Screening suggestions

I've just rejuvenated a section of my garden that what piled with rubbish when I bought the house. This year I've planted it with mainly shrubs and a couple of small fruit trees. Hopefully it will look nice once it gets going and fills out. I want to screen off the unsightly back of my neighbour's outbuildings. I was thinking some evergreen shrubs about max 8 ft tall. I've got my eye on a ceanothus at least but wondering what other suggestions you might have. NOT slow growers please as I'm impatient to get the eyesore a bit disappeared!

Here's a not very good pic to give an idea.

Thanks

 

russian vine

just joking! ... perhaps look at an evergreen creeper that grows fast? ...or you could plant bamboo, but will need to use a root barrier

ceanothus takes a few seasons to get tall and the ceanothus concha that I have planted recently only grows to approx 2m high ....

 

Russian vine - thanks pal for suggesting that I don't want anything 'attached' to the next door walls just nice quick growing evergreen loveliness. Not a tall order or anything LOL

Yes the bamboo is an option as I like those and there are some nice clump formers I'll look at. Bit expensive though for an instant cover but I might be tempted.

 

You could have a sort of mixed informal hedge to hide it, ie a row of evergreen shrubs, eg:

Elaeagnus x ebbingei - evergreen and fast growing but easily trimmed to shape
Good old Laurel - some people find it boring but it grows quickly and the birds love nesting in it
Escallonia Iveyi
Osmanthus x burkwoodii
Viburnum tinus.

Would depend on the aspect as to what would grow best there.

 

Ceanothus 'Zanzibar' (yellow leaf with a green centre) in my experience is very fast growing if it's in a position it likes..

Others worth a look are Portuguese Laurel, Viburnum Tinus, Garrya, Photinia, Eleagnus, Mahonia to name a few :thumb:

 

It's a difficult one as he needs something that grows very fast ... most shrubs etc will take a few seasons to grow to the height required

as an example: Elaeagnus x ebbingei was planted at one of my client's homes 2 1/2 years ago .... when planted, it was approx 750mm high and the cost from a garden centre was close to £15 if my memory serves me right ....

first year, it never done much ... and it has now it has grown approx 500mm since planted 2 1/2 years ago .... and is not even 6 foot high yet (and it is regullarly watered and fed)

creepers are out of the question, as he does not want to grow anything against the wall or building ....

however ...

a few 2m-2,5m high posts ... wood or galvanised posts can be erected at 2,5m apart and 400mm away from the boundry .... some galvanized wire strands can be used for support for the creepers ...

I have seen this at one of the properties I work at ... and will be fairly cheap and easy to erect

I would personally take this route if I wanted to hide the wall and fence in a quick time, and if the neighbour objected to me planting anything directly against the wall and fence ...

a mixture of evergreen and decidous fast growing creepers will be the best option IMHO

bamboo would look great, but as mentioned, rootbarriers should be used (even if it is clumping bamboo), and decent sized bamboo does not come cheap

 

Those are all good suggestions. Give me something to ponder over the next few months. I do like the idea of a mixed hedgy type look which would fit in with the rest of the garden. Shall let you know how things develop ...

Thanks all.

 

Dear Fens, be weary, the backs of your neighbours structures are not yours to use as climbing frames without specific permission, irrespective of the plants involved. If you want an ‘instant effect’ put up a fence of your own that suits you. Otherwise select plants that are free standing to plant close to the border. Quick growing climbers may cover the view within a year or two, but remember that you would be legally responsible for the continued growth and they won’t stop once it is covered.

 

Fens, evergreen shrubs, by their very nature, are slow growing. 2 suitable "wall" shrubs are Escallonia and Pyracanthus.

 

Two options spring to mind. Both grow at alarming rates.

Willow. You can get a hybrid one, specially bred for fast vertical growth. Look up 'willow fedge' or 'living willow' in your favourite search engine.

Buddleja. Quite probably even faster than the willow, and once it gets its roots down (within the first year of planting), you can expect 8ft of growth in under a year. It grows so fast that the standard approach to looking after it is to cut it right down in early spring and let it start again from scratch, and it will be back to 6ft plus by mid summer the same year, and will keep going as long as you let it, up to maybe 10ft I think.

 

All those I've mentioned are ones which I have planted out myself this year. The Elaeagnus x ebbingei is by far the fastest growing in my garden, but as others said, it depends what position you are going to plant in (they do like a sunny aspect).

If you look at http://www.shrubsdirect.com they sell plants of different sizes so you could buy a fairly large plant.

 

Shrubs Direct are a great nursery, never ordered from them online but I have been when they open their Nursery to the public at selected times throughout the year under 'Grasslands Nursery' - fantastic choice of trees, shrubs and perennials at very reasonable prices :thumb:

 

I would also go with the good old Buddlea - so pretty and soooo fast to grow!

 

You could use that screening that comes on a roll and plant something in front of that. Maybe on an arch or obelisk.