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help with front garden screening

KLKL Posts: 115
in Garden design
Hi, I'm struggling to decide what's best way forward for my front garden, I want to plant an evergreen tree where the shrubs are now beside the van to give my living room window more privacy from the houses across the road and remove existing front row hedge for something nicer and also evergreen. im currently living with the tall shrubs against the wall as although unsightly they are doing a good screening job.

Would anyone have any ideas on how and what I could use for this remembering that they must be evergreen.

the first picture is from upstairs bedroom and second from the living room. Im not bothered about upstairs it was just to give a better perspective 

Posts

  • hogweedhogweed Posts: 4,053
    You will not need to go evergreen for your tree - even a deciduous tree will break up the sightlines enough - but any tree will take 5-10 years to reach a useful height. 
    'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    I think yew or beech make lovely hedges...and the photos remind me once more how much of an afterthought landscaping is for all the mass housing builders. Could be a major plus if it was designed with more care and knowledge. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Taller shrubs or a tree planted closer to the boundary (like your next-door neighbour has) might do a better job of screening from the houses across the road while not blocking too much light from your window.  Also bear in mind that height often comes with width so anything big where the two little shrubs are might impinge on your parking space (I can't see how wide it is but the van is parked pretty close).  If it was me I'd probably go for some nice tall house plants inside the window, just because I like them.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • KLKL Posts: 115
    just had a quick google of the yew and beech hedges, I really like the purple beach. 
  • KLKL Posts: 115
    Jenny- the tall shrubs are in my garden before the wall,  the drive is 2 cars + in width.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I meant a tree like your neighbour has, or tall shrubs near the boundary. As you have a wide drive you could put something tall next to the van, but it would probably only screen from the houses towards the left, not the ones directly opposite or further right.
    You could replace the front hedge with purple beech. It's deciduous but tends to hold it's dead leaves until the new ones start to grow (which is why it's also called copper beech).  Check that you like how it looks in winter as well as summer.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • KLKL Posts: 115
    Ok Jenny I understand now. Im thinking of going the purple beech route for the front hedge after looking at a few pics online. Any idea of when would be a suitable time to remove the existing shrubs and plant the beech hedge ?
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Pot-grown plants could be planted any time but they'll settle in better if you wait until Autumn. If you go for bare-root plants (much cheaper) you'll only be able to get them when they're dormant (but suppliers will probably take orders earlier).
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    I wonder if you can see into the windows of the houses opposite? Just a thought, because it's the idea that somebody can see into your rooms that some people find bothersome, rather than the reality.  Most of us are living in fairly cramped residential streets these days, so it's a matter of just accepting the situation rather than letting it bug you. 
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • KLKL Posts: 115
    Yes very clearly when it’s a bright day or the lights are on but it’s more the fact I’m lower down and they are looking in from a higher level. 
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