What is a good privacy shrub
20 Fast-Growing Shrubs and Bushes for Privacy
Claire TakacsGetty Images
Don’t want to stare at that ugly block wall next door? Tired of seeing your neighbor taking out the garbage in his pajamas? Plants are the answer! If you don’t have years to wait around, no worries. From hydrangea bushes to lilac bushes and every evergreen in between, many attractive, fast-growing shrubs provide privacy, hide eyesores, and offer food and shelter for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife in a matter of a few seasons.
To ensure your shrub gets a good start, choose varieties that work in your USDA Hardiness Zone. Then dig a hole twice as wide and just as deep as the pot. Rough up the root ball with your hands a bit to help the roots spread out. Backfill the hole, but resist the urge to add peat moss or other organic matter. That’s an outdated practice that actually creates drainage problems (called the “bathtub effect”) which can stunt or kill the plant eventually. Just water and mulch your new shrub, and don’t let it dry out the first season as it gets established. Then enjoy the view!
Here are the best plants for privacy that typically reach their mature size within a few seasons.
1
Arborvitae
DEA/RANDOMGetty Images
Arborvitae are stately evergreens which come in many different heights, ranging from a few feet to 30 feet tall or more. Most don’t need shearing to maintain their shape.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 8
Varieties to Try: Green Giant, Spring Grove
SHOP NOW
2
Butterfly Bush
Neil HolmesGetty Images
Sometimes called summer lilac, this sturdy shrub with purple flowers withstands drought, blooms all season long, and attracts pollinators. Newer types are not invasive.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
Varieties to Try: Miss Violet, Miss Ruby
SHOP GARDEN SHEARS
3
Hydrangea
Benjamin Hietzig / STOCK4BGetty Images
Hydrangeas are one of the few plants that can be grown from coast to coast in most climates.
Some tolerate part shade, but most need a few hours of sun for best blooms. In the hottest regions, give them morning sun and afternoon shade so they don’t fry.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 10
Varieties to Try: Firelight, Monmar
SHOP NOW
4
Elderberry
Klaus HonalGetty Images
Late spring or early summer flowers and attractive foliage make this graceful plant attractive in a mixed border.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 7
Varieties to Try: Instant Karma, Lemony Lace
SHOP SHOVELS
5
Pyracantha
Christian HutterGetty Images
This vigorous shrub grows upright and boasts clusters of gorgeous fall berries that last well into winter.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
Varieties to Try: Graberi, Kasan
SHOP GARDEN BOOTS
6
Lilac
Michael DavisGetty Images
Beautifully-scented lilacs like plenty of sun, but give them a space between plants to let air circulate and reduce the risk of powdery mildew developing.
Some types are extremely cold-hardy.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 8
Varieties to Try: Lavender Lady, Angel White
SHOP NOW
7
Forsythia
Jonathan BuckleyGetty Images
You know spring has arrived when the bright yellow forsythia starts blooming! It’s a more moderate grower than some other shrubs but will still reach its mature height relatively quickly.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 9
Varieties to Try: Meadowlark, Spring Glory
SHOP FERTILIZER
8
Beautyberry
Dorling KindersleyGetty Images
Some types of this sun-loving, perennial plant have solid green or variegated green-and-white foliage, but the prettiest variety has dark purple foliage with masses of white blooms in late summer.
The real show is the purple berries in fall.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 8
Varieties to Try: Pearl Glam, Purple Pearls
SHOP NOW
9
Ninebark
Garden Photo World/David C. PhillipsGetty Images
This white-flowering native plant is a standout in the garden with its handsome burgundy foliage that lasts all season, topped with creamy white flowers in early summer. The plant is ultra-cold-hardy and has a elegant arching shape.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 7
Varieties to Try: Diablo, Summer Wine
SHOP NOW
10
Loropetalum
Joshua McCulloughGetty Images
Also called fringe flower due to its beautiful, showy blooms in shades of pink, white and purple, this graceful, vase-shaped shrub reaches maturity relatively quickly.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 7 to 9.
Varieties to Try: Snow Panda, Zhuzhou Fuchsia
SHOP MULCH
11
Viburnum
Jonathan BuckleyGetty Images
This beautiful evergreen shrub has interesting puckered leaves and pretty white fragrant flowers, followed by showy red fruit.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 8
Varieties to Try: Allegheny, Prague
SHOP PLANTERS
12
Dappled Willow
DEA / RANDOMGetty Images
The weeping stems of this shrub are pink, with mottled foliage of white, green, and pink. It’s spectacular when massed as a hedge for privacy.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 10
Varieties to Try: Hakuro Nishiki, Flamingo
SHOP NOW
13
Spirea
Harley SeawayGetty Images
This arching shrub boasts a mass of white flowers in spring and colorful orange or reddish foliage in fall.
