Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
zaphod42_gw

Choosing shrubs or trees for privacy

zaphod42
16 years ago

Hi. This is my first post to GardenWeb. My husband and I bought our first house last summer and started our landscaping by removing a bunch of buckthorn from our proerty and building a picket fence for the dog. We're now ready to start putting in some shrubs or small trees for privacy where we pulled out the buckthorn. My husband is allergic to lilacs. I don't need a solid wall of privacy, more of a moderate screening. I've found a few appealing options but don't know all that much about them. Any opinions or insight on the following would be appreciated.

Dogwoods - 'Milky Way'

Mockorange

American Holly or Winterberry

Washington Hawthorn

**I've also been noticing these big, beautiful bushes in people's yards with lots of white flowers and someone told me they look like 'Bridal Wreath'

Any of them poisonous to dogs? Will the birds eat the berries or will they be all over my yard? How would you recommend combining maybe two types or would you just pick one?

Thanks.

Comments (6)

  • Bob_Zn5
    16 years ago

    Welcome to Garden Web. With our assistance, you too can spend more resources on plant material than you ever thought possible. :)

    Bridal Wreath spirea are blooming now.

    Mockorange is a tough old fashioned kind of shrub. They grow quickly with only moderate encouragement. Hawthorn are native to WI, Washington Hawthorn is a popular selection. The ones I've seen are attractive. Crabapples serve a similar purpose in the home landscape. Dogwoods & hollies are on the edge of their hardiness zone here so they can be tricky but I'm not familiar with the varieties you mentioned. Good luck. Try to find selections that grow well in your conditions (ie sun or shade, wet or dry, sandy or clay, etc.)

  • tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
    16 years ago

    You don't mention your soil (sand, clay, loam) or the light conditions. Cornus kousa 'Milkyway' is a good choice for a flowering dogwood not only for the abundance of floweres, but the kousas are hardier and less disease prone than Cornus florida. If you can give it just a bit of afternoon shade, that would be best. I have a variety called 'Satomi' which is pink flowered, but the flowers aren't as abundant as on 'Milkyway'. They say the fruits are eaten by birds and mine sure disappear, but I have not actually seen anything eat them. The rapsberry shape and color of the fruit is also quite attractive and the tree has a nice wine-red fall color. It makes my top 10 list.

    tj

  • led_zep_rules
    16 years ago

    We have two bridal wreath bushes, they are lovely. I would recommend you have a variety of bushes, and intermix them for a more interesting look. Some kind of white dogwood is a horrible weed in our yard, taking over, so be sure if you get some that it isn't horribly invasive. We have some red twig dogwood, that is nice looking and grows larger, but doesn't spread across the yard via roots like the other stuff.

    Another choice you might want to consider is golden privet. That is a very yellow-green color, the more sun, the more yellow. Looks nice next to any normal green bush. Also we have something my mom called cardinal shrub, I think actually it is a weigela. Has red flowers in spring, the leaves turn red in the fall. Basically go for things that will look nice just being next to each other, different shapes, colors, and so on. Red twig dogwood next to bridal wreath next to golden privet, etc.

    Marcia

  • tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
    16 years ago

    Marcia- Sounds like your rampant dogwood is Cornus racemosa, the Grey Dogwood. It is a native that has quite the suckering habit. The Cornus kousas are well behaved small (15'x15') trees.

    tj

  • happyday
    16 years ago

    Arborvitae are tall, dense, narrow, and are evergreen. They are also fairly hardy and require little upkeep.

  • pondwelr
    16 years ago

    When I moved to my new home 9 yrs ago, I followed the advice of the guy hired to install my landscaping. I too wanted privacy from the neighboring yards. He stressed going for diversity above all. Variety will discourage an onslaught of diseases and bugs to a particular species.
    Then we went for hardiness, wildlife habitat and food, and differing heights. The result is wonderful. I have white oak, maples, birches, 4 serviceberry, 4 'Chicago Luster' virburnum bushes, cedars, juniper and one huge white pine.
    Two upright junipers got a rust disease, and will have to go. The nice thing is, nothing else is affected, and it wont mar the all over affect of my lot line beds. Can you imagine if you had one solid hedge of say, cedars, and some had to be removed? Pretty ugly.
    I like to go for leaf color variety above all. Blossoms are so fleeting, but a mix of red, purple and green and yello leaved trees and shrubs is stunning.
    This year, kill the grass and put a heavy layer of wood chips down. (Free from most recycling municipal works)
    Next Spring do the planting. Summer heat stresses everything. Good luck with your project. Pondy

Sponsored