Plants/bushes to block windows
ibarbidahl
5 years ago
In my new home the bathroom looks out onto the road, with great big windows. Wonderful for light - horrible for privacy. I need something to block the windows from the neighbors, but still get some natural light in. There is a palm to the left of the window, but it doesn't do much to help.
I'm considering frosting the glass but no answer from the HOA if I am allowed to yet.
So something:
That keeps leaves/branches most the way to the ground and everygreen
Well behaved (won't attach itself to the house, or push the eaves up)
Salt tolerant (reclaimed water)
Not so pricey I couldn't afford to buy a larger size and plant right away to help.
Picture for reference.... (bath window is the one with columns)
North facing home.
Thanks!
Barb
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Comments (10)
cpartist
4 years agoRelated Discussions
What plants are good for blocking neighbors's window
Comments (15)I didn't say it was the best choice, only that it shouldn't be discounted solely because of its reputation as being an overly aggressive spreader. The OP expressed an interest in it but was concerned because of that reputation. And there are a number of species that are considered quite drought tolerant once established. Several Bay area nurseries grow and recommend them. Any plant grown in planters or containers - drought tolerant or not - is going to require supplemental irrigation. That is just the nature and physics of container culture. Plants established in the ground present a far different situation. And establishment takes more than a single growing season in any case. Planting now - in what could pass as your rainy season - will not guarantee any degree of establishment or drought tolerance for the coming summer months. There are literally dozens of plants that could work in this situation. I've attached a link on California waterwise planting that includes several rather good lists that also include a lot of native choices. I will say that based on my experience (and I've gardened and designed in SoCal as well as in the PNW, a repeating summer drought area), some of these plants are not nearly as drought tolerant as others. But it does make a good starting point. Just scroll through the nonsense at the top of the link until you get to the plant lists. Here is a link that might be useful: California drought tolerant planting...See MoreSmall bush plant spreading...?
Comments (12)Interesting and sincerely thank you for the link. Please don't take the following in any way personally, just my unmitigated disgust that I pay for the USDA FS. I always thought that EI was benign. Then again, before reading A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, I thought that the Forest Service was as well... Anything with their logo on it makes my gorge rise: "About 240 million acres of America's forests are owned by the government. The bulk of this - 191 million acres, spread over 155 parcels of land - is held by the U.S. Forest Service under the designations of National Forests, National Grasslands, and National Recreation Areas. The Forest Service is truly an extraordinary institution. A lot of people, seeing that word forest in the title, assume it has something to do with looking after trees. In fact, no - thought that was the original plan... In fact, mostly what the Forest Service does is build roads. I am not kidding. There are 378,000 miles of roads in America's national forests. That may seem like a meaningless figure, but look at it this way - it is eight times the total mileage of America's interstate highway system. It is the largest road system in the world in control of a single body. The Forest Service has the second highest number of road engineers of any government institution on the planet. It is the avowed aim of the U.S. Forest Service to construct 580,000 miles of additional forest road by the middle of next century. The reason that the Forest Service builds these roads, quite apart from the deep pleasure of doing noisy things in the woods with big yellow machines, is to allow private timber companies to get to previously inaccessible stands of trees.... Eighty percent of its leasing arrangements lost money, often vast amounts. In one typical deal, the Forest Service sold hundred-year-old lodgepole pines in the Targhee National Forest in Idaho for about $2 each after spending $4 per tree surveying the land, drawing up contracts, and, of course, building roads. Between 1989 and 1997, it lost an average of $242 million a year - almost $2 billion all told, according to the Wilderness Society." (P.46-48) Here is a link that might be useful: Forest Service...See MoreHow close can I plant my dward holly bushes?
Comments (11)Thanks for the replies! The plants I'm thinking of getting are about 2ft wide. Do you think I could leave just 6 inches in between them? I really want them to close together quickly, but I don't want the rootballs to be so close together that they can't get enough nutrients etc. I'm concerned that we are goign to go through all this work and then they'll never merge if we put them very far apart. I see so many in the neighborhood that were meant to be a hedge but instead are just little balls next to each other and I dont want mine to look like that. Thanks! Kim ps. if you guys have any alternatives. I'm looking for something that will form a dense hedge, preferably prickly to discourage the dogs and it must be evergreen....See MoreBushes blocking risers...
Comments (2)What kind of Risers ?? .. Copper pipes ! This was an older practice back east ... It is really not necessary to water most shrubs from above .. in fact ... it could cause problems for many plants. Roots absorb water so irrigating the ground is much more water efficient then trying to spray over your tallest shrubs. If your system was installed in the seventies .. ( I started installing systems in the late seventies ) ... I'll wager you would benafit from some water saving renovation. Call a pro to look over the situation. Good Day ......See More
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4 years agoibarbidahl
4 years ago
whgille
4 years ago
dirtygardener
4 years agolinda_leaf _z10a_southwest_fl
4 years agocpartist
4 years agoibarbidahl
4 years ago
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