Many types are cold-hardy.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 7
Varieties to Try: Renaissance, Grefsheim
SHOP GARDEN HOSES
14
Red Twig Dogwood
Gillian PlummerGetty Images
This multi-stemmed shrub has striking red branches that are stunning in the winter landscape, especially against snow. It’s cold-tolerant, too.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 2 to 8
Varieties to Try: Isanti, Sibirica
SHOP NOW
15
Crape Myrtle
Ngoc Minh NgoGetty Images
These heat-tolerant and elegant shrubs or small trees have vibrant purple, pink or white flowers in summer. Some varieties have eye-catching peeling bark.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 6 to 9
Varieties to Try: Tonto, Natchez
SHOP VASES
16
Serviceberry
Danita DelimontGetty Images
This shrub or small tree is prized for its beautiful orange-red fall color and clusters of white flowers that become deep purple fruits that the birds love.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 9
Varieties to Try: Glenform, Autumn Brilliance
SHOP BIRD FEEDERS
17
Mock Orange
Joshua McCulloughGetty Images
This fountain-shaped shrub with beautiful white flowers has a light citrusy scent and lush green foliage.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 7
Varieties to Try: Natchez, Belle Etoile
SHOP NOW
18
Euonymus
Neil HolmesGetty Images
Many types of this evergreen work well as a clipped hedge, while others look best left to naturalize. Happy in the shade or sun, some varieties have green and gold variegated foliage.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 8
Varieties to Try: Manhattan, Aureovariegatus
SHOP GARDEN GLOVES
19
Juniper
Dorling KindersleyGetty Images
Junipers come in a staggering array of sizes and colors ranging from green to gold.
It’s an extremely cold-hardy evergreen that’s not particularly fussy.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 9
Varieties to Try: Montodd, Spartan
SHOP LANDSCAPING STONES
20
Rose of Sharon
Maria MosolovaGetty Images
This reliable summer bloomer boasts exotic-looking flowers of white, pink, purple, or lavender and every shade in between. New varieties grow in a pillar (columnar) shape.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
Varieties to Try: White Pillar, Notwoodthree
SHOP NOW
Arricca SanSone Arricca SanSone writes for CountryLiving.com, WomansDay.com, Family Circle, MarthaStewart.com, Cooking Light, Parents.com, and many others.
the top 10 varieties for your yard |
(Image credit: Getty Images)
If you are looking for some of the best shrubs for privacy for a front or backyard, there are many options to choose from that will add color, shelter, and structure to your garden, too.
Along with providing screening from the road or neighboring properties, the best evergreen shrubs can also add color, structure and interest year round.
Using natural barrier options in place of fencing or walls is also among the best wildlife garden ideas for providing habitats and sources of food for a variety of animals, birds and important pollinators.
Best shrubs for privacy
When you're choosing the best shrubs for privacy you'll mostly be landscaping with evergreens due their year round foliage screen, but that's not to say that you can't still include some deciduous shrubs among the planting. Try to envisage how the combination of shrubs will looks throughout the year – some will add differing color, flowers or perhaps seasonal fruit and berries.
If space permits, plant a variety of evergreens and deciduous options, some of which will also be the best fast growing shrubs – particularly useful if you are looking for speedy results.
1. Schip laurel
(Image credit: Getty Images)
'Schip laurel is a compact, evergreen shrub that thrives in partial shade and sun.
Highly versatile, it grows to heights of 10-14 feet, making it perfect for privacy,' explains Tammy Sons of Tn Nursery .
Prunus laurocerasus 'schipkaensis', also known as skip laurel, is a great option for shrubs for privacy in zones 5-9. If you have a north facing or shady plot and are looking for shrubs for shade, it copes well in shadier environments.
Smaller growing than other laurels, schip laurel can create a more compact, neat natural privacy screen or privacy hedge when pruned and tolerates many soil types.
2. Inkberry, Ilex glabra
(Image credit: Alamy Stock Photo/ Florida Images)
'Inkberry, Ilex glabra, can grow a beautifully rounded broadleaf evergreen crown. If a tall shrub for privacy is your goal, avoid named varieties, such as ‘densa’, ‘compacta’, and ‘gem box’,' explains Kathleen Connolly, ecological landscape designer and founder of Speaking of Landscapes .
Also known as evergreen winterberry, Appalachian tea tree and gallberry, inkberry is native to eco-regions in the east and southeast US coast, as well as southern maritime Canada.
As with all choices, make sure you know how to plant shrubs to help them to thrive. 'To keep it in top form, plant inkberry where there’s at least moderate soil moisture. It can tolerate light shade as well as full sun. Trim inkberry 6 inches each year to encourage dense leaf coverage up and down the stem,' Kathleen adds.
