Quick tall screen needed

A 3 story building has been erected on previously open land at the back of my house. Despite promises, it is now clear that people in the building will be able to look straight into my garden and house so I need a screen that will block their view but still look reasonably attractive.

Garden faces west, soil is very poor - sandy and gravelly, dries out very easily. Tree roots at the bottom of the garden are unlikely to cause any problems, apart from making it more difficult to grow other stuff in the same bed. The existing fence is only 4 foot so not a lot of scope for climbers, unless I replace it.

What on earth can I plant that will romp away to about 25-30 foot fairly quickly? When I first moved in there was a row of leylandii there - I'm beginning to wish I hadn't dug them up.

Any suggestions gratefully received.

 

Now we see where leylandii gets its popularity from:wink:
Urban cramming.

25 to 30 ft is very high, surely it will create a lot of shade in your garden?

 

If it grows quickly, it will carry on growing. Conifers can get huge.
Leylandii cause no end of disputes between neighbours.
The law was changed a few years ago and an evergreen over 2 metres is now concidered offensive.
It is a real problem for you. How far is it from your house to your fence line?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4596685.stm

 

We currently have no shade at all, so that could be an advantage. Though the way the sun moves round means that we wouldn't get a lot of shade until mid to late afternoon. Probably enough shade to make it difficult to grow anything else nearby - exacerbated because the soil is already poor and would obviously be further depleted by socking great roots.

And to think I never thought I'd have a good word to say for Leylandii ...

 

Hmm..

What you really need is a cow and know someone who has some magic beans.

 

Oh yes please, a giant beanstalk would be ace. Though I have always had some difficulty in understanding how it held itself up without a similarly giant sized stake.

 

How far is it from your house to the fence line?
How long is the fence?

 

It's about 70-80 foot from house to back fence; and probably 40 foot long.

It's hard to think of anything that would grow quickly yet not be horrifically invasive. Had wondered about a birch (or two). We have a tall holly tree which would be a bit of a screen if it were in the right place but of course it isn't. If I had a few hundred years, I'd plant a few acorns.

 

Ah, the council - they were the ones who built it, promising the residents that they would not be overlooked. And hey ho, a simple trip round the new building showed that anyone in the building can look straight into our sitting and bedrooms. Clearly the promises did not make it into the spec for the builders and now the council are whingeing about the cost of correcting it (there's a recession on you know :hehe. They won't even put film over the windows (which apparently are not windows but 'curtain walling' - I thought curtain walls were what castles had ...).

 

Eucalyptus would get up that height, smartish, and would grow in those conditions and not make too much shade. But they do get a bad press for their root run - not sure how much of a problem they would be to you.
I had some in my last garden which was very big so root run wasn't a problem.
The trees got big very quickly but they were top heavy and a couple came down in a storm. They made great firewood.
See if you can get your local councilor to help but it's difficult to see what the solution is. Do you have that promise in writing ?

 

The promise was made verbally at a minuted meeting and then repeated several times in emails. It will be mega expensive to put right so I'm not holding out a lot of hope.

 

I Dont know if this is what your looking for but what about using Canopy,s in your garden, Look at the link, there,s some good idea's . sail shades or even Arbours with fast growing climbers, placed in the right part of your garden could work...

http://www.google.co.uk/search?clie...n+the+garden&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

 

I think your best bet is to keep on hassling the council; as John says, they work for us and there was a promised (with email evidence). Ignore their pleas and bleats about poverty and insist on proper privacy.

Leylandii aren't the way to go, honest. They might give privacy but do you really want the hassle of trimming them twice a year?