Software
Houzz Logo Print
shannon_carey6512195

Another project ...

10 years ago

I am having an issue with privacy. I live on an incredibly busy street. The front of my side/back yard is all open. I have a chain link fence - though neighbors in the back and side of me have stockade fences. I do not have money to remove all the fencing and replace it with privacy fencing and my father owns the property anyway. He wouldn't allow it. The fence is only 3 feet tall. The area I'm looking for privacy is about 50 linear feet.

Id like something fast growing, but I've also heard you're supposed to plant trees/shrubs of different varieties so in the event one becomes diseases, it doesn't wipe them all out.

I was thinking (if I can talk my dad into helping me) of making a few trellises using privacy lattice and then planting trees in between them - preferably an evergreen tree.

The area gets full sun - I'm in zone 6a but nurseries say it's closer to zone 5.

Ive attached photos of the area I'm looking to cover. By the way, I never use that gate. There's currently a padlock on it due to someone "Breaking" into my yard a few weeks ago. If you have any suggestions on what to use to "cover" that to offer more privacy, that'd be great.


Oh, and there is a garden on the other side of the fence. I didn't plant any of that, my father did 15 years ago. I think there's dwarf Alberta spruce, mugo pine, some daylilies and a rose bush that bloomed for the first time in 3 years.

thanks in advance, landscaping geniuses!

Comments (2)

  • PRO
    10 years ago

    The idea that it is better to plant a variety of plants instead of a single plant type when creating a border/hedge/screen is tossed about all the time (frequently here) and the justification is fear of disease. Personally, I think the actual instance of this happening is so low that it is negligible and a non-issue. I believe that the real motivation behind it is plant-lover's desire (or obsession) for variety and since people want to hear what they want to hear, this seems like a bonafide clinical justification. Nevertheless, there is good reason not to plant a variety of plants when creating a border, hedge or screen: good, clean looks. How many people plant different types of lawn grass if variety is so important in a single yard? Take your pick and do as you please.

    I would like to toss out another way to create a screen that is cheap and easy ... cheaper and easier that constructing trellises of lattice. Here are two ways, of which the first (chain and twine) is the method I generally prefer, as it is cheapest and easiest. One could make single sections only a few feet long, or extended runs that cover tens of feet. (Naturally, in a run of trellis like this, one must brace corner and end posts just as they would with a fence.)

    In the picture below it is covered with annual vines (moonflower vine) so the coverage is quick ... about 6 weeks from planting seed.

    Obviously, with annuals, there's not going to be any screening effect once the plant dies for the winter. I use annuals for quick coverage and also plant a perennial vine for permanent coverage. Even a deciduous perennial vine can create some degree of screening when it has no leaves. Each vine has its own personality so one needs to pick accordingly.

    In most cases, where the vine meets grass lawn, it is the lawn mower which does the trimming. If such a trellis were planted a few inches inside the existing chain link fence, vines would also "eat" the fence, covering it completely.

    Shannon Carey thanked Yardvaark
  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    Well, I'm one who prefers a mixed shrub border. I'd plant a mix of viburnums, conifers, maybe a Magnolia stellata or two, ninebarks, rhododendrons (if deer are not a problem). Lots of year round interest, easy care. You'd have to expect it to be some 12-15 feet wide. (Less lawn to mow is always a plus as far as I'm concerned.)

    Shannon Carey thanked laceyvail 6A, WV