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Landscape Design

How to hide a pole

8 years ago

There are many ways to go with this; feel free to insert your own joke. I've tried to get the electrical coop to bury the overhead lines, but they have refused. The pole is 10'-15' from the NE corner of house and is very visible, especially from front of house and side garden area. In 2014 I planted a couple Juniperus 'Sky Rocket' to hide the pole from the most visible location, but I get the feeling this was not the right strategy. The junipers are healthy and I'm hoping they grow quickly to about 20', but I would appreciate any suggestions from people who have dealt with this type of situation.

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Comments (5)

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Yardvaark
8 years ago
Running the power underground would be something you are responsible for, but in most places, code would require that you have a licensed electrician do the work. If you're interested in doing the work to save money, an electrician would probably allow an arrangement where you do the stuff that doesn't require electrical expertise, such as trenching and laying conduit, and they would run the wire and make the connections. I did this once and the cost was not too bad. Another time I looked into doing it and the power company priced their portion prohibitively (so as to discourage the work from being done.) You would need to research the costs in order to find out what you're up against.

If you don't want to run underground, what you're doing with the skyrockets is the alternative.
maackia
Original Author
8 years ago
It's about a 200' run from the street through a partially wooded area to the pole. The electrical cooperative quoted me a very high price to do this, but I didn't even think about getting a quote from an electrical contractor. I will look into that. Thanks!
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shaxhome (Frog Rock, Australia 9b)
8 years ago
These are for cell phone towers, and most likely prohibitively expensive, but maybe there's an idea here...
Hiding Towers
maackia thanked shaxhome (Frog Rock, Australia 9b)
kitasei
8 years ago
You could also change your point of view. At least the pole is wood. As wooden poles become more appreciated as cultural vernacular/historical features, the rush to eliminate them will continue to fade. Anchoring yours in shrubbery and trees enhances it. Make it more of a bird feature by putting some feeders and houses on their own poles.
Kim in PL (SoCal zone 10/Sunset 24)
8 years ago
Your photos focus only on the pole, which is a reflection of your current state of mind. The winter scene with some shrubs defoliated emphasizes the starkness of the pole in the snow. Stand back and photograph your home in center focus in spring or summer and the pole will magically fade to a minor distraction. Telephone poles happen. Everybody has them. If your house and garden look attractive, the pole is not an issue. Growing trees close to the pole will only result in problems for the lines or access to the pole by the power company later. If you style the garden around the pole, it will do the reverse of what you intend and attract attention to the pole.

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