[Mac]

Hi everyone.
At my house, I wanting to screen in the backyard. I would like to block the view in/out from most angles but at the same time, I also dont want to create a landscape "fence" so to say. Ive been noticing that the placement of well done screens is very important, especially the relationship between each piece of the screen. Do you have any tips on how to make it look informal and not "staged" and what materials do you suggest work best? Im thinking spruces, and white pines (maybe oaks as the hold some foliage all winter) but am open to litterally anything except ashes. Thanks for your help as Im strictly maintenance and have no experience with this.

[papercutter]

Obviously you wouldn't plant in a straight line; you can also mix up the forms of the plants, i.e. use some that are pyramidal or columnar and intersperse some vase-shaped growers. Layering the height can help as well.

[johnkeegan]

If you want evergreen screeing consider how wide you would want the screening to eventually become. Many pines and spruce can end up 30 feet wide in 10-15 years (obviously depending on original size and conditions). And the white pines often loose their bottom needles as they mature, wereas other more pyrimidal trees (fir, spruce) won't. And put large groupings of "good perennials" (goldsturm, salvai, coneflowers, daylillies, Shasta-type daises,daffodils etc.) and/ grasses in front of them (not too close), for color and interest throughout spring-fall.
If deciduous is OK, very large shrubs such as Viburnum, Forsythia (a little on the wild side), standard Burning bushes etc. With, perhaps, larger decid. trees overhead (Zelkova, Red Oaks, Sugar Maples, Heritage River Birch etc.)

[Mac]

thanks for your insights you two. I appreciate you sharing.

I did think about the ultimate width of the evergreens and even joked with the neighbor about borrowing some of their property as the trees mature. Thanks for the specifics, I will definately take that into consideration.

I think im going to sit down with some graph paper and begin to look at the lines of sight and the specific areas I would like to screen and hopefully some things will pop out at me.

[GLAN]

That's a good idea to sit down with some paper......


Most of the properties where I am are to small, though I have seen some props where they are trying to fit in Leyland's and Green Giants.......honestly....they are just to big

But if you have 1/2 acre of more....That's nice

[Mac]

yeah, my total lot is about .8 acre and most of it is in the back yard. Its a real gem of a subdivision lot with undeveloped land behind. Im wanting to take preventative measures though as they just put in a new phase of the subdivision behind my lot and dont want to chance the new owner tearing out the undergrowth(honeysuckle) that is the screen now.

[agla]

The first thing to consider is just how much screening you really need. Most people thing solid wall of plants all the way up to completely screen, but most of the time that is hard to achieve and unnecessary.

That is especially true of outward looking negative views. Usually a semi-screen with distractors gives the feeling of privacy that is what is really sought.

The other thing is that most people right away think it has to be all evergreen. But typically, the greater amount of screening is needed in the leafed season. The costs of evergreens is usually higher for the same sized plants and the shapes of them tend to be pyrimidal, columnar, and tapered toward the top with a bigger base. The self pruning that often thins out the bottom can be problematic as well as was mentioned by someone else.

I like to put in birch clumps as a foreground as part of screening sometimes. The reason being that they are tall and wide at the top. By putting them inside of a hedge or other lower sceen, they often create an effect that makes you stop looking further in the view at things that are plainly in sight.

If you look around when you are in backyards of comfortable spaces, you will sometimes find that what feels private is often not out of view at all. It is just that the negatives are mitigated enough to make them non-issues.

[FungusMudGrub]

I would recommend giving careful consideration to the mature heights of what you choose as well. Given enough time a lot of very tall trees (pines, spruces) around a relatively small lot could be oppresive and overwhelming. I would use just a few of those, mixed with lower things that have been suggested by others.

Don't forget the broadleaf evergreens as part of the mixture, too.

[jwholden]

If I have the budget to do it I like to mix different types of evergreens as the backdrop of my screen and put some flowering shrubs in front to 'break it up' a little. I am in a Serbian Spruce (Picea omorika) kick as of late so there would definietly be some of them. I try to avoid white pines, they are overdone and grow too fast.

You could plant a staggered row, or groupings, of evergreens in the back of your screen and then put some flowering shrubs Viburnum, Hydrangea, Clethra, Fothergilla, etc. in front for additional interest. Why not plant a berried shrub in the foreground for winter interest such as Winterberry Holly or Callicarpa. Grasses can really pop in late summer and fall.

The sky is the limit. Use repition with most of your plants to keep the planting unified but mix in an occasional different plant for interest.

That's the problem with design work. Trying to narrow down the gazillion ideas floating in your head to one cohesive thought so your client doesn't think your a noncomittal scatterbrain.

[Mac]

JW, you are very right in saying its hard to keep your mind in line.

Im going to continue playing with this and possibly this winter Ill post what I come up with and share some photos when I get around to installing it.