They are not ones to plant for their flowers, as these are very small, 'but if you plant both male and female inkberries, a host of native birds will thank you for the distinctive blue-black berries midwinter,' Kathleen explains, so the shrub is one to include in your winter garden ideas.
3. Arborvitae ‘Green Giant’
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Arborvitae ‘Green Giant’ is a thick dense evergreen that prefers well-drained, moist and fertile soils. It's a great choice because it is a fast-growing evergreen conifer, ' explains Tammy Sons.
The thick growth offers the best privacy and it can also act as the the perfect backdrop for other flowering varieties of shrubs.
It can grow up to 6-10ft (2-3m) so especially useful for providing a screen from neighboring properties.
4. Mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia
(Image credit: Getty Images)
If you are looking for shrubs for privacy that also produce beautiful flowers, then the mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia, is one for the list.
'The large white and pink flowers are a joy to see in June and July,' explains Kathleen, and can be mixed with other flowering shrubs for beautiful, seasonal displays.
Also known as calico-bush, or spoonwood, mountain laurel 'has a reputation as a shade-lover, but it is happier and healthier in part to full sun,' she adds.
Mountain laurel is native to eco-regions of the eastern third of the US and southern Canada.
'Once established, mountain laurel can tolerate drier sites. If you're after plants for privacy from neighbors, avoid varieties bred for low height; if a tall screen is your goal, avoid cultivars bred for low height,' adds Kathleen.
You may choose cultivars bred for low height if you're looking for shrubs for the front of the house, however, as these will not block views, but will help increase your home's curb appeal with the summer blooms.
5. Rosebay rhododendron, Rhododendron maximum
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Another flowering candidate for a shrubs for privacy is Rosebay rhododendron, Rhododendron maximum, or American rosebay.
'Native to eco-regions in the eastern third of the U.S. as well as southeastern Canada, this tall shrub displays large white flowers in July. In most locations, this broadleaf evergreen can grow to 15 feet; in the southeastern U.S., it has been known to reach 30 feet,' explains Kathleen.
Rosebay rhododendron thrives in part to full shade, and prefers moist, acidic soil.
6. California privet
(Image credit: Getty Images)
'California Privet is a medium-sized evergreen shrub that requires dry soil,' explains Tammy Sons.
'A fast-growing and reliable shrub that is perfect for fast growing hedges, screens, and windbreaks, Ligustrum ovalifolium can reach heights of 10-12 feet,' she adds.
7. Spotted laurel – Aucuba japonica
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Spotted laurel, also known as Japanese laurel or Aucuba japonica, to give it its botanical name, is a fast grower, reaching up to 15 feet tall. It can tolerate partial or full shade, so is an ideal choice for shrubs for privacy in shady borders or corners.
With attractive spotted, variegated leaves, that can brighten dark areas, it also bears bright red berries in fall that visiting birds will flock to.
The shrub's dense foliage provides a good windbreak, as well as minimizing road noise if used as front garden ideas.
8. Photinia x fraseri
(Image credit: Getty Images)
This lovely evergreen shrub has red, glossy leaves and white flowers in the spring and summer, before maturing to lush dark green foliage.
Photinia x fraseri grows well in full sun to partial shade, and will tolerate normal, clay or chalk soils.
It is a low maintenance shrub for privacy although does not grow as tall as some of the other options, so might be better suited to a front as opposed to a backyard.
9. Forsythia
(Image credit: Getty Images / Katrin Ray Shumakov)
As mentioned, not all shrubs for privacy have to be evergreen, and if you add in a few deciduous varieties into the mix, it will create more interest and color in your garden.
Forsythia is a good option for providing a living privacy wall from spring to fall once they are in flower and leaf, and grow to about 8-10 feet in height. They produce beautiful vibrant yellow flowers in spring, followed by green foliage.
'Hardy in zones 5 to 9, the shrub is requires very little maintenance and can live for many decades,' says Tammy Sons.
Forsythia is considered invasive in some areas, as it can quickly spread, so bear this in mind before planting depending on where you live.
10. Shrubby honeysuckle – Lonicera nitida
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Lonicera nitida, shrubby honeysuckle, or Wilson's honeysuckle, is a fast-growing, hardy evergreen shrub for privacy.
Reaching up to about 11 feet, it's a fairly tall choice, and with densely packed, tiny leaves, it forms a very dense living screen. Added to which it can produce scented off-white flowers in spring and purple-blue berries in fall, so can be a magnet for wildlife, and is pretty to boot.
This shrubby honeysuckle grows well in sun or partial shade, and will tolerate most soil types as long as they are well draining.
What is the fastest growing shrub for privacy?
