Zone 1? That's near tundra. You're likely in zone 8 or 9. If you're gardeners, then you start by learning the plants in your new zone and plan a tree/shrub border.

Yes to shrubs, trees and planting beds to help soften and hide the fence. Actually with such a lovely backyard I would recommend hiring a landscape architect. You have a beautiful blank canvas and there could be so much done with it. If you don't hire a landscape architect I would visit local landscaping supply stores and talk with them about plants appropriate for your area. Good luck!

Yes a good idea go to the local garden center to get info as to what and how plants grow where you are. You are definately not Zone 1. I would do a nice mixed bed not just a row of trees but some color evergreen which should not be an isse where you are .

Omg major typo, it’s Zone 10!

can you edit the original title.. ???

as you tool around town.. take good pix of what you like.. and let us.. IN THE NAME THAT PLANT FORUM... ID the plants you like..

same idea by visiting local nurseries.. rather than big box..

and track down local gardens.. or join a local garden club.. if they still exist ...

most likely.. watering will be an issue..

you call yourself in a 'development'.. are there any HOA issues.... if there are.. it might not matter what you want ...

also consider the perennial..annual and tree ans shrub forums...

ken

I see at least 4 newly planted trees. What kind of trees are they?

I agree with others that a garden center can be a great place to gather advice. You most likely also have a Master Gardeners program with volunteers that provide free help.

I also like to drive around, take walks in nice neighborhoods and parks and take pictures of the plants I find attractive. I just learned that there are now apps you can download that will identify plants for you. The newest i-phone apparently has this built in. Take a picture and click on more information and it will provide information on the plant.

I lived in California zone 10a. A lot different in some ways because we had no rain.

The only trees I had were 3 dwarf citrus trees, an orange, a lemon and a Citrus salad - had oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, limes and lemons. They stayed small enough to manage myself, hid the fence and provided flowers and fruit. Honestly, the one citrus salad produced enough fruit for me and my husband to have whatever we wanted on a daily basis. I gave away most of the other fruit, but the trees were lovely all year round.

Other than trees I loved my Hibiscus and all the fragrant flowers that I could grow - roses, gardenias, jasmine. . . Roses are tougher than the gardenias or jasmine. Lots of varieties of roses, some that smell wonderful, some with no scent, some that bloom almost year round in zone 10 - some that bloom only once, some that are disease resistant and some that are not. Take care in selecting the best roses for your area that have the attributes you want. Own root are better than grafted. I order from https://heirloomroses.com/.

The other plants that I enjoyed were the tropical plants like elephant ears, bird of paradise, jade.

Calla lillies became invasive and impossible to get rid of.

Thank you for the replies! Fixed the zone typo!

We don't yet know the trees that are planted but will find out. We will likely have to have HOA approval of our plan, and we do know no fruit trees allowed which is such a bummer but we understand. And we'll have to work around the sprinkler system - that's new to us too.

" I just learned that there are now apps you can download that will identify plants for you. The newest i-phone apparently has this built in. Take a picture and click on more information and it will provide information on the plant. "

Unfortunately, plant ID apps are notoriously inaccurate. Take photos and post them here in the Name That Plant forum for a fast and accurate identification.

And while calla lilies, Zantedeschia species, can spread rhizomatously and sometimes aggressively under the right conditions, they are not considered an invasive species, except in CA and even then, they are of limited concern

If it were my fence I would just keep throwing down morning glory seeds.

What about mandevilla?

I would plant pink ones. Unless there is some reason not too? Stuck in Zone 4 so can only grow them in pots.

@ci_lantro oooooh! I grew mandeville vine every year in pots in Zone 6! I love it - I will have to see if they are perennials in 10. And probably build a structure as I'm sure we can't have anything actually on the fence. Thank you!

mytwo cents Love the morning glory idea. I imagine you'd have to make a bed, not just throw on the grass. And we'd have to build a supporting structure - will have to check HOA rules. Thank you!

Mandevilla is a perennial everywhere. Just a not very cold tolerant one, so treated as a annual or seasonal plant in zones below 9 :-)

Don't tell the HOA but I used to take long pieces of string and tie them to the top of my fence pickets and let it dangle down to the ground so the morning glories would have something to climb up. They always found the string. You should loosen up the soil and it's good to soak the seeds.

Dig Doug's Designs that was fun! Thank you! Can you provide names of the plants?

mytwo cents Not as much worried about the HOA than I am about neighbors! No idea what to expect from them! But getting suggestions from all of you is fun and makes me very excited. Thank you!

Keep in mind that you don't have to plant on or at the fence to hide the fence.

blfenton - Yes - lots are not that huge and we hope to expand lanai and add pool at some point, so trying to be mindful of that. I just need something nicer to look at than that fence!

The plants near the fence are citrus, bananas, cycads & hibiscus.

Dig Doug's Designs I love your second option and appreciate the placement of the large plants to increase privacy next to the lanai. We're not used to being so close to neighbors. We're also hoping to plant a lot of clusia between lots, and something off the south side where the windows look out on the wall of the next house 10 feet away. There is so much to learn....

Dig Doug's Designs I think the images were flipped in my view. Sorry. What are the plants in the other pic? Thank you.

The other plants are Lady palm & Variegated Shell Ginger.

If you're planning a pool, think to avoid plants that will dump trash in the pool.