Privacy Screens
Fall Gardening Tips
Choose chrysanthemums in a variety of colors now. They are hardy perennials which will brighten your garden each fall. When blackberry vines are done fruiting, prune back the canes which bore fruit this summer. Twine young canes around the fence or trellis. Replace tired petunias with bright pansies, snapdragons, calendulas, and stock for garden color this fall and winter. Plant cover crops in areas of the garden that have finished producing for the summer. Crimson clover and fava beans will grow over the winter and enrich the soil for next year.
Fall is for planting! Trees, shrubs, and perennials planted now will grow twice as much next year as those planted next spring.
Plant a Little Privacy
Whether we live in the city or the country, we all need a certain amount of privacy, and sometimes plants can create a living fence or screen to serve that purpose. There are many reasons for screens: to separate you from neighbors, provide privacy from the road, reduce noise, hide undesirable views, block dust and pollutants, offer wind protection, frame desirable views, or create outdoor "rooms."
Evergreen shrubs and trees with foliage from the ground up are ideal, especially fast-growing varieties. When planning a screen, consider the needed height, width, and sun/shade exposure to choose plants that require minimal pruning.
Recommended Plants for Screens
- 6–8 ft hedges: Oregon grape, San Gabriel holly, and heavenly bamboo (upright, narrow screens with pruning).
- 8–12 ft screens: Photinia (bright red new growth) and waxleaf privet (can be pruned for density).
- Above fences: Photinia trees (8 ft tall with 5-ft trunks) or ivy (dense, evergreen cover for wire fences).
- Fast-growing options: Pyracantha (white flowers, red berries; requires pruning), Grecian laurel, English laurel, and oleander.
- Tall screens (15–20 ft): Leyland cypress (dense hedge in 5 years; plant 8 ft apart), arborvitae (e.g., Thuja ‘Smaragd’; plant 4–5 ft apart), incense cedar, and bay trees.
- Deciduous hedges (summer screening): Flowering quince (early spring blooms), Spiraea prunifolia (6 ft, white flowers), and forsythia (6–8 ft, yellow spring flowers).
Fall is an excellent time to plant evergreen shrubs for privacy and beauty.