This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Ready For A Fresh Start
musk8man
Posts: 2
Newbie here hello all. After living here 6 years Im finally getting round to landscaping the garden into a space where all the family can enjoy. As you can see I have completely cleared it (excuse the digger in the way!) but left a few plants in place (including my acer you can just see starting to come out on the right).
My first dilemma is to create privacy for myself and the neighbors facing me over the other side of that wall at the end of the garden. Right in front of that wall actually lies the sewer drain approx 1m below the surface. It was actually the original back alley way that the local council unadopted and the residents have taken over it over the years.
So I was after some advice really for a suitable plant with which primarily has a shallow root system and is fast growing in its infancy. If I had free choice, ideally it would be evergreen and dense enough to create a reasonable privacy. The soil type is quite "clayey" but it has had a wealth of plant life before it was cleared including several acers, a vine, wysterias, and yukkas.
So yes, any advice would be gratefully received!
Thanks
Mike
My first dilemma is to create privacy for myself and the neighbors facing me over the other side of that wall at the end of the garden. Right in front of that wall actually lies the sewer drain approx 1m below the surface. It was actually the original back alley way that the local council unadopted and the residents have taken over it over the years.
So I was after some advice really for a suitable plant with which primarily has a shallow root system and is fast growing in its infancy. If I had free choice, ideally it would be evergreen and dense enough to create a reasonable privacy. The soil type is quite "clayey" but it has had a wealth of plant life before it was cleared including several acers, a vine, wysterias, and yukkas.
So yes, any advice would be gratefully received!
Thanks
Mike
0
Posts
What aspect is the wall? That will have an effect on plant choices.
Having said that I think it would be a shame to cover that wall entirely. Also - having that drain quite close to the wall, I think it would be wise to leave a bit of space there - in case access is needed.
A good way of screening is to put a structure part of the way down the garden. That means you can also have smaller plants than if you put them right against the wall. If you look at the right hand side of the other garden, you can see that they have a pergola which will also give great privacy for eating and sitting.
You can also do screening on a diagonal, which will give lots of little private areas, and you can use those according to time of day for the sun etc.
The screening can be a simple trellis on posts structure with climbers, or it can be walls, or it can be hedging, depending on your preferences, your time for maintenance and your budget.
It also means you can have designated areas for children, washing, working areas [compost bins etc] and storage, and they won't really visible from the house.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
as you face the wall (as shown) you're facing west. It would get the sun until mid-late afternoon. Yes I actually saw an example of what you mean on another post, its a good idea, but that wall is nearly 6ft to the top so any shrub/climber will take some time to get up there but I suppose thats the reality I probably have to face.
Any particular species you would use thats not going to cause problems with the drains?