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Landscape Design

Landscape - backyard needs help, please

6 years ago

I would like some suggestions as to what to plant along the fence - need more privacy. the neighbouring homes behind ours are elevated. We are in Ontario, Canada - Zone 5. Other than a wall of evergreens - could someone help with perhaps a mix of evergreens & flowering shrubs that grow to about 10 - 15 feet???

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Comments (2)

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Yardvaark
6 years ago
I know it's hard for you to believe now, but the yard is very crowded since most of those trees are going to get huge. I would not want either blue spruce that close in the foreground because you're not going to like removing their bottom branches when they get large, but you'll be forced to because they will totally dominate the space, leaving you no yard in which to walk. Then, there is the oak tree right near that's going to grow up and shade the spruce out, making them ugly. I'd move those two spruce back in line with the one nearest the fence just to get them farther away, and they would serve as decent screening for a good while. Fill in the remainder of the fence line with two or three other tall shrubs that can be made into trees ... like lilac or something along those lines. Move the trees from the center of the yard more toward the yard sides. Keep the center of the yard open, just grass. It's all going to be shady someday, but needs more organization now.
l pinkmountain
6 years ago
In five years you're going to have a LOT of privacy, so in the meantime you might consider flanking your patio with a couple of trellises and plant some fast growing annuals up them. Hyacinth bean or morning glories or moonflower are some examples.
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@greenfish1234 Thank you again for your input. I'm attaching a better picture of the back door area. Our door is currently a slider door - not sure if that will be switched in the future to a french door. How far past the door should the steps/landing go? The further we go, the further we cut into that dead space next to our family room wall (to the right of the door). Also, the deeper the total of depth of the steps/landing combined, the deeper the bed gets to the left of the steps/landing, unless we don't make that bed as deep as the steps/landing, but not sure if that will look right. I'm also attaching a pic of landing/steps I found on line. Not that I want curved steps or that material, but was wondering if I could turn that dead space into a raised planter on the landing. That way I can soften that area. If I did this though, not sure how far to bring out the planter - just to the last step, or to the edge of the back of the family room wall. In this pic, their dead space is probably 1/2 that of mine.
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If the limelights can grow to their full potential, they should exceed the fence height by a couple of feet. You don't indicate how high the screening needs to be.
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