Desperately need ideas for trees/bushes screening at fence

[MoominUnderWater]

Against the fence. Needs to be evergreen and taller than the fence for privacy. I had been thinking about something like pleached bare stem laurel trees for height but they’re expensive!

there will be large sheds going in both corners but would like something to bridge the gap in between and possibly behind the sheds if I feel the sheds aren’t tall enough for privacy

I’m no gardener at all so something easy to keep alive

Photinia red robin are good value. You can get standard versions which will puff out and fill between gaps at that height. Lovely red foliage on the new growth.

Why not alternate with a deciduous like a betula jacqmontii which will let in light in the winter?

Photinia. Not too expensive, grows quite quickly and you can chop it back as much as you like so it doesn't encroach to much.
There's the standard Red Robin version but I've got a few variants. One is called Pink Crispy. The leaves are variegated pink/red, green and cream and frilly edged.
Pretty bomb proof.

Bay tree is pretty cheap and will grow quickly.

be aware that having a row of tall evergreen trees might come under 'high hedges' rules and not be allowed. you might want to have a mix of evergreen and deciduous trees - that will look better and be permitted.

i'd have bay tree - crab apple - red robin - cherry tree for example.

ideally, plant them in the early autumn so they have time to make roots before winter but don't get dry in the heat of august.

Clematis or other climbers and a trellis?

Thanks, the photinas look ideal.

I think putting a few good sized trees in to break up the edge of the garden might work better? It will draw the eye up and away from the fence and make the garden feel bigger. Then add some shrubs at the bottom to make it greener.
What sort of trees do you like? Cherry trees, crab apple and rowan are all beautiful in different seasons and good for wildlife, so flowers, berries and lovely autn foliage. And none of these will get too big for the garden.
I would wait till autumn to plant because otherwise you will have to water like crazy over the summer or the trees will die.

Don't forget that whatever you end up planting, you will need to get access for pruning etc.
If you plant right up against the fence, you will have to ask your neighbours for access or accept that they may hack away at overhanging foliage. If you bring them into your property slightly, you can get behind and control the management of the foliage.

I have an elevated hedge of prunus caucasica grown down the drive to block an unsightly view. The (bare) trunks are maybe four feet tall, roughly to the top of the boundary wall, and as they’ve thickened out, they do a great job of screening. However, they were expensive, it’s difficult to grow much underneath them, and although they’re evergreen, they drop leaves when stressed in dry weather, and those leaves are leathery and don’t break down. Also there’s no neighbouring garden on the other side, so no issue with blocking light etc.

Definitely. I don’t want stuff overhanging the fence. I had thought about pleached trees due to this but they’re expensive seem more expensive than non pleached.

the not planting till autumn advice is good. Wouldn’t have crossed my mind.

Pleached trees are great but will still grow out if left so you need to leave a bit of space to get behind them.

We were going to plant a row of them at the bottom of our garden but at the best part of £500(ish) each were were a bit hesitant (needed between 6-8).
Glad we didn't as we lost one of the trees we did plant (turned out to be too boggy) but the hedging (and replacement tree) are now doing really well and approaching the required height.

How quickly do you want the area to be screened and how much pruning are you prepared to do? If you want height instantly, it will be expensive.

I’ve planted a border of evergreen plants as hedging and the quickest to grow are the Cherry Laurels, although I’ve got a marbled version too which gives a bit of contrast. I think they will need most pruning though. Photinias are the next fastest growing but I’ve also got a Fairy Magnolia that’s growing about a foot a year, and some spotted laurels but they are slow. Eleagnus and Choisya will not grow as tall but will do provide more colourful interest. Griselina, Garrya Eliptica and Mahonia will also grow to a reasonable height but take longer.

If you look at climbers on a trellis rather than shrubs, Clematis Armandii, Trachleospermum and Lonicera Henryii are evergreen. There will be others but these are just off the top of my head. RHS Plantfinder is really useful to pinpoint plants for your garden conditions.

