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Landscape Design

Help with mixed border for screening

16 years ago

Hey all, I had a well-recommended local horticulturalist draw up a plan for my new house. In particular, I need screening in the back as the meadow behind me, full of fascinating insects and home to hawks, is shortly going to become parking lot and three story buildings. The back border design is about 125' long and varies from ten to 16 feet deep. She has given me "Summer Snowflake" viburnum, a magnolia in the S corner, then 3 green giant arborvitae, 2 Arnold's Promise witchhazel, a hetzi columnaris juniper, autumn brilliance serviceberry, 3 blue ice cypress, and a black gum in the north corner which is wet (drainage easement). Behind me on the property to be developed there is supposed to be a four-foot upward slope/berm descending one foot at the back, and a bunch of eastern white pine planted staggered. Does this sound like a reasonably attractive plan for screening? Sadly the apt building to go in behind me is supposed to be 45' tall and only 50-54' from the property line. If I veto the magnolia, any suggestions for a pretty and well behaved corner tree of 40-60 feet height for zone 6? I would also like to tuck in some raspberries, blueberries, some kind of apple and perhaps a quince into my 125X60 foot backyard :)

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Comments (2)

laceyvail 6A, WV
16 years ago
I think you'll find that Viburnum 'Summer Snowflake' is a very compact cultivar. I think you'd want something large like 'Shasta', which gets 6-7 feet tall and at least 12 feet wide, and has a much more beautiful shape.
lpinkmountain
16 years ago
Why are you vetoing the magnolia? Man, if I had space I would go for it. Another option is flowering dogwood, either native our the Kousa. Another option is Carolina Silverbell, Halesia carolinia or something like that. I have a japanese snowbell, Styrax japonica. I think the native silverbell is more stunning. But it's a slowish grower.

Sounds like a beautiful border to me.
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