Need privacy landscaping input! (zone 5)
We just took out a large hemlock that was too close to the house, but was providing much-needed screening from the second floor of the nearby house next door. We are planning to rebuild the fence (which is in bad shape and also got damaged when the tree was removed from that corner), but I want to grow a small tree or two and put in other landscaping that will help our backyard have more privacy. Given that we're not using the yard much in the winter, deciduous is okay, but I'm also open to a mix of deciduous and evergreen.
Ideally I'd love something fast-growing to 20-25', pretty year-round, with a layered branching canopy, and native to New England. And that will give us ample screening in the yard from the house next door (fortunately, we don't have upstairs windows on the north side of the house, and only 1 downstairs). This is probably an impossible combo to find, but I'd love to get any suggestions.
I had been thinking perhaps dogwood (Stellar Pink) as the primary tree for that corner, but am concerned it may not get large enough and the spot may be too sunny. I considered Eastern Redbud, but am reading that they don't last well. I thought about a river birch (Dura-Heat), but am reading that they drop a lot of branches and leaves, and may not hold up well under snow loads. Another idea I've had is Autumn Brilliance serviceberry. Does anyone have experience with that one? I'm sure there must be other good ideas for something that will work well in that corner, and relatively close to our house.
The area between the existing small birch (which is under a maple, see pic #2) to the fence corner is now in sun most of the day, at least in summer. The exposed length of the fence (which also had an overgrown viburnum until a few days ago) is at the north side of our property and just east of the house. So the house is creating some shade for that corner in the mid-late afternoon, or at least will be when it's not the height of summer. I am intending to do some layered underplanting, but want to get my tree(s) figured out first.
Any and all input would be much appreciated.Thanks in advance!
Comments (23)
PROPatricia Colwell Consulting
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoRachel thanked Patricia Colwell ConsultingRelated Discussions
Backyard landscape designs: need input
Comments (5)I'm not qualified to answer any drainage questions, but just going by aesthetics I like design 1. However I have some comments. The square veg/herb patch (far right in the pic) is about 10x10 ft and you probably need a path or some stepping stones, some way to work within that garden. Ditto for the round veg garden. If you are in zone 9 California, does that sunroom get too much sun and would it make sense to put some kind of arbor on the outside of it (where you have "walkway" indicated on the drawing), or a shade tree? My mom has a sunroom in zone 8 Mississippi and she had to put awnings on the windows, it got too much sun. A comment about wisteria, I believe there are several kinds, but the one I am familiar with here in the south will take down even a large sturdy arbor in a few years. So you might want to investigate and be sure if you plant wisteria it is appropriate for the size, strength of your arbor. One more thing, in design 1 the retaining wall comes all the way around the oval veg garden and that has its pros and cons. It encloses the patio and could provide seating, but it might make access to the gardens difficult and also obstruct the view, if you want to see the gardens, or maybe you want to keep that part of the gardens out of site? Very ambitious plans, and I bet it will be outstanding when you're all done. Laurie...See MoreBamboo for privacy in zone 5/6
Comments (4)Arundinarea gigantea is hardy to about -10F, which means it suffers aboveground damage above that temp, and completely dies at or below that temp. There are hardier bamboo, like P. nuda (a runner) and some of the Fargesias (which are clumpers). If you are in Zone 5/6, it would be good to find out the species that does well there, because there aren't many that will stay evergreen in your low temps. Below is a link to someone who grows a lot of bamboo in Zone 6. You can get an idea from this link of what suffers the least in thar area. Here is a link that might be useful: Zone 6 bamboo...See MorePrivacy Trees For Zone 5 (US)
Comments (3)How many stories to the new house - that is, how high will you need to block? In choosing plants, height and width should be considerations as should the formality of the look you want and whether it needs to be year-round or just in warmer weather when you are more likely to be out-of-doors. If you have deer, Thuja isn't a good choice since they are likely to be browsed in winter. You might want to look at the work of Deborah Silver, a Detroit area designer who keeps a blog, particularly if your zone 5 is in the midwest or Great Lakes area. Here's a search of her blog, Dirt Simple, with the term privacy. She uses a combination of shrubs, trees, and occasionally fences in often tight spaces to add privacy to the landscapes she designs. If you have the space, a combination of deciduous trees and evergreen shrubs might work for you....See MoreNeed help filling landscaping gap in privacy screen, please! :) Zone 5
Comments (3)"... Goldspire Ginkgo, very columnar variety that is yellow in the fall and should mature to 14' - 16 tall and 5' - 6' wide." Oooh ... I don't think that's gonna happen. It will become much larger. Whenever size information comes from selling sources, it's 100% of the time going to be wrong. And they're stating a size after only a few years of growth, where the tree will not stop. Figure at least double size of whatever you're told. A fat clump of lilac in the tree form sounds like a great solution to the back right bed. You need some groundcover there, too. consider lily of the valley (so long as there's shade.) It does great there. Gotta be some Hosta somewhere, too. And daylilies in the sun. (From DeKalb originally.)...See MoreRachel
2 years ago
Olychick
2 years agoOne more: I like how they filled in the space under the arbor with hanging plants to add to the privacy and allow some shade plants to be grown there.
Rachel
2 years agoOlychick
2 years ago
fissfiss
2 years agoYour garden is really wonderful, with all that stonework out back! I garden in Southern Maine, which is the cold part of Zone 5, and have spent 20 years trying to avoid looking at the neighbors. A garden is supposed to provide a sense of enclosure! With afternoon shade, a dogwood should be fine…I have a Korean dogwood, Cornus kousa, which blooms a month later than the native dogwood, Cornus florida. It is also not affected by spot anthracnose, which can plague Cornus florida varietals. There are some unicorn evergreens out there, but they do tend to be pricey. I would suggest a dwarf Korean fir varietal called Silberlocke….it is the tall one in the first picture, and there is a group of three in the second picture. That’s fifteen years of growth that you see. Wisteria on a VERY sturdy arbor could also be beautiful.
Rachel thanked fissfiss
djacob Z6a SE WI
2 years ago
Nancy R z5 Chicagoland
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Olychick