Advice on tree to block neighbours overlooking window

Hello all. This is my first post (apart from my post saying hello )

We have just moved in to a new property in Devon. At the bottom of the back garden there is a house with a first floor window overlooking us. I'm looking for a tree to plant which will screen the window. It would have to be evergreen so it blocks the window all year.

Also at the bottom of the garden is a yew tree and another tree that I do not know the name of.

I've attached a photo of the end of the garden and the neighbouring house.

Does anyone have any thoughts as to what I could plant?

When you look out of the back doors down the garden, the neighbouring house really draws your eye, so any other general ideas on how I can disguise the house would be appreciated!

Thanks
David




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Leylandii......

 

Hiya David...Hmmm that looks a difficult one as anything planted too close to the boundry could land you in bother over time with roots affecting their property.It's maybe not so bad in the summer when the trees are in leaf ,don't know if it's possible but nearer your house if you have a patio you could maybe put a trellis up and grow some nice scented climbers to make your seating area more private.Not sure I've explained that very well but I know what I mean

 

Hi David, I posted pictures of the very small garden I adopted- it's overlooked but three storey houses at the back so my priority was to create privacy and quickly. I opted for black bamboo (much less invasive than other forms and puts its strength into growing upwards) and eucalyptus. Eucalyptus is great- evergreen, relatively fast growing, beautiful silvery leaves. Some people are concerned that they get out of hand but I think they are worth the potential maintenance. I'm much more fond of them than conifers too. Hope that helps, it looks like you have got a lovely plot.

Here's how mine is coming on:

http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/my-garden-project.83624/

Also the great think about Eucs are that they still grow (at a slower rate) over the winter months when other trees don't.

 

How do you get along with the people living in the overlooking house? It might be worth discussing with them about it if you want to remain on good terms with them as any large tree you put in there will inevitably block light to that window and spread roots into their property. Just a thought.

 

Hi. In a similar vein......there is a privet hedge between me & (nosey) next door. It's on their side and while I was away a few weeks ago they trimmed it - by 2ft! So now they have a clear view into my conservatory and back bedroom ....unfortunately I am now confronted by their conservatory when I look up.
Is there anything tall which I could plant along my side which would grow, bearing in mind that the privet roots will have spread across my side?
Hope I haven't gatecrashed this thread.

 

Hi all - thanks for the replies. I did think about a eucalyptus, as I have a tradition of planting one at each house I move to!

However I wasn't sure if the foliage would be dense enough? Can I take the top off when it gets to the required height so it gets more bushy?

Because of the other trees either side, is there a variety that is narrower than others?

Thank you!

Ps. We have not met the neighbours yet, only seen them out the window!


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Agree with Shiney re Eucalyptus and personally I would steer clear of the dreaded Leylandii as it/they will branch out into both your and neighbouring garden and do not respond well to being pruned hard back. Ok it/they would made a dense screen but often start to cause troubles between neighbours and you've only just moved there! From the photo it looks as tho you have a substantial Betula Jacquemontii and something else which will give you pretty good screening in the summer months which presumably is when you want the screening rather than during the winter. Eucalyptus Gunnii is fast growing (I have 3) all of which survived the very cold winters of 2009/10 and 2010/11 much to my amazement. They respond well to being hard pruned and are all together a much more neighbour friendly tree. If you decide to go down the Eucalyptus root don't be tempted to buy very big plants and check what you buy isn't pot bound. They are best bought quite small as are shallow rooted in comparison to many other trees and if pot bound when purchased often don't flourish. I was given 2 Gunnii by a neighbour who had grown them in pots. They had got too big for her needs and she gave them to me. I took them out of their pots and planted them in the garden, neither flourished or really grew much bigger so I eventually binned them.

 

Oh I was half way through writing my post when you had posted and I didn't see it. Yes you can prune it/take the top off to make it bushier. Not sure if 1 variety is narrower than another but you could always prune to keep narrow. How dense do you need the screen to be?! When we moved to our current home there was a 12ft off high hedge of OMG Leylandii right around a summer house. Upshot zero sun got to said summer house. We puzzled as to why hedge was even there as we have no neighbours within a good 1/2 mile of us altho we do have the road which is single track and carries oooh all of about 10 cars a day! then decided the previous owner might have been keen on making blue movies!!!!

 

Hi, thanks for all your replies

Sounds like Eucalyptus is my best bet. I did look at some at the garden centre at the weekend but they were about 6ft tall and didn't look very healthy. I'll have to do some searching as to where will be a good place to buy a decent one here in South Devon.

Silu - when you say don't buy a very big plant, what would you class as very big? I'd like to get away with getting something as big as possible just so it grows to the required height a bit quicker (yes, I'm impatient! )

Thanks

 

Think I'll go for eucalyptus as well. Does it have to be planted in the ground or would it be ok in a big pot?

 

They become potbound really easily and don't like having their roots restricted so the tree won't reach the height you may want.

 

Don't forget that eucalyptus trees when they get going can eventually reach 100 ft (30.5 meters)and as one of my village friends found out they don't like strong winds so she had quiet large branches break off when we have been hit by the tail end of hurricane that hit our country

 

davver79 have a look at this link grafton-nursery.co.uk They have loads of info on the subject. Personally I'd go for something about 3 to 4ft and have a good check that the specimen's roots aren't spiralling around it's pot. They grow really quickly so your small specimen won't be very small within a couple of years. The 3 I planted in my garden were about 3ft. God knows how tall they are now, about 10 years on, but they're tall! I reckon mine would be a good 10ft taller than your neighbour's chimney!