Privacy Ideas Needed Backyard
KLynn S
4 years ago
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Yardvaark
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agofunctionthenlook
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoRelated Discussions
Landscaping Ideas for Backyard - Privacy
Comments (148)I don't remember if I told you, but make a skimpy dashed line with the paint with the first walk through. Appraise the results and make corrections with a heavier dashed line. Appraise again and when you think it's right, go over it with a solid line. Depending how good you are about it, it can be fairly straightforward... or it can get messy. So take your time appraising it from many angles before making the corrections. If it gets really messy, a second, different paint color is useful. Once you get the line as you want it, mark it in some permanent way (cut with shovel?) as the paint will not last long. After a couple of weeks of weathering and mowings it may be so faded you can barely make it out. If you want the line reviewed, post a picture taken from a high elevation. I know you're making changes to the concept plan I showed you so I just want you to be thinking through the planting arrangements as you make the changes. Since you're doing this work yourself, I have the feeling you're going to become good at evaluating what you've done and the way things are fitting together... especially after you see a year's growth. Now that you're a transplant expert, you'll be able to make adjustments when you see some are needed. The hibiscus is more a shrub than "tree." It looks like something that should be within easy view of deck or pool area. Since you're new to so many plants and trying to save some $ by doing the work and putting this together over time, you might consider creating a temporary place where you plant various perennials that are under consideration...a regular perennial garden. You could collect plants with zero worry about what goes where, just stick them in. See how they do. Get to know them. You could place such a garden in any place that's not ready yet to be landscaped (so it's not in the way for a while.) As you evaluate plants, you can increase the stock of those you like. Some perennials multiply so rapidly that if you buy one, from it you can make all the others of that kind you need. If you do it, add 1/3 volume of peat moss to the planting soil so it is better to work in and better to grow things. Another thing I meant to mention, where you have like groups of plants (say River Birch) when it's all said and done you'll want these plants to match as though they came from the same family. It will not be pretty if one is a 5-trunk multi and another is a single trunker... and one branches as 8' above the ground, and another at 12 feet. They need to look like they're all from the same planet and got their hair cut at the same salon. What to do about it? This year, nothing. Just see what they do and try to make them as healthy and fast growing as possible. At the end of next winter, you'll want to do whatever pruning (before spring growth occurs) that's required to make them be matched. But never fear, even if it has to be severe, as long as they're healthy they'll bounce back and keep going....See MorePics/ideas of privacy screens with trees backyards?
Comments (14)It's obvious you are a very loving & responsible doggie owner and that's wonderful! I have 2 dogs that play in the yard everyday and only recently learned that my aloe vera, Azaleas, Hostas & cyclamin, Chrysanthemums & Ivy are toxic to dogs, yet I've had them in the garden for quite some time. My next door neighbor has an avocado tree that hangs over into my yard and it has never been an issue. My biggest worry mushrooms! But as far as a screen~ I'll chime in with my suggestion~ Dodonaea viscosa cv. purpurea (Purple Dodonaea). You can almost plant it and forget about it. They are evergreen, very drought tolerant and fast growers and do well in our zone. They can get really tall & wide but not invasive at all. They need to be kept pruned (about once a year or every other year)for desired size & shape and to look their best when they get older, but are super easy to prune since the branches are spread out. A few cuts and your done. I think it would be nice for a cottage style as well because they are very informal looking. Just make sure you don't plant them in an area where you have other plants that require a lot of water because over watering will kill it. I have one in a long deep planter that's built in to my deck (approx. 3'deep x 8' long x 12" depth) and give it about 2-3 feet around the roots where I don't water as frequently as I do for plants at the other end of the planter. If you dont like the purple, there is also the green variety. Here is a link that might be useful:...See MoreBackyard landscape ideas - big open grass lot & no privacy
Comments (24)"They [low priced nursery/garden center landscape designers] are used primarily as a marketing tool to sell plants, often very common or less desirable plants, and what you receive design-wise may be very substandard." My sentiments exactly. One would likely get the typical "builder's plan" ... the kind of problem prone landscape that everyone can't wait to redo as soon as possible. The forum is good for giving ideas about general direction to take, or spot problem solving ... but it does not produce PLANS, which are essential for a quality landscape product. One has the option of drawing their own plans if they are DIY oriented and feel competent about it. (They can get advice from the forum on the mechanics of doing it. ) If not, as in every other project, they must hire a professional. But landscaping without plan at all will probably result in something less desirable than a 'builder's plan.' The approach one takes for a back yard depends largely on one's goals and objectives. Some people want total privacy, as in a private paradise ... they don't want to see any part of neighbor's houses. Other people want a more open solution and prefer not to block much view between neighbors' yards. Still others want to block sight lines between theirs and neighbors' outdoor living spaces while keeping a feel of openness at other places. One needs to decide on their goals in order for a plan to shape up that would meet them. In nearly every discussion of creating a privacy border of some type comes the advice to avoid a uniform hedge. I would take this with a grain of salt because often, especially when space is at a premium, it may be the uniform hedge that best fills the bill. Many people here are plant loving "gardeners" and can't conceive of a planting that is not crammed with as much variety as possible. A potential downside to that is more labor in upkeep, more space consumption, and a busier look. If that fills the bill, no problem. But there are advantages to uniformity in potential space conservation, a cleaner look and simpler maintenance. Landscaping is not 'one size fit all.' Develop your goals and set about to see how they can be realized....See MoreNeed Privacy Ideas for Backyard
Comments (9)Landscaping a backyard for privacy means placing tall, screening shrubs near the offending property lines ... not close up to the house and patio. (There, you'd want to use low plants or overhead trees, or some combination thereof, between you and the view.) For the screening shrubs, you'd need to account for the varying light conditions, which means using a type of plant that can accept sun or shade, or using a variety of plants, each which accepts the conditions in which they are placed. Since you have a length of property to screen, it makes sense that you would place all the shrubs in a bed and keep them separate from the lawn. If you wished to incorporate any small tree forms in the mix, you might want to place groundcover below them instead of only mulch. (It's an opportunity for adding another element of interest. It could include groundcovers that bloom.) Since you want to screen the CL fence, too, it will be an L-shaped bed. If screening both CL fences, it would be U-shaped, following the fence and lot lines. The bed depth, front to back, should be sufficient to accommodate the shrub dimensions, which is going to be quite large ... so probably 8' or 10' depth. Understand that whatever ideas you are given and wish to contemplate, and possibly incorporate, need to be put in the form of a plan before you do any actual work. So prepare a base plan on which you can work out the ideas. You could begin that by tracing over a plot plan of your yard. If you don't have that, measure and draw out on graph paper....See MoreMy House
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoauntthelma
4 years agoKLynn S
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoRevolutionary Gardens
4 years agoLisette Mauch
4 years agoYardvaark
4 years agoKLynn S
4 years agoEvelyn Gorfram
4 years agoEvelyn Gorfram
4 years agoPatricia Colwell Consulting
4 years agoEvelyn Gorfram
4 years agofunctionthenlook
4 years agol pinkmountain
4 years agoKLynn S
4 years agoJay Khun
3 years agoDonald
3 years agocolonel115
3 years ago
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