[daddymikey1975]

hi everyone.. i just purchased a house that's on a busy street. i'm wondering if there's a way to put up a hedge that grows about 6' tall and run down the street with it.. ?? obviously i'd have to check setback requirements from the road (right of way they called it) but is a hedge a good looking idea to help absorb or deflect some of the road noise ?? thanks a bunch

i'm in central illinois, not sure which zone.. peoria area to be exact.

thanks a bunch
mike

[Fine Edge]

There's a way for sure, you just lose sight of most of your yard from the street. You could always try to incorporate different varieties of plants so it doesn't seem so monotonous. Then again, certain plants don't look that bad when installed as a hedge, especially if you don't have to shear them.

[agla]

Unfortunately, plants do not mitigate sound very well at all. It certainly helps to lessen the visual aspect of the road which psychologically can reduce the sound. Another thing you can do is to add a water feature that adds noise of its own that occupies your brain rather than just having the traffic noise.

A hedge simply will not reduce noise.

[daddymikey1975]

i've heard both of these ideas in my research...
my wife and I were tossing around a couple ideas...

2 rows of privet hedges... staggered planting thereby making it kinda thicker..

for aesthetics from the street, we were going to set them back about 3 or 4 feet from the property line setback requirement (enough for a pass or 2 with the mower) and in front of the privets plant a short flowering 'bush' that requires little water/maintenance. and plant these every 3 or 4 privets thereby adding some 'curb color' haha.. (thats what my wife called it LOL).. and keep the privets trimmed up top nice and square at 6 or 7 feet and nice square front and rear edges...

does this sound a bit more like it would work ?? think it would be way too cost prohibitive ?? LOL... i understand that most of you folks make your living doing this, but i'm just searching for ideas right now HAHA...

thanks a bunch.
mike

[mybigdog1]

like agla said out of sight out of mind as far as sound mitigation goes plants won't work well . wall will be the only true way to lessen the noise

[GLAN]

True that a solid wall will do the trick...

When they widened the Expressway some years back they ran concrete walls some 14' tall along it....it's rather quiet

Plants do deflect sound......not as effecient that a wall would provide.....they do help a great deal and are more pleasent to look at.

Adding water sounds as kind of a white noise effect works well to

[agla]

Neither a short wall, a stockade fence, a low berm, a hedge, or combination thereof is going to significantly reduce the sound. If that is the sole motivation, this would be a wasted investment.

If the idea is to visually take away the traffic, combine that with a sound distraction (ie, water fall or fountain), and use the planting for further aesthetic or functional use, it makes sense.

[NCSULandscaper]

plants can reduce sound quite a bit, but you have to have multiple rows of shrubs that will equal 12' wide...........ive done research on this before and you have to have a 12' wide buffer zone of thick hedges for it to make a difference

[daddymikey1975]

we're set back from the street about 80 feet or so.. (i think... haven't measured it yet)..

my neighbor has 2 rows of bushes planted along the street in his yard. not nearly as tall as what i'm hoping for... maybe i'll ask him if it was for looks or sound deadening...

i ran across an article that mentioned a 7db decrease from a line of thick tall hedges... i'm an audio installer by trade, and for a 50% reduction in sound, there needs to bea 3db reduction.. so effectively i could expect at least 50% w/ a 7db reduction.. .. 7db doesn't seem like much, but from a numbers standpoint it's quite significant...

are there any hedges or bushes that would be more appropriate for what i'm looking to accomplish or am i still urinating in the wind LOL... it's not a highway, but a very busy 2 lane thoroughfare... the only time the traffic noise is annoying is at night trying to sleep with the windows open. haha.. isn't that the usual LOL

thanks in advance for all the replies... i'm still considering a water feature as well.. but gotta do things in steps.. finances aren't as free flowing as they once used to be

[agla]

Why don't you stand in your neighbor's yard and listen? Then you will actually know how well it is working.

[daddymikey1975]

Originally Posted by agla

Why don't you stand in your neighbor's yard and listen? Then you will actually know how well it is working.

this is a good idea... his house is closer to the street than mine, and his bushes aren't as tall, but i think it would give me a good idea... thanks for that idea agla much appreciated

[Terre]

I read an article somewhere that bamboo was one of the best at absorbing sound. I don't remember why, I'll have to try to find the article. Just be sure you use clump style, not running. It would, at least, grow fast.