Trellis screening for narrow side yard?

12 years ago

I have a narrow side yard on the NW side of my house. The back has a privacy fence. Providing privacy between my front porch and that of the neighbor's is a very old, 15' tall stand of lilacs that I want to remove.

I have thought about building a few 6' trellises and hinging them like a folding screen (I am interested in vines), but cannot imagine what that would look like against the property line, disconnected from the back privacy fence and the front shrub border. I don't want it to seem like a hostile gesture.

Looking towards back. Privacy fence is the neighbor's, and is right against the property line. The small holly at right is on my property.

{{gwi:47856}}

Thanks for any thoughts

Maureen

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

deviant-deziner
12 years ago
Based on how vines will grow on a trellised screen I think you might have problems with the screens being on a hinge.

In regards to the feelings of hostility. I don't have any comment except to say that people erect fences and screens all the time and usually it works out just fine.

To integrate the new screen in with the solid fence , it may work out best to pick out some of the same architectural elements from the fence and repeat in the trellis structure, as an example use the same post detailing and height.

Personally I am bored to death with off the shelf lattice. I know it is very affordable and can look good, but I'm over it and if one can find it in their means to create a different lattice style pattern then I think that can really set your craftsmanship apart.

Check out the trellis work on Pete Pedersen's website under the heading details : LINK - http://www.pedersenassociates.com/PA_Web/PA_docs/pages/PA-Projects-GardenAlbum.htm

The photo below is off the shelf lattice with some custom details. It still bores me to death but often times you have to work within a budget. If I/ the client had the financial means to augment the design I would interjected some different size ( custom ) lattice layouts. - but these days, we all know that budget takes front row and you have to do what you can afford and ultimately like.

{{gwi:47857}}From September 27, 2011
sergeantcuff
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you so much for your thoughtful response. I see your point about visually connecting the trellis to the neighbor's privacy fence. But it would physically be feet away and not really anchored by anything? Your examples seem so formal I am wondering if my idea would look silly.

I do not need a solid wall of privacy - the lilacs were perfect for my purposes (except they don't bloom due to not enough sun/too warm and they get powdery mildew). We are not that skilled so something more this style would match ou abilities and the style of our gardens but is nothing like the fence and is inside a garden rather than on the edge:
{{gwi:47858}}
Related Discussions
Photo heavy! Narrow Sunny Side Yard
Q
Comments (9)
Gggrrrrr...must have been a GW quirk that didn't show the January photo when I first re-opened this thread. My apologies for the double post of that photo (I WISH there was some way for the originator of a post to delete it afterwards, as one can on other websites!). Anyway, here's a few photos I found that show a bit more detail on the LH side, upper half, where the two tree roses "Double Delight" and "Delany Sister" reside. This is an older photo and some of these plants didn't work out so were replaced. The little clump of silver-leafed gazania, at the foot of the variegated dianella, was outcompeted by the ceratostigma and eventually died. The vine on the trellis is a purple passiflora. In the above photo, the green groundcover leaning into the walkway, past the second "Ladies in Waiting" pink shrub rose, is Santa Barbara daisy. This is in front of a very pretty mid-height pink-and-white alstroemeria, and surprisingly, has never managed to overrun it. It makes a super companion to the roses when cutting for the vase. This is a more recent photo. Bottom left you can see the "Ruby Comet" argyranthemum. This is an improved descendant of "Ruby Slippers" which was super-tender. "Comet" seems much more hardy, it hardly blinked this winter. That flourishing bright green plant at the foot of "Delany Sisters" is....flat leaf parsley! Worked great and I think I may try to keep one regularly here. It did a great job hiding the tree rose 'legginess'. The small yellow flowers are those of the yellow erysimum, when it was young and sitting up straight, not leaning into the pathway as it does now, LOL:
...See More
Looking for narrow fast growing evergreens for screening
Q
Comments (15)
Dax and Dave, Thanks to both of you for contributing. I've been thinking about the 'Fastigiata' - and will consider the points made. It may not matter that it spreads open as it ages - but need to think about that. I'm also wondering if it may not get big enough for my needs - have seen some places say 30 ft ht at maturity (others say up to 50-60) and this is for Fastigiata. hmm, will need to check specs again. Dave, I've seen links of it before but thanks for posting your link, it was helpful of course. This is quoted from one link I saw (link below) - ''Pinus strobus 'Fastigiata' - a narrow, upright vased to ascending columnar form, with branches that hug close to the central leader in youth, becoming more spreading with age, maturing at 60' tall by 20' wide'' at link below from Ohio State. Dave, are you saying 'Stowe Pillar' would grow 10 ft in 10 years -or were you referring to a different tree? Dax, good reminder about the time it takes trees to get established and then start to shoot up. I googled Larry Stanley and didn't find anything specific - also other than back to GardenWeb sites here. Any help on that appreciated. Is Larry Stanley a wholesaler or informational/educational/blog? Still thinking and considering but need to make decision soon since I would like to plant this spring. Here is a link that might be useful: link for Pinus Strobus and var. 'Fastigiata'
...See More
What plants are good for narrow privacy hedges/screens?
Q
Comments (0)
Thuja occidentalis What plant to use to screen a view that grows fast, tall and very narrow is one of the most commonly asked questions. If the space is VERY narrow, the best solution is to put up a trellis and cover it with a well behaved evergreen vine like Trachelospermum jasminoides, Solanum jasminoides or Hardenbergia violacea. Another option is to espalier plants that have a habit of growing flat to begin with.Grewia, Xylosma, Podocarpus gracilior, and Cocculus being good choices.The other possibility is bamboo, but be SURE that you plant a clumping bamboo, rather than a running species, or you and your neighbor will live to regret it. Good clumping bamboos for screening are varieties of Bambusa multiplex. They have foliage nearly to the ground, are very dense clumps, and are from 6' to 15' tall. They can even be sheared. If there is a bit more space, a fastigiate shrub or small tree may be the answer. These are plants that have mutated from the normal growth habit, and grow much narrower than usual. Italian Cypress is the most commonly seen fastigiate plant, but there are many others that are potentially useful. Possibilities are Juniperus scopulorum 'Skyrocket', Deodara 'Gold Cone,' Juniperus communis 'Gold Cone', Thuja occidentalis 'Emerald', Buxus sempervirens 'Graham Blandy', Ilex crenata 'Sky Pencil', Ilex vomitoria 'Will Fleming', and Euonymus japonicus 'Chollipo' and 'Beni Komachi'. There ARE a few plants that naturally grow tall and narrow, Nandina, Mahonia japonica and Podocarpus macrophyllus are the easiest to find. If you are trying to extend the height of a fence, you could plant a large shrub or small tree alongside the fence, then prune up the lower branches to provide room to walk (and even plant) underneath. Photinias, Pittosporums , Oleanders, Arbutus unedo and Prunus caroliniana 'Brite n tite' and 'compacta' are good candidates for this treatment. The last (and most labor intensive) option is to plant a row of evergreen shrubs and keep it sheared to the width desired. Keep in mind frequency of shearing will depend on the growth rate of the plant. I have an evergreen privet hedge (one of the fastest growers) that needs to be sheared twice a year to keep it under control, and could use a third if I was a perfectionist and less lazy. I highly recommend purchasing and using electric shears to make the job more bearable. However, if you go this route, DO NOT plant a broadleaf plant like English laurel (electric shears result in mangled and shredded leaves that look awful). Highly recommended species for a sheared hedge are Pittosporum tenuifolium, Myrtus communis and Eugenia. You also need to think of what is on either side of the planting area. If it's an asphalt driveway or your neighbor's foundation, you don't want the heartbreak of having to remove your hedge (tree) 10-15 years down the road when it's looking perfect but starting to cause underground structural damage.
...See More
Long narrow back yard, take down the fence?
Q
Comments (57)
IMO, the deck and built-in seating outside of the patio doors is all wrong and should be removed. If there is any built-in seating, it should be incorporated into the top of the retaining wall (which needs reconfiguring) and should be facing outward ... though built-in seating is not the only option. It would be easier to have free-standing seating. The course of the retaining wall should not end in a "sawtooth," step-down fashion. Instead, each couple of courses (or how many are determined) should turn 90* and run toward the soil they are enclosing. They should run long enough to finish enclosing it. This way, soil is not "leaking" around their ends. Let's pretend that a huge amount of water -- a full bathtub of it -- was suddenly on the patio and looking for the easiest escape route. Which way is it going to go? ... Toward the back lot line or toward the side lot line? If it goes to the side will it continue to the front or then go toward the back? Once the ultimate path of the water is known, it's up to the designer to specify grading that makes the water escape easier. Undoubtedly, this means lower grade at the edge of the patio and pitching it slightly downward (in the direction of the escape path) such that water has no obstructions or obstacles to climb over, since it will refuse to do that. Hopefully, the drainage path is toward the back lot line as that would make more sense and make everything easier insofar as getting the flow going properly. The patio could be expanded in order to serve whatever uses the homeowner seeks to satisfy.
...See More
deviant-deziner
12 years ago
I don't think it would look silly as long as the quality of the craftsmanship is good and the proportions are right.

