Privacy shrubs for semi shaded area

18 years ago

We have hit upon a problem over the last 2 years.....Our next door neighbour has decided to use the back corner of his yard as a dumping ground for a broken down garage and old trucks.

The neighbour has now taken up welding and ripping apart the aforementioned old trucks from this same corner of his yard.

The trouble is, that this corner of his yard is out of sight from his house but in plain sight of our dining room and kitchen windows......We need something planted and growing there double quick, it looks terrible.

The link supplied shows the problem area taken as a view of what we see from our windows.

We need some dense, quite high and fast growing shrubs to as least reach the bottom branches to the trees growing in the problem areas.

I am not sure what kind of soil we have, but it is clay based after the first 8 inches or thereabouts. The shrubs growing to the right of the problem area are forsythia.

We would prefer not to have more of the same, and in keeping with the natural look of our back yard as it stands, nothing formal or too 'planted' looking.

My husband hates the wild multi-flora that grows in abundance around these parts so anything with prickly thorns is out too.

Hope someone can help.....all I have come up with so far is Viburnam.

If what you all suggest is not sold at Walmart/Lowes then I would have to go mail order as we live in the sticks and there are no Garden centers within 80-100 miles of us.

http://www.schtabs.com/images/BackYard.jpg

Thanks

Mandy

Comments (3)

Judy_B_ON
18 years ago
For contiuity you might want to simply extend the trimmed hedge visible in the right side of the picture -- is that the forsythia?

The problem I can see is that with any deciduous planting you are only solving the problem in summer. Have you considered a 6' tall wooden fence in the problem corner, tapering to four and then two feet so that it just covers the problem but doesn't extend all the way around the yard. It would screen year round and you could hang flowering baskets on it or train flowering vines like honeysuckle or clematis up it in the summer.

Is your neighbour doing this as a business? Does he have a permit?
fonzie47
18 years ago
I would plant an Aucuba japonica (Spotted laurel) as these tolorate most soils and don't mind sun or shade.
They can get pretty big and would hide anything.
They are evergreen and with there spotted leaves (yellow on green) look very attractive. In addition you have the extra plesure of the berries that appear on it.
Or perhaps Arundinaria (Bamboo) they make an excellent screening plant. If you get the non-clumping form be sure to contain it or it will take over the entire garden. Best to plant it in a large container and sink it into the ground so the roots are held back to that area. Hope this is of value to you. good luck!
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sage_lover
18 years ago
I was unable to see your link. The 'leather leaf' viburnum is semi-evergreen and one tough plant. It gets rather large & I do not know if you have the room for it. If you are shopping Wal-Mart your choices are limited. VERY LIMITED.

It may be that you are hoping for a plant which does not exsist. Been there. Viburnum is not my favorite plant but it does have it's uses. The fence above sounds like a good idea also. I think there is a regional forum for the Ohio valley on this site, check it out. Good luck!