How about Florida Anise? They're native, evergreen, don't mind the shade and will grow to 6 feet. I planted the variegated form "Shady Lady" to screen my neighbor's ugly chain link fence. They seem pretty happy so far.

I just read that Florida Anise has an odor like a live fish? Have you noticed any smells?

The leaves have a wonderful anise smell. I love the scent they release when I brush up against them. I think it's the flowers that are supposed to have a fishy smell. Mine hasn't flowered yet, so I can't comment on that. . .
I did also read that you can't really smell the flowers unless you put your nose right into them.
You should look into wax myrtles or mountain laurels, too.

If the neighbors are as bad as you imply, I would plant red cedars, and let the fence be really, really tall.

More practically, here's a link to acceptable shrubs.

Nell

Here is a link that might be useful: SHRUBS 4-8' FOR NC LANDSCAPES

Nah, this isn't for the neighbors. This is a barrier to "end" the driveway and make the backyard a separate space. I just don't want to build a privacy fence or trellis. I'd rather have a hedge.

foxesearth:

I have LOTS of Euonymus kiautschovicus in the gully. I know it's easy to propagate and grows very fast. I also have the green and gold variety as foundation plantings. That's not a bad choice. I know it will grow here already. I wonder if I could do this?

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I don't think I need the arch though. :) But I like the squared pruning they've done.

Euonymous: One of my late MIL's favorite plants for 'hiding' things: the cowpen, the gas tank -- no, that was nandina; the tractor shed, the chicken house, the view of the farm buildings. Trouble was, she planted them too close to what she was hiding, instead of out in a sight line.

All that is left now is one little green and gold that I planted on the end of a bed of yellow flowers. Oh, and one in an out of the way place that I keep hacking at.

If you don't mind the pruning to keep them square, go for it! Acually, if you let them grow straight up to start, only the tops need much squaring, in my experience.

Nell

Dappled willow is easy, fast growing, and has pretty variegated white and pink leaves. It's not evergreen though. SUper easy to propagate.

You could use tall ornamental grasses to fill in the gaps until your evergreens are fully grown and full. Just place them in front of the row, not in the row.

Cameron

I have discovered abelia since moving to north MS. I have Edward Goucher (?) which is evergreen with little clear pink flowers. I also have Frances Mason which has a yellowish foliage and colors in the fall, and sports a more whitish flower. They can get very large, I've seen some huge ones, but you can prune them very easily.

I think I'll try to propagate some Euonymous tomorrow. I have grandiflora. It's the one that doesn't have flowers so there are no bees. I have both, but this one seems better suited.

I've got willow for the rain garden area. I still need to clean up some brush and briars at some point.

I've looked at some ornamental grasses. I have several miscanthus and pampas grass. If I were to use that, I'd probably stagger the plantings and allow them to stay for some interest. I like the idea though.

Abelia. I love it. I'm trying to remember to take cuttings this spring so I can propagate it for the back yard perimeter. It's an evergreen here (mostly). And the little pink/white flowers are so pretty.

I would personally go for a mixed hedge, as I find it more interesting. Several types of shrubs repeated for a certain harmony and informal look. Can you grow viburnum tinus (laurustinus) in your neck of the woods? I would strongly encourage you to do it if you can. Evergreen, medium rate grower, no pruning required, lovely white flowers in Winter, excellent green backdrop for colorful flowers in Spring, Summer and Fall.

I think a mixed hedge with laurustinus, pyracantha, abelia, holly, aucuba and osmanthus would be a lovely thing. Pyracanthas can be obtained as small plants here and are relatively inexpensive. It's also possible to propagate them from cuttings, but that takes obviously longer. They grow fast and would compensate for the slower growers in the first years. The berries are a wonderful addition to the Fall and Winter garden and a much cherished source of food for birds.

Viburnums in general would be appropriate for what you have in mind. You'd have to do your homework though, as some are deciduous and some evergreen, grow to different heights, etc. Besides the laurustinus I also grow viburnum opulus and it's one of my favorite plants, absolutely carefree, but it's deciduous, though.

Eduarda

Eduarda, There are some vibrunums here. I have someone sending me cuttings as well. I've got a pyracantha (and have several rooted cuttings already). I just assumed they would be too large.

I like the idea of a mixed hedge. But the growth rates of the plants would have to be about even. Otherwise I would have holes for a few years as the slow growers catch up.

One thing I thought of this morning, am I going to hate the pruning aspect of trying to maintain a formal hedge? Should I consider a more informal hedge? There's nothing really formal about the yard.

Token, I was thinking in the lines of an informal hedge as well. I'm not much into formal hedges, since I hate pruning :-) Pyracantha can be trimmed to the size you want - my own hedge is kept quite tall (and informal) because I want to ensure privacy (the hedge borders the street). But I have seen it pruned into more formal aspects and smaller sizes as well. The laurustinus doesn't require pruning, if you don't want to. Having said that, my neighbors across the street have pruned their small hedge of them quite severely and they look ok as well.

Yes, different plants will have different growth rates, but that's the beauty of it, IMO - visual variety. You could go for a staggered look and have two rows of plants, staggered. Difference in height wouldn't be so important then. I would even throw a couple of pencil type of conifers here and there for good measure and some vertical accents along the way. Then there's the possibility of a roses and lavender hedge, but that's another story and definitely not evergreen :-). With the sort of room you have there are really endless possibilities.