You'll never know until you try. You could always make some cardboard cutouts to see how the proportions work.

Give Walpole Woodworkers a google. I haven't checked them out in years but they used to have a pretty good decent stand alone trellis section.
There might be some ideas in there for you to browse.
karinl
12 years ago
I put up a trellis on the side property line that is shaped basically like a giant badminton net. My purpose was to get some shade in the yard, and for that I needed the bulk of my vines up high, so I got 12 foot posts; with those sunk 3 feet, the apparatus is 9 feet high. DD might approve since I did not use standard lattice but rather a metal grate that I had lying around :-)

What might be helpful in what I did is to evaluate just where you really need screening; at what height. Build to that height, and then train the vines to it.

For what it's worth I love love love those green units in your picture; I think it is brilliant to put them on an angle and they read as yard art, not a barrier. I have seen something similar done with staggered units, but all parallel.

I personally wouldn't worry too much about matching your neighbour's fence. I can see where DD is coming from on this, and where, if you do a professional installation you would want design consistency among all elements. But I wouldn't want to be limited by my neighbour's aesthetic choices.

Karin L
Yardviser
12 years ago
My 2 cents...I agree with Karinl that matching the neighbor's fence is not critical. I think compatibility and craftsmanship is. I like the green screens you posted, too. By the "hinged" arrangement of screens, if you meant having them like accordion bellows in almost almost open position--like zigzag--that does not strike me as nice as the way the green screens are arranged parallel, but staggered. I agree with d-d that there is nothing "off the shelf" that is worth anything...(unless it's very high dollar specialty merchandise...not retail.)
PRO
Pedersen Associates
8 years ago
Hi thanks for the mention regrading our custom trellis work (in the top picture) .

We recently upgraded our website so the link included has expired. Please check us out at http://www.pedersenassociates.com to see more images of custom trellis work!

Trellis screening for narrow side yard?

Comments (6)

deviant-deziner

sergeantcuff
Original Author

Related Discussions

deviant-deziner

karinl

Yardviser

Pedersen Associates

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Trellis screening for narrow side yard?

Comments (6)

deviant-deziner

sergeantcuffOriginal Author

Related Discussions

deviant-deziner

karinl

Yardviser

Pedersen Associates

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

sergeantcuff
Original Author