

Dan

The linden is directly south of the bamboo. They will both get full sun most of the day, though the bamboo will also get full morning sun due to not being shadowed by the house.

I'm certainly not sticking my head in the sand with regards to runners. I'm aware they can be a huge pain, and maybe we made a mistake by not burying a rhizome barrier at the outset. But we'll take it in stride and if we need to deal with a barrier down the road, we will. It's an experiment at this point and I'll be sure to let everybody know how it turns out. :)

Pumpkin, my experience so far with the running shoots is that the first week of June, and also the first week of September, they pop up in the lawn around my bamboo at distances of 2 to 4 foot from the outskirts of the original plant. I mow them off once, and they're gone. No problem. Nothing compared to my neighbor's dang seedless cottonwood.

However, I am still in the learning stage with the bamboo. I think my original 3 had maxed out in height and strength at about how you see them in that post referenced earlier. Since they didn't seem to be getting any bigger, and would die to the snow line each winter, I decided to try covering one with plastic last winter from Thanksgiving to end of March...... and BOOM What a difference. That plant tripled in height and density. It now finally really looks like bamboo. It's about 8 or 9 foot tall, and you can't see that kids play castle behind the bamboo any more.

So, now that the one plant has changed by an order of magnitude, I don't know what the runners will do this fall and in the spring. I'll have to wait and see. I'm really wondering what a 2nd winter of plastic cover will do to the thing! One thing I've found about Bamboo is it's an exciting and fascinating plant to grow.

Just how close is that fence, and what is in that space between? What does the neighbor have growing on the other side of the fence? If you have 4 foot of lawn between the bamboo and the fence, then I think you'll be good. Usually I can see those runners sneaking out just under the thatch of the lawn, and could probably get most of them before they head sunward. If the neighbor just has lawn on the other side of the fence, they they can just mow as always, and nothing will come of it. But if they have a flower garden or something there, then it could be trouble, unless the neighbor decides they like the look of bamboo.

Wow Bruce, the plastic sounds like a great idea. Since we're going for height, I think we should do that too. Could you provide more details? How tight/loose, did it cover the whole plant from the ground up? Our plants are a little taller than me at this point, and I'm wondering how much plastic could be involved!

Unfortunately, I can't say that the bamboo has 4 feet between it and the fence. It's more like 12-18 inches, since it's intended to be a screen along the fence as well as a hindrance to kids jumping the fence (and I have other plans for my bed space, ya know?) It's planted in a flower bed, so no grass within several feet. Everything I've read says that the rhizomes travel in the top six inches of soil, so I might be disturbing the dirt behind the plants on a regular basis as well to try to catch any - the timing you provided will be really handy for that (June/Sept).

If runners did appear in the neighbors yard, they would be coming up in the gravel pit under their trampoline. I have no idea how deep the gravel is, but it's surrounded by railroad ties, so I'm guessing at least 4-6 inches. Based on how their yard looks (mowed, but half dead from dog pee, no plantings at all) I think they would probably just cut off the runners if they appeared. If they mention it to us as being a problem, we'll be good neighbors and dig the trench and put in the rhizome barrier then.

After Dan's reply above, I started doubting myself and called yet another nursery (Bath) and was told for the third time that barrier is unnecessary. I guess we're taking our chances here. I also called several places looking for a local source to buy the barrier, and no one I spoke with had any, so it might be an internet-order deal if the time comes.

After Dan's reply above, I started doubting myself and called yet another nursery (Bath) and was told for the third time that barrier is unnecessary.

Well, pumpkin, as horticulturists and urban ecologists, the BH and I were trained that - in some aspects of our practice - local knowledge is an excellent source of information, especially used when visiting an area for the first time.

Sadly, practice in Colo has made us a lot more wary of local information.

Any running bamboo makes rhizomes. They will spread. Even 'Yellow Groove' in cold areas spreads, altho less aggressively than in, say, Z8.

Dan

I love bamboo too, so I was quickly checking out some of your links, Dan, and, Pumpkin, I found the "Growing Habits" link on the bottom of Dans "less aggressively" link to be extremely informative. Great info on control under the second link under "Bamboo Basics." I like the "kick off the new shoots" method of control! Sounds like a good way to "work out your aggressions" at times!!! That whole site has some really great, and easily understood (for a bamboo neophyte) information.

Having said thatIm still not planning to put any in, at least not as long as Im at this house with the tiny yard! Wish I still had "my couple acres" down Parker way! I was planting everything tall I could think of down therelilacs, honeysuckle, forsythia..... Didnt know about bamboo back then, but it would have been PERFECT for the privacy I was trying to "grow!"

I hope the stuff DOES grow into your neighbors yard!

Definitely do let us know how its goingtho it looks like its gonna be at least three years before you can really determine whats gonna happen.

Skybird

The UCD campus, skybird, has many lovely stands of bamboo, very beautiful there. The LArch and Hort depts teach their students to plant clumping bamboo first, then running with barriers.

I'll make a pitch at the next house for a little grove - likely of some cv of 'Yellow Groove' - and put in a nice barrier to keep it in (and hire some bored teenager to thin every three years or so).

BTW - I control the Helianthus max. with barriers as well so they don't get everywhere.

Alright. Back to dirt moving...

Dan

Yes, all great info and those links have valuable stuff. I'm excited for the bamboo adventure and will certainly keep everyone posted as to how it goes. Maybe we'll start a "bamboo revolution" in Colorado and clean up the Denver smog cloud! Ok, or maybe not, but we can be wishful thinkers.

I will call my mother about how to prepare the shoots to be made edible! She did tell me the method but I forgot. When my sister moved in to her house in Northern VA, they wanted to take down the bamboo berm ( although was a good privacy screen from the common area) because they were afraid that it would profusely grow into their backyard but that first spring, they noticed one of their neighbour in their backyard picking the shoots. So they started chatting and the neighbour said the previous owner let them do it for years and that had helped keep the bamboo from moving further into their yard. Then my folks visited and started doing the same thing. So it can be good eats!