| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| AnnaD |
Tall Plants for PrivacyCan anyone recommend a good plant or shrub that's tall and permanent? Our neighbours upstairs don't understand the concept of privacy and watch us in the garden whenever we are outside. So I'd like to plant something which will block them out when they are in their garden. Bonus points if it's a plant with other uses! |
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| colour it green |
how tall?
there aren't many things that are evergreen and usefull. perhaps a bay hedge? - we have a massive bay tree and we have our picnic bench placed just so the bay is in line with neighbours window. |
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| Treacodactyl |
Something like bamboo in a tub is quite good, but expensive. I'd also recommend bay although it can take a year or two to establish before it grows away. Ceanothus seems to also grow well and is evergreen.
For a more instant solution what about trellis? Then you could grow something like grapes or hops over it, although it would be bare in the winter. |
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| Cathryn |
Climbers as TD suggests will grow quickly. What sort of time scale were you hoping for or thinking of?
Jerusalem Artichokes. They grow tall. 
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| earthyvirgo |
I planted a black bamboo about 4 years ago between us and the neighbours for a bit of privacy and a windbreak (nothing to do with them being nosey neightbours at all, they're lovely), and it's behaving very well.
I planted it by lifting one piece of 'crazy paving' and that seems to be containing it's spreading habit extremely successfully. It was about 1' tall when it went in, it's about 6 to 7' tall now. Casts lovely dappled shade too. If you let it do it's own thing, it WILL take over the whole garden
...but with a bit of care is easy (I think) to manage. EV |
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| cab |
Re: Tall Plants for Privacy
Shaded or not? Whats the soil type? And how high are we talking here? Do you want privacy all year or just summer? |
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| sean |
If you know someone who already has bamboo they should be happy to give you a chunk of it. | ||||
| Ian33568 |
We have planted some small sized Acers that now provide cover 9 months of the year - interplanted with tall grasses and foxgloves. Maybe a mix of planting that is easy to manage. | ||||
| AnnaD |
Re: Tall Plants for Privacy
The area gets a lot of sun and the soil is very good. We probably wouldn't need anything higher than 6 feet. I was originally hoping that I could have willow coppices there, but apparently willows shouldn't be grown close to houses because of their huge roots. Summer privacy is most important, but a l;ittle in the Winter wouldn't be bad. |
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| ksia |
Re: Tall Plants for PrivacyOh, I was going to recommend willow! Didn't know that about the roots. |
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| AnnaD |
Re: Tall Plants for Privacy
Well if I'm wrong that would be good! |
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| Cathryn |
That sounds pretty. Willow is a bit of a thug I think but there are loads of varieties. |
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| cab |
6' isn't that high, I'd be thinking about a mixed hedge that'll provide flowers and Fruuit. But you're up in Edinburgh, and when the wind comes in from the East I'll be its nippy...
I think I'd be tempted by plants like golden current (ribes aureum), pretty leaves in autumn, gorgeous yellow flowers and fruit that you can eat (ain't as good as a black currant), tall enough (the ones in my front garden get easily taller than me). Saskatoon will grow there I should think, its a sweet looking tree with berries that come early and should keep the birds happy, you may beat them to the odd few if you're lucky. And theres a lot to be said for good old fashioned hawthorn. |
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| beean |
How about buddliea? Fast growing, tall, good for bees and butterflies? Firethorn (pyracantha)? Weeping cotoneaster tree?
You could try looking at the RHS plant database (rhs.org) - you can put in what you want from drop down boxes- stuff like soil type,aspect, shade, shelter, height, spread, hardiness, what type of thing (e.g. cottage garden or architectural or wildlife freindly...etc etc) and it returns a list of potential plants, with piccies. It's really handy and often comes up with stuff you'd never have thought of yourself. |
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| Fee |
I was going to say that, for summer privacy, ours are enormous this year! First flower has just burst out on one of them too. |
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| sean |
They fall over if you look at them though. Anyone who suggests planting them as a windbreak has obviously never grown the stupid things. | ||||
| jema |
We have bamboo that has to be in excess of 10 foot now and expanding quite aggressively. | ||||
| Fee |
I suggested them and I grow them 
Ours are close to a fence, and the garden is small so doesn't get real windy wind
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| Cathryn |
I am growing them on the edge of the beach. I suppose the thistles are propping them up though.
