Advice on planting tree for screening

Hi,

We have recently moved into a new house. As with most houses there is a compromise to be made and for us it is that are garden is overlooked by the house behind us. Not a big deal but I would like your advice on whether to plant a new tree to sit the middle of the two existing ones or instead, see if I could 'encourage' the existing trees to meet in the middle to provide the screening during the summer months.

Below is a link to a picture of the rear of the garden that will hopefully explain it a bit better.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jk013ergdom40ds/IMG_2092.JPG

The tree on the right is an apple tree, I am not sure what the one on the left is.

If I was to go down the route of planting a new tree, what would your recommendations be?

Thanks in advance.

 

Hi Burlington, The other tree looks like a plum. I doubt that fruit trees will give you much of a screen from the neighbours, so I'd plant an evergreen in the middle. Would need to know what sort of soil you've got, what your climate is like and what direction the boundary faces, to make recommendations. Just for a start, though, there's Eucalyptus, Magnolia grandiflora, Arbutus unedo, countless conifers.......

 

Thanks for the reply noisette47. I will take a look at some of the recommendations you have made. We live in Morecambe, North West England. So mild wet winters and summers at times can be similar, with an average summer temp of about 18°C.

The boundary fence runs south west.

I think ideally as you say I was looking at an evergreen, but if possible staying away from conifers.

 

Best thing to screen the houses would be a Pleached hedge (a hedge on stilts)

See pictures in this thread:
http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/...ng-out-overlooking-windows.31156/#post-412877

I would be a bit worried about how much soil there is in those raised beds, and whether it could support some "trees"

Trellis along the top of the fence and a climber might be another alternative. Evergreen Clematis (armandii) would be one option

 

It would need to be a fairly small tree or a tree shaped shrub.

If you want something which grows fast and spreads outwards as well, try an Elaeagnus x ebbingei

 

Eucalyptus aren't classed as small trees but they're fast growing, and can be cut at whatever height suits, when they re-grow from that point with lovely new, young foliage. E. gunni is very hardy and the only drawback that I can think of is that other plants don't grow well underneath them, but in Burlington's situation, that wouldn't be a problem!

 

I think the problem with a small tree is it will take 10 years to block the view ... and a big tree will do it in 5 and then be a problem once it becomes "a big tree" :(

Money-no-object then a instant/mature Pleach will solve the problem overnight!