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medwards75

Natural border along fence

medwards75
17 years ago

Hi,

I am planning on doing a natural border along a 100' stretch of split rail fence. The main goal is to achieve some privacy. The fence has wire attached and is for keeping our dog in (and other dogs out). I was hoping to get some advice on the border shrubs. I am trying to determine what plants to use and how close to plant to the fence. Any other helpful information is welcome. I prefer native plants but will use non-invasive non-native plants if they are a better fit. It's not a tight space, so I have some room for width, although I don't want it to take up an excessive amount of yard. My soil has a good amount of clay. The fence runs down a gentle slope, the bottom of which can get soggy at times. The area ranges from full sun to partial shade. Zone is 6b. Thanks.

Comments (4)

  • cfmuehling
    17 years ago

    You could do the predictable Leeland cyprus, of course, of you could investigate some of the newer varieties that come in very unusual colors. There are some really neat gold to chartreuse, silver blue to dark, dark green.

    You could look at native winterberries (know the deer LOVE them, but then, so do birds), or some of the native indigo or dogwood shrubs, too.

    You could do something shorter, like nandia 'domestica'. A wall of rhododendren. If it's shade, varieties of Peris could be really cool. Viburnums would smell heavenly.

    It would help if you'd talk about what you DO want....

    Christine
    Who has well over 100' of her own fencline she's not sure she was wise to landscape.

  • thistle5
    17 years ago

    I have the same situation, split rail w/ wire fencing on 2 sides of the back yard (record north is right at the corner), w/ the neighbors' privacy fence to the s/w side & the house & side fences along the s/e. I have alot of large maples, oak, beech, pine in my yard & also large trees in the park to the n/w & my other neighbors' yard n/e.

    What has been successful so far-at the back, which borders the park & has 5 white pines, limbed up, & a maple (basically a western exposure, but some huge oaks & cedar at the park providing additional shade) I've planted nandina, pieris japonica, viburnam, J. maples-Scolopendrifolium, Spring Delight, Garnet, & Viridis in the N. corner. I also have hydrangeas-oakleaf, Nikko, Lady in Red, blueberries, itea, fargesia robusta, & camellias. The soil under the pines is rock hard clay, dry & shaded. I try to keep the newly planted things watered, but we had a brutally hot summer. What didn't make it-a Japanese black pine, a camellia that was attacked by a squirrel. I planted lots of heucheras around the Jmaples, I hope some will return next spring.

    I tried hops along the fence, but they didn't make it (I think I planted too late), but I hope the passionflower that was vigorous last year will return.

    On the n/e side which borders my neighbors yard, which is lovely, but mostly large old trees, lawn, & ivy, under the shade of an enormous maple-which has terrible soil, it's clay, dry, rocky-I've tried alot of shady perennials. I'm adding compost to the bed as fast as I can make it. Right now, it's mostly variegated & plain J.pachysandra, epimediums, hostas, hellebores, violets, rohdea japonica, a variegated sambucus (I had 2, 1 died), heucheras, & a gorgeous 'Snow Flurry' camellia.

    My experience so far, (I've been here 2.5 years)is that it's challenging but possible to garden in less than ideal conditions, & my garden gives me a great deal of pleasure...

  • thistle5
    17 years ago

    Oh, I forgot to add, I have a large, older dog, too, & I tend to keep most plantings at least 3' out from the fence, because my dog likes to patrol the perimeter. My DH hates it (he likes lawn, not plants), says it makes it hard to mow, but I think it's practical (especially since the split rail fence is our neighbors, they kindly allowed us to attach the wire so our dog could be contained), the actual property line is anywhere from a few inches to a foot in our yard, I wouldn't want to seem to encroach on their property (we have great neighbors& I'm thankful)!

  • leslies
    17 years ago

    Consider mixing small deciduous trees with a variety of shrubs. The trees screen the view higher up without taking up space at ground level. Dogwoods, magnolias, chionanthus, flowering crabs and redbuds work well.

    The shrubs don't need all to be the same or to be planted in a straight row. Some shrubs that get large plus some that stay small, some that bloom, others that set fruit, all together makes a nice look. My mixed hedge includes rhodies, viburnums, blueberries, mockorange, witchhazel, lindera, oakleaf azalea, pyracantha, lilac and forsythia plus several redbuds and dogwoods (and a little liriodendron I planted last week!).

    Clematis can help give the shrubs more seasons of interest, but I don't think I'd bother trying to "plant the fence."

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