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| ksia |
That's a good idea. Ours are huge after just a short time. Though we've one against the house and I have wondered about its roots! |
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| RichardW |
Ours have not flowered yet. I had given up on them. But they are much taller than usual. Richard |
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| Fee |
Give em time, we're a lot further south than you 
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| Mutton |
Privet - we are in a windy place and it does well. Lots of blossom in July, semi-evergreen in winter. From a "mystery bush" thread I started I've learnt that some people hate the scent of privet - I think it is lovely.
Buddleia - we didn't get on with them at our last house. Probably didn't prune enough - or something. Sprawled and a bit thin on leaves for privacy. Thought it a bit ugly in winter. Hebe - though might not make 6 feet. Forsythia is reliable and you get those spring blossom. If you trim it regularly like our neighbour used to then very dense foliage. If you are putting it on a boundary and want it up to six feet tall, I'd put up fence/trellis beside it, in case neighbours turn out to be the sort that think that all growth along a boundary should be no taller than the boundary fence and chop the top off. Friend had big row with neighbour over that. The alternative is of course to show them something they really don't want to see.............. 
A (different) friend got fed up with the elderly neighbour across the road always staring at their front window so bought various nude china figurines to line up on the window sill - he said that seemed to slow her down. |
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| sarahloo |
If you want to grow Willow, would that be for basketry? Am just wondering if Forsythia might be useful in the same way - it sends up great long pliable spikes, and the flowers are lovely really early in the year... | ||||
| BahamaMama |
Amelanchier - the shrub variety, lovely little starry white flowers in spring followed by edible berries and stunning foliage over autumn, winter is bare but I like the tracery of the branches. | ||||
| AnnaD |
Thanks for all the great ideas! I don't think I'll go for buddliea; morning sickness put me off the smell. But a lot of the other suggestions are tempting. I'll also have a look at the RHS website as well.
Both hawthorn and amelanchier are both very tempting, as is white currant. I'll read up on them and have a ponder
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| cab |
Jerusalem chokes? Mine have never fallen over, even when grown up on Tyneside. Got to plant 'em a little closer perhaps for support? Anyway, not my choice for privacy. For a start you'll be wanting to dig them out every year to keep them spaced out enough to keep growing tall (they eventually struggle if you don't), and they're very invasive unless kept under control with good crop rotation. And they don't get all that tall early in the season. |
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| cab |
Thats why I don't like bamboo. Spreads like a badger and seems quite hard to keep in check. |
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| cab |
White currant is a lovely plant, great fruit too, but not in my experience easy to get it as tall as you're after. For height I'd look in go some of the cultivars of flowering currant and golden currant. |
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| mochyn |
Whatever you choose plant it as close to you and as far from them as possible. That will give the maximum screening from the minimum height.
How about Escallonia? It's used a lot in Ireland as a hedging plant: evergreen, small glossy leaves, flowers in a white/pink/red range. And certainly tall enough. |
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| Treacodactyl |
Not all bamboos are invasive, I have one in our garden that's hardly spread after several years. I also think all bamboo shoots are edible so you could have a food source (check PFAF for cultivars).
RHS lists some non-invasive ones: http://www.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?PID=79 |
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| cab |
I've always found that the non-invasive bamboos have a desperate urge to die when I've planted them. Maybe I just don't get on with bamboo. Or I'm being stalked by a panda. Dunno. | ||||
| mochyn |
We have a lovely Black Bamboo (Phylostachys nigra). It does spread, but fairly slowly, and is beautiful: at least 7' tall, and rustles in the breeze. | ||||
| earthyvirgo |
Agree with Mochyn. It's a beautiful plant with lots of benefits. I do very , very little maintenance on the one here and it's flourishing. I gave it a top dressing of horse manure last year but that's about it! EV |
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| Woodburner |
My favourite shrub has got to be viburnum bodnantense, easy to grow and has lovely scented flowers in the winter that go on sporadically well into spring, it screens nicely too.
I'm putting a hedge in at the bottom of Mum's garden to give the chickens some privacy!  I'll be planting a double row using hawthorn as the 'back' and all sorts of other things including v. bodnantense on our side.
This place seems very reasonable http://www.hedgesdirect.co.uk/ good info too. |
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| AnnaD |
I was just looking at your link and they have a lot of hedging! They have crab apple hedging which would be great. Would it be suitable for what I want? |
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| AnnaD |
Blackthorn would be good too actually! |