Eduarda

Eduarda, I think you're in my head. I just spent the day hauling mulch for the North Bed on the other side of the house. When I finished, I moved 6 euonymous plants to the "fence" area. They're 8' apart and set back 2' from the edge of the driveway. I know it will take years to reach a 6' height, but with proper water, strategic pruning, and fertilizer, I can work wonders.

I also checked on the wintersown shrubs I put out in Dec. I have lilac, mock orange, and rose of sharon seedlings. I really want a fair amount of evergreen in there, but I'm willing to compromise. For the most part, the backyard will only be used in the summer. That's when I really need the hedge for privacy. Otherwise, it's just a barrier from the street to the "lawn".

I was even thinking this year of planting some datura, lantana, and pineapple sage. If I deadhead before they set seeds, I can treat all that as annuals. That gives me a year of rather large plants while my shrubs set their roots.

I also have buddelia and Carolina allspice planted. I have white crepe myrtles too. And lavender crepes that I'm trying to propagate through root and hardwood cuttings. I've got wigelia cuttings I'm rooting. And forsythia and quince for spring blooms. And pyracantha in the cloner that have already callused. I can even add in a couple gardenias on the shadier end. With all I have going for me, the idea of planting a boring green wall of euonymous sounds kind of lazy.

I think I'll get out with the tiller tomorrow and break up the rest of the area. I think 8' wide should be plenty of space to create a nice border garden. That will mean two loads of leaf mulch from the landfill one day next week.

If I use enough trees, I can even create a semi-shade garden on the East side. It would only get morning light. On the driveway side I have roses that I'm propagate too. Since they are patented, it would be illegal to sell them. I didn't know what I could do with them. I think a nice bright red border on that side would work nicely to stop the traffic at the end of the driveway. And of course I need an arbor now to mark the access point. And some climbing roses or maybe a clematis. Oh, I have rooted cuttings of Confederate Jasmine.

See...this is why I ask you guys for opinions. I'll get my evergreen base and accent with flowering trees, shrubs, add some perennials, some roses, and suddenly, it's not just a green hedge.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

I have cherry laurel seedlings as well. They have a good wildlife attracting factor too.

I started.

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I need more leaf mulch and cardboard to really create a good bed here. There's lots of rocks and clay, but the drainage is decent. I used the tiller this past week to level the area out against the retaining wall. I was planning to just let the bermuda grass regrow here this summer, but those plans have changed.

You have much more patience than I do by starting out with small specimens, but I know it creates healthier, sturdier mature shrubs in the end.

Token, I think that with all the different plants you mention it's going to be a thing of beauty! Just remember to mix the evergreens in a regular pattern with the deciduous, so that the border looks balanced in Winter. Red and yellow twig dogwoods would look lovely in there as well. There's nothing wrong with starting small. My pyracantha hedge was started from very small plants and it grew very quickly. In two years time I could no longer see the street. I would suggest you give the pyracanthas plenty of space in the border and plant what you want to treat as an annual next to them. As such, once the pyracanthas get going you won't have to move a lot of plants around, since the annuals will be done anyway. You would probably need to plant the annuals for two years and henceforth the piracantha would steal the show. Birds will love you for that :-) I can hardly wait to see what you do next!

Eduarda

schoolhouse: I have a 3-5 year plan. And I don't like to buy large shrubs. I have a really hard time keeping them alive due to the heavy heavy heavy clay soil mixed in with rocks as big as my head. So small plants and rooted cuttings do a lot better for me in the end. I'd like to buy 3 year old plants, but the money factor wouldn't allow me to do as much as quickly. And I like to watch things grow.

Eduarda: I have one pyracantha that I bought last fall on a clearance table. It was a 1 gallon container so it's about 2-3 feet tall now. I'm going to spend some time next week working on enhancing the soil (if it doesn't snow like they're forecasting). Once I get two loads of leaf mulch tilled into the soil, I'll start putting out more of my plants and annuals later on towards spring. Right now I'm leaning towards a mixture of these:

evergreen shrubs
-gardenia (4'x6') blooms in June
-euonymous (6'x8')
-pyracantha (HUGE)
-varigated privet (6'x6')
-boxwood euonymous (2'x3')
Those will give me year round privacy. I'm looking at a 3 row staggered planting of the evergreens.

deciduous shrubs
-variegated and wine & roses wigelia blooms in June/July
-forsythia (6'x6') blooming now in February
-butterfly bush (6'x8') blooms all summer til frost
-flowering quince (6'x6') first to bloom usually starting in late January.

and for some extra height, I plan to mix in some lavender and white crepe myrtles. I'll plant them in the middle row and use the shrubs to protect the roots from the sun.

In between all that, I can plant some rosemary, a few knockout roses (red and yellow), some perennials like lavender, blue and purple salvias, shastas, coneflowers, and rudbeckia until the shrubs get established. As well as some annuals for color this year. And of course there will be spring bulbs like daffodils and hyacinths.

I thought I was done creating beds in this yard. I'm tired of shoveling leaf mulch and tilling. I'm ready to start pruning. :)

Look at what I found today. I've had these tiny leaves popping up all over the side yard. In summer, I've seen some tiny light purple flowers pop up in one area. Never noticed the foliage. Usually I would have cut the grass several times by now, but I don't mow the perennial bed now. Curious to see what else comes up over there this year.

This is a crocus, right?

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