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Home Renovations    -   Landscapping and Plants

      Privacy Please! Creating a Backyard Retreat

Are you feeling a little too close to your neighbours? Do their children sound like they're right in your backyard even when they aren't? Does having company for dinner mean you just open your curtains? If you're craving an oasis from the hustle and bustle of daily life it may be time to put up some walls-green, living walls that is.

Plants can be used to create a privacy fence and at the same time beautify your yard. Ideally, medium to tall height plants with dense foliage are best. You can choose from an array of perennial shrubs, miniature fruit trees, vines and flowering bushes. Here are some of your best bets:

Hop Vine: This vine will grow approx. 6 metres each year and should be planted at the base of lattice panels or a chain link fence. In no time the underlying structure will be covered by beautiful lush green vines and papery green cone flowers. It's also a great way to conceal an unattractive fence!

Leeland Cyprus: This species is considered the one of the fastest growing evergreens. Typically, nursery shrubs are one metre high and should be planted 1½ metres apart. In three years they should double in size!

Giant Cannis Bulb: Huge flowers top the tall stem of this exotic plant. It may not block out a lot of noise but it can add some colour to rest of your privacy fence, particularly if you've used lots of evergreen shrubs. This bulb requires some special preparation. Till a large rectangular spot, dig a hole at least 20 centimetres deep and add bone meal. Drop in the bulb and surround it with a mix of peat moss and mature compost. Regular fertilizing will reward you with large green leaves and brilliant flowers from spring until fall.


Bamboo
Now you can have tropical flare even in cold climates! Bamboo is not only very much in vogue these days, it grows rapidly and provides dense foliage. Varieties are available which range from 15 cm to 20 metres. These are particularly cold hardy:

Giant-Leaved Bamboo (indocalamus tessalatus)
This species has the largest leaves of any temperate bamboo-up to 60 cm by 10 cm. It reaches a maximum height of 2 metres, requires only partial sun and can survive as low as -6 Celsius.

Sasa Palmata
The palmata variety has a very tropical look-large leaves on a moderately tall plant (usually 2 metres). It is cold hardy to -2 Celsius and requires full sun.

Golden Grove (p. aureosulcata)
If you want a very tall privacy fence in a short time try this bamboo-it reaches a lofty 10 metres! It can also withstand temperatures as low as -4 Celsius.

The only downfall of bamboo is that it is very invasive. Be sure to give this plant plenty of space.

Lilac
Few plants are as fragrant as lilacs. Delicate purple, white or pink blooms grow on clusters so large they sag beneath their own weight. Heights vary from 1 to 3 metres so it's easy to find one to meet your space requirements.

Hemlock or Arborvitae evergreen Add a touch of green to your winter landscape with these particularly attractive evergreens. It is best to plant in early spring then fertilize approximately every 3 weeks during the rapid growth in the late spring and summer. You'll be able to enjoy backyard privacy in no time!

Japanese Snowbell (Styrax japonica)
This is a graceful small tree strewn with waxy white flowers in May or June. The fragrant blossoms actually hang down and away from the leaves, so they are quite visible. They are especially remarkable when viewed from below, so you might want to put a bench under yours. This horizontal-branching tree does not throw deep shade, so you can garden under it rather easily. Another bonus: It can take some shade. While not especially hardy (to -15° F.), it is just about free of all pests and diseases.

Fruit Trees
New hybrids of disease-resistant apple, cherry, or plum are available in a wide range of heights. In the spring, you can enjoy delicate pink and white blossoms then in summer and fall have fresh, organic fruit. If you buy a tree less than 1 ½ metre from a nursery it typically takes four years before any fruit will be produced.

"Green" privacy fences can also be an unobtrusive way to stake out your solitude. Traditional fencing can occasionally be interpreted as a sign to "keep out". Neighbours are much less likely to be offended by a fence which adds to the beauty of the neighbourhood. You may even want to talk to them before you start planting-they may be willing to lend a hand or a plant cutting or two!

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Glenys has answers to your questions and more professional tips to make your real estate transaction more pleasurable. Call or e-mail Glenys or click on "Ask Your Own Questions." Glenys can send you information on any Property Listed For Sale on the Multiple Listing Service in the Halifax area. If you would like her to help you locate a home, please fill out her Information Request Form. Surfing the Real Estate Board's web site or MLS.CA and found a house that you like but doesn't give you the civic address. Glenys can also help. Just fill out her Would like an address form, please ! Or perhaps you are considering selling your home in the near future, she can also offer you a Free No-Obligation Market Evaluation Form

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