lots of shade, please help with foundation plants and a screen

10 years ago

Our neighbors are a wreck. We moved in last year and I hate looking at their crap along their house every day. They even have a recyle bin along the side of the house which has been full of garbage since the day we moved in. Ugh.

Its partial shade I'd say. There are a lot of trees, though the area straight above is clear of anything. It has a southern exposure.

I'd really like something to screen of their house, and something that will fill in quickly. I've been thinking, and the only thing I can really think of is a staggered double row of Green Giant Arborvitae, sine I'd like something quick growing that will fill up the area soon. I'm a little worried there won't be enough sun though for the arborvitaes, particularly since it does become shadier towards the street from a huge silver maple. There are also some far reaching tree roots in the area, will that be a problem for any trees planted?

Also, since I have your attention, if anyone has any ideas for the side of our house next to the neighbors I'd really appreciate it. Currently, it's horrible. I hate the two little ball evergreens. We haven't trimmed them in the year we moved here but they haven't grown any- I am not a fan of evergreens shaped into little balls which are everywhere in our neighborhood.

It's pretty shady, which is the main problem, especially since it's under our large eaves. There is a little (6"?) tree stump in the center from a tree that the previous owners must have cut down. I really love wild look of juniper shrubs, though I don't think there's enough sun for those.

I'd appreciate any ideas or recommendations!

Here's a pic of the edge of our house and the neighbors:
{{gwi:695249}}

A pic of the trees overhanging the area, though the sky is open above:
{{gwi:695251}}

A pic of the side of our house which needs desperate help:

Thanks again!

This post was edited by arylkin on Fri, Apr 11, 14 at 23:10

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Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
hey

foundation plantings are planted to hide the foundation.. NOT on the foundation.. that is one of the inherent problems with the ball plants .. they are too close to the house.. and need constant shearing to remain non-jungle like ..but now that they are shaded ... they are losing vigor ...

whos garage behind??? do you need a walkway back there?

huge maples.. the issue is water competition until a transplant can get established... plant in native soil.. no amending.. or the maple will grow in the hole faster than the new plant can get going ..

with no windows ... i dont understand where you are hanging out .. that the view is bugging you ... once you delineate where you are.. then you can address blocking the view ...

in the first pic.. i think you are out on the sidewalk ... and i wonder how much time you stand there ??? .... a tree would be a better sight block... planted halfway between the ball and the existing tree...

its hard to speculate on ambient light.. as the shade trees are not leafed out .. and near impossible to conjecture on words alone ...

you want nothing that claims to be fast growing ... in reality.. it might take 3 to 5 years to grow something to fill your wishes ...

i suppose a 6 foot wood fence to the front of the house is out of the question????

can you walk the neighborhood.. and snap some pix... of how others have solved this problem ... that is where i used to get ideas to solve most of my problems... somewhere in GW peeps can ID plants ... if not here ...

this has to be an evolution of a plan ... i fear.. your expectations will be.. that you want it solved yesterday ... and if so.. you are set up for being let down on some level ...

finally.. are you on a corner??? ... does your house face 90 degrees from the other??? .. something is bothering me here.. and i cant figure it out... perhaps if you took a pic from across the street.. we might be able to understand it all better.. that or my coffee buzz is so intense.. i am loosing touch with reality .. lol

ken
arylkin
Original Author
10 years ago
Ken, thanks for the response.

Our house is built on an angle, though we only have a one car garage, so I park in the driveway every day and have to walk by their house and their mess multiple times a day. It probably bothers me more than it should, but you know how it is when something makes you crazy... I thought it would be nice to have some kind of tree screen so I could pretend they don't exist lol.

I know the foundation plantings are right up against the house (they all are in my area), though I would not be opposed to taking the beds out farther (that's what I'm going to do in the front of the house). I'd just like the front of the house against the street to look nicer for when I drive by and whatever, but ideally with a minimum of effort since we really aren't out there that much. Maybe an evergreen at the corner of the garage would help, and would have more sunlight and less root competition.

Do you think arborvitaes would survive in the shade planted back as a screen beside the neighbor's house? I guess I could try and see what happens. Extending our fence to the front side of the house is also something we're considering, but it's expensive and still wouldn't completely block off the view of their mess and jungle of weeds in their yard.

The whole landscaping in the front of the house is awful. I'm just starting to tackle it and make plans this year.
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
see link

Here is a link that might be useful: link
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
see link

scroll down far enough to find his front door ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

This post was edited by ken_adrian on Sat, Apr 12, 14 at 16:55

lots of shade, please help with foundation plants and a screen

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

arylkin
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lots of shade, please help with foundation plants and a screen

Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

arylkinOriginal Author

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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arylkin
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