Won't the electrical boxes need to be accessible, too? That would factor into what you plant. Perhaps some trellises in front of the boxes (with access room behind them), and a freeze hardy vine that doesn't get too huge? Would something like that work?

Marcia

Good question . The electric boxes have those digital meters that are read from the street - radio waves I think . The boxes do not need to be accessible but I will double check to be sure . A trellis and vine was going to be my last resort .

What about a shrub? Kings Mantle? Beautiful, tall, glorious blue blossoms almost all year long.

My king's mantle suffers in the cold pretty badly. It usually comes back, but stays pretty small unless it gets a few years without freezing. How do you keep yours going to get it so big, Kate?

And GM, even if they can read the meters from the street, I would imagine (just guessing) they might need to access the boxes from time to time if there are any problems. I'm having trouble thinking up cold hardy shrubs that can tolerate blazing sun. I'm SURE there's something out there, though. Someone here will probably hit on the perfect thing, and maybe king's mantel would work. But the one *I* have seems less than ideal. Maybe it's just not happy where I put it (that's not uncommon here).

Marcia

How big around can it be? I was thinking arborvita. I've lived in my place for 15 years and the ones around here are about 10 ft. high.

Arboricola - the green form - will grow to 8' to 10', perhaps higher, but I've not seen it. Easily trimmed to stay at that height.

Cocoplum - same result, even though it really is a small tree, you can trim to any height you want and it will take the cold.

Both plants can be purchased in 3 gallon cans, wholesale, for under $6.

Maybe a viburnum? There are quite a few that would make a nice hedge and are cold hardy.
Podocarpus macrophylla makes a dense hedge, is cold hardy, will need trimming now and then to keep the height you need.

All are excellent suggestions . I am a little leary of any thing that is cold sensitive . It can get down to 20 or less around here . While at Lowe's today , I saw Fortunia Don Juan climbing roses . What about two red climbing roses on a trellis ? I have no experience with those . I have cracker roses - the Louis-Phillipe which are wonderful bushes but can get big . Any pros or cons ?

viburnum is the answer. It is not exotic nor fussy. It can take the cold and the heat in full sun. Dont drive yourself insane.

I agree with ellen and others, get Sweet Viburnum (Viburnum odoratissimum). It is cheap, fast growing, drought heat and cold tolerant, forms a thick hedge, and is not messy or invasive. Plus, the springtime flowers smell good. Many many many homes and businesses use this plant for precisely this application. Your best bet for sure.

I agree - viburnum is a great choice . I have over 1000 feet of it planted as a wall of green against the four lane highway noise . My friend prefers something more exciting or with more color . I am going to the MG Plant Faire today and will be looking for ideas there .
Any advice on climbing roses ?
Mary

it's been my experience that the only climbing rose that does really well here (in volusia) is the cherokee... it's a MONSTER rose, tho. very aggressive -- it' doing battle with chinese wisteria and winning. very pretty, nonremontant rose. trouble free, four months of bloom.

if you want cuttings (which take 3 years to bloom), write me at centralfloridagardener atty thing gmail dotty thing com. we live close by. you'll have to give me and castorp a tour of your farm...

Good idea . I'll have to work on that for a future plant swap for our area . Don't think anyone has ever hosted one in DeLand before .

The native crossvine would grow on a fence or trellis.
Might be too aggressive for you, but certainly plenty of color.