Lord help me, the neighbor is currently pruning back the acubas as we speak. Now, I need some privacy more than ever! He's especially pruning away some of the depth of the plants, so now I can peek through into his yard at the 5 and 6-foot levels. Also, since he's pruning the area closest to my house, he's exposing my chain link fence all the more.

I hit the nurseries tomorrow afternoon for plants. Any and all ideas welcome and very much appreciated!

Would something like a rhodie or mountain laurel, or perhaps a pieris work? I'm trying to think of shade shrubs, but I'm drawing a blank at the moment. These might leave some open space at their feet, but you could perhaps plant some lower-growing plants in front of them.

Sorry I'm not much help. Good luck and let us know what you choose.

:)
Dee

hmm... shade loving vine would be a hardy kiwi... doesn't look like much (the variagated kind is better, but it's growing slower for me) but makes mim kiwis...and will cover that fence post-haste :)

if you're trying to hide the base of the fence, a row of ostrich ferns might be a great way to do that- they have the perfect growing habits for the spot, and you can staggers rows just a foot apart.

more clematis is always a good thing- mine is climbing my standing phlox at the moment, since it's taller than the fence (we have lovely neighbors- but the ugliest old fence in the world. it's a rusty patchwork, like many things in the house when we bought it.)

if you are looking for something that grows quickly and provides a nice looking vine...try hops?

My husband is a brewer and so we have 4 varieties of hops planted in our gardens for his purposes. The vines are pretty. We trim back each fall. They come in quickly in the spring and provide a nice, green foliage. They are hardy and somewhat invasive so you need to be careful about planting but they can b e quite nice.

How much sun does the fence get, and from which side? Yoiu do not want to create a planting that will totally shade out your neighbor's acuba, because that will compound your problem.

A neighbor moved behind our house and immediately installed a chain link fence. It is on a bank which used to have attractive shrubs, but he has made it clear he doesn't want anything "touching" his precious fence. Maybe your neighbor believes you are the same way, and is trying to accommodate you by trimming his acuba.

Additionally, he may want privacy as much as you do. I would sugest consulting with him, but that does not appear to be an option.

The larger ferns, augmented with enormous hostas and such things as ornamenal rhubarb, might be a good way to go.

If your neighbor eliminates the acuba, you might want to check into the viburnums. There is a small version of doublefile viburnum which grows fairly rapidly and is an excellent screen, especially in summer.

If you want something that is equally effective in winter, you will need to use evergreens such as the rhododendrons suggested above--make certain to obtain a larger variety, as there is tremendous variation.

In the meantime, you could plant honeysuckle vines all along the fence to cover it, or vary that with the hops suggested above. Honeysuckle smell nice, if you obtain the right varieties, and I read somewhere that young hop sprouts are considered edible!

Of course, there's always bamboo.... (There are clump forming kinds, but I am really joking....)

I have found that it's hard to grow anything on a fence if you don't have access to both sides since weeds and woody plants will invade from the other side if the neighbor doesn't take an interest in it. Our neighbors have chain link fences which are much farther from their houses than from ours, so I am developing a border of evergreens and tall flowers 4 to 6 feet back from the fences so I can keep things from invading from the neighbors' woods and fields. In the shady part I'm trying rhodies, pieris, hollies, dogwoods, redbuds, etc. Between the border and the fences I'm clearing and smoothing a walking path which is a pleasant place to exercise.

If you're still looking for plants, think about Virginia Creeper vine, Hydrangea bush, an Aucuba on your side, Kousa Dogwood, or Northern Sea Oats (a shade-tolerant perennial grass but it gets thick and about 3 feet in height).

I have found the Virginia Creeper vine to be VERY invasive in my area. It's in my neighbor's woods and I have to fight not only seedlings, but suckers that come up from long roots growing way into my garden. It's also growing up his trees and leaping across all over ours. I don't recommend introducing it anywhere!

If you grow a vine, are you going to actually use the chain link fence for support? That might really tick him off. A much more dense clematis is 'Sweet Autumn', and it grows rapidly. It can be cut to the ground almost in early spring and will grow back quickly. It blooms in late August to September in Oklahoma City, and the scent is quite heady.

A very dense vine for shade is aristolochea. The species A. durior is hardy in zone 7. It has HUGE heart shaped leaves, and while it does flower, they are not very conspicuous. It is also a host plant for the pipevine swallowtail, who lays her eggs on it and they munch away until they reach the chrysalis stage an turn into beautiful butterflies. They wouldn't eat enough of it to hurt it or take away your screening.

Good luck!

Susan