I’d also consider Yew or Beech (which isn’t evergreen but keeps its leaves if you prune at the right time). If you are prepared to wait till the tail end of the year, you’ll be able to consider bare root or rootball plants too.

Someone might suggest bamboo as a quick solution but I’d be very wary about what I was planting and where I bought it from as sometimes plants get mislabelled.

I bought bareroot Hornbeam from a firm on the internet. It was the cheapest way to have some privacy for my garden. It has taken three years for my hedge to grow really quite thick, to a height of seven feet. I only need to trim it twice a year. Bareroot every time for me. Good luck.

Best way to give your plants a good start is to dig the flower bed as deep as you can and turn the soil over, dig in some fresh compost and some bonemeal about a month before you plant. If you buy a tall plant do put a stake in to hold it firm.

How deep are you going to make the borders? Do you need ideas for lower plants as well because Hebe, Euonymus, Potentilla’s are all good plants to fill in at the base of bigger shrubs plus they are colourful and don’t lose their leaves.

Are the posts wood or concrete? I just had to cut back the climbers because the weight was pushing the fence over and the posts had split at the bottom. They had to be repaired. It was my fence but the neighbour always shared the cost.

Please do not spend it on tall trees. They are a nightmare to control. They are very expensive to keep in check, and you would have to plant them a few feet away from the fence, as the branches will push into it. I know to my cost. I can put pics on here of my neighbour's trees.

If you can possibly afford it, buy arches and put them in front of the fence. You can grow climbing plants like clematis and roses - wysteria, beautiful climbing plants, honeysuckle, so many and some are evergreen. They will grow up the arches easily, and you can control them away from the fence if you want to so that the weight doesn't damage the fence.

It may seem expensive, but try it. The more you pay for an arch, the longer lasting it is. Agriframes last forever, but some of the cheaper ones are good too. Make sure you visit a centre where they have a good selection and you can buy an arch which supports whatever you decide to grow up it.

It will cost at least one arch for each panel. If you do decide to do this - actually it applies to anything you grow, have the builder cut piping - central heating piping will do, and put a length with all the plants you plant. When it is dry, you just put water into the pipe and it goes straight to the roots and doesn't dry in the sun on the surface.

Some helpful suggestions on here.

The posts are concrete.

the screening is more to do with gaining extra height rather than screening the actual fence as such.

so until recently we had a high conifer hedge there which was probably 8-9ft high. Fence is 6ft panels with a concrete kicker strip so slightly over 6ft. But from my bedroom I can now see straight into the neighbours living room bay windows and he can stand in his living room window and/or garden and see me in my bedroom. That’s what I need to prevent.

im not sure if I add trellis to the top of the fence or not or if that makes the fence too high. From a legal/planning pov.

Would you consider black, clumping bamboo? We have it against the fence and it doesn’t spread and needs very little pruning, maintenance. Provides good cover.

we put in non spreading bamboo. It had lovely red stems. Within two years it was taller than the fence and completely blocked the neighbours house from sight. It was great to look at all the bamboo swaying in the wind, v relaxing! Never had any problems with it popping up anywhere else.

I used forsythia for this - grows quickly and I got cuttings from family so didn't need to pay for anything. Otherwise I'd go with PPS suggestion if a climber, but choose carefully for an evergreen version.

Somewhere on this website there is a diagram about how to position a tree or structure in a sight line to give you privacy without just having a lot of tall plants on the border. It may be on one of their YouTube videos. I remember seeing it some time ago but can’t find it immediately.

Thanks, will have a read.

Thanks for the bamboo suggestions, I didn't realise you could get non spreading stuff. It sounds nice but saying that I'd like something which has the added benefit of being good for birds and not sure bamboo would be any use/help.

Non spreading bamboo is a misnomer. All plants try to spread in some way, they'd die out if they didn't, and rhizomous root spread is quite common. "Clumping" bamboos spread in the same way as other bamboos but are a lot slower about it. Bamboos don't really support wildlife as you've realised so you'd probably be better sticking to the suggestions of mixtures of evergreen shrubs and small trees.