Landscaping Dilemma
31Mar09
Grassroots Modern reader Crystal recently asked, “How can we make our backyard private while still abiding by HOA standards of no fencing?” I suggested creating a natural wall, or a ‘privacy screen’, from plants – bamboo or a hedgerow. A hedge can be created from a number of plants, growing up to six feet tall depending on what you plant. They can also be as formal or informal as you like. Here’s a helpful link from About.com. Can anyone offer any other suggestions for Crystal? Types of plants, creative solutions, etc. Have any of you had a similar landscaping dilemma? How did you deal with it? As always, links and photos are helpful and appreciated!
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Our entire backyard is “fenced” in by the plant arborvitae – commonly called “arbor vites” at plant nurseries. I love love it – it is really tall (over 8 feet) and an evergreen (important here in MI) and dense. You can’t see any of the other back yards or houses thru it. Plus, we have a lot of cardinals nesting in it, which is nice.
The potted kind you buy are only a couple of feet tall, but I’ve read it grows pretty quickly. (I think I even read somewhere, a foot a year or more?) You can also buy much taller ones from landscaping places, but of course, that will cost more.
There are so many great options of tall grasses and native plants that could work so well as a natural screen. I would put a warning out regarding the bamboo however, it is beautiful, but out of it’s natural environment here in UT, and after time can be invasive.
I am actually a local landscape designer, my company is Dig, and I personally try to keep with natives such as service berry that has a small red berry that the birds eat up. It grows about 8-10 feet tall so it works really well when planted with other plants as a hedge. Hope this helps!
Those are great suggestions! Thank you for providing specific plants, as well.
Jessica – I’m not sure where Crystal lives, but that is a good thing to know about the bamboo. Do you have a website or any other links? I’d love to see some of your work!
I’m probably a day late and a buck short on this one, but you can also use yew, privit, or peking cotoneaster. Definitely stick with the style of your house- these three are a little more formal.
I just wanted to weigh in with another warning against bamboo.
My building at work (in Cleveland, incidentally) had a stand of bamboo that was used as cover for a break-in, so we went looking for information on how to kill it. The common answer we got was, “You can’t. The best you can do is hunt down the person who planted it and kill them.”
Bamboo is apparently very similar (or related) to grass, in that there’s really no central root system. A stand of bamboo is essentially one plant. Each root clump is connected to all the others, and they all have millions of tiny offshoots, so even if you dig up a clump, any of these rootlets can form the basis for a new plant. So bamboo tends to spread, and is very resistant to all kinds of plant-killer poisons.
So basically, once you’ve planted bamboo, you seriously will never get rid of it without literally getting a backhoe and digging up the entire area it was in.
Hey Capree, Very good point, always important to know what climate we are talking about. I assumed we were talking UT. Bamboo in UT doesn’t winter over so well, meaning it will begin to look scraggly from the cold, but this also slows down that plant’s spreading, and the un-attracitve winter kill can be cut out. The cultivars that grow here in UT wont grow as tall as the bamboo forests of Japan, and there are some ways to try to prevent spreading, but what Mike added is correct, once it is planted, it is impossible to get rid of. It spreads by rhizomes, like grass as Mike mentioned, so it’s roots (the rhizomes) move horizontally and are shallow – this helps with the spreading. At any rate – while I LOVE the look of bamboo, I don’t suggest planting it in the ground, but would say a planter is a great alternative.
I am working on a website currently, thank you for your interest! The link is dig-landscape.com, will have a link up to my blog from the website soon, where I will ramble on about rhizomes and things like that.
The business is just getting kicked off, with a focus on those that would like to do it themselves, but need some “hand-holding”, and an eye to contemporary & water wise design.
Anyone interested is welcome to email me, jbhadfield@hotmail.com or, again visit the website, in say, a week.
Wow, I didn’t realize quite how invasive bamboo is. Although, growing up we had some in our yard and I vaguely remember my parents cursing its existence. So, basically, “planter or bust” then? Definitely good to know. Thanks, Mike and Jessica, for the additional info.
Tyson – Those are definitely good options. The yew tree seems like it would be pretty versatile as far as shaping/styling goes. Although I’ve always heard that it is incredibly poisonous. So maybe not a good option if kids and/or pets are around. Can anyone verify that?
Jessica – Looking forward to checking out the site when it’s all finished! I definitely think I fall into the “DIY with a bit of hand-holding” category. Just a little bit of guidance and a push in the right direction.
Love the ideas! Thx all + Grasroot Modern:) Would def. love to see any pics of past works! I think more and more communities in Utah are going to have this HOA rule which is both good + bad.
Crystal, would your hoa allow a screen? Lots of MCM houses had wood framed screens in front of windows or entries to block direct sunlight or around outdoor rooms for privacy. You see lots of examples in the old sunset books like these:
http://grassrootsmodern.com/2009/04/09/dig-modern/
http://ny-image0.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.63160388.jpg
http://totheweb.com/eichler/sideyard/images/r_sideyard_patio_jul04.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9zP3IJ2JXm4/SRY5Pncjs1I/AAAAAAAAANE/A39fKHUqLtw/s320/Eichler+Home.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7572167@N06/2883857112/
I don’t see how they could call this one a fence:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/garyjwood/275644014/