There are a number of fast growing shrubs for privacy that you can choose if you are keen to establish a natural, living screen as soon as possible.
Shrubby or Wilson's honeysuckle is one fast grower – growing 15-23 inches (40cm and 60cm) per year.
Arborvitae ‘Green Giant’ can grow up to 3 feet per year, as can California privet.
There are many other options you could try, so carefully read the plant description and make sure you plant the chosen shrub in its preferred conditions to maximize its growth rate.
What can I plant to block neighbors' view?
If you want to block your neighbors' view then it is best to choose a tall growing variety of shrub.
The laurels can all reach a good height, with spotted laurel, schip laurel and mountain laurel all growing up to 15 feet given the right conditions.
Also look to some of the best trees for privacy and screening in a backyard if you're looking for tall plants to block neighbors' views from upstairs windows.
Rachel is senior content editor, and writes and commissions gardening content for homesandgardens.com, Homes & Gardens magazine, and its sister titles Period Living Magazine and Country Homes & Interiors. She has written for lifestyle magazines for many years, with a particular focus on gardening, historic houses and arts and crafts, but started out her journalism career in BBC radio, where she enjoyed reporting on and writing programme scripts for all manner of stories.
Rachel then moved into regional lifestyle magazines, where the topics she wrote about, and people she interviewed, were as varied and eclectic as they were on radio. Always harboring a passion for homes and gardens, she jumped at the opportunity to work on The English Home and The English Garden magazines for a number of years, before joining the Period Living team, then the wider Homes & Gardens team, specializing in gardens.
A cozy corner in the country house and in the garden: photos and ideas for hedges, beautiful fences of bushes and trees in the country house
Turning a site into a secret garden, securely hidden from outsiders, is not so difficult. Of course, you can hide behind a high fence, especially since there are many ways to make it interesting and unusual.
But I propose to create a more romantic image of the secret garden, as if descended from the pages of romantic novels or fairy tales. Places, as if frozen in time - and suddenly discovered; carrying a touch of antiquity and traditions - and at the same time promising new discoveries. This image is most consistent with fences made of "wild" raw stone and hedges.
Dear Garden Associates, Inc.
Outside Landscape Group
A country house hedge is a very plastic and multifunctional way to make a garden closed. Thanks to the varying shape and frequency of clipping—and the varied range of hedge plants—a structure can look very different throughout its length. It can be strict or free, linear or curly, its height and degree of transparency can vary.
There are several ways to create a green hedge. They differ from each other not only in appearance and image, but also in the amount of maintenance effort and, of course, in the size of the space required to accommodate them. Choose the one that best suits your abilities, or combine several at once - this will make the image more interesting.
SEE ALSO
6 Fences You Wouldn't Have Thought Installed
Amy Martin Landscape Design
Curtains
feral.
The image that many aspire to is “design without design”.
Spreading masses of shrubs were a popular technique among the creators of landscape, "English" parks. They made it possible to mask the boundaries of the site and distract from the size of the garden. This technique was especially actively used in urban gardens, which were very limited in area. This time-tested trick is still useful today.
SEE ALSO
Paradise: The golden rules for planting shrubs in your garden
Princeton Design Collaborative still requires. Although not to the same extent as topiary curly forms. Thickening and rejuvenating pruning will benefit the curtains. It is worth doing it every 2-3 years. Then the shrub will not be exposed from below and will remain dense with a lush, impenetrable crown. In addition, green curtains take up quite a lot of space in width. Therefore, when planting such a hedge, provide space in advance for its growth.
Sheared fence
A sheared fence can use less space for the fence. With the help of a haircut, you will create a solid opaque green wall from the bushes. However, its height and shape may be different.
On the whole, a trimmed hedge looks more austere and whimsical, but it also requires more attention. But, if you take the time and effort, you can create unusual curved or geometric lines and sculptural shapes that will decorate your garden.
Hoi Ning Wong
Idea: Hedges that combine plants with different foliage colors look decorative. They can be alternated, forming stripes, or placed in front of a solid high green fence, a low sheared border with a different leaf color. A high sheared hedge will be an excellent background for standard trees and bushes, as well as for sculpture and all kinds of decor.
Laara Copley-Smith Garden & Landscape Design
Vertical gardening
The currently popular method of decorating hedges with plants provides really wide and varied possibilities for landscaping.
You can combine decor with usefulness and plant garden plants and herbs in tiered boxes. Or use mosses, ground cover plants and annuals to create bright and colorful living pictures.
Trellising trees and shrubs
An even narrower hedge is obtained by shaping trees and shrubs on a trellis. This growing method produces the thinnest of hedges. Transparency will depend on the chosen pattern and formation density. In any case, a trellis fence will be more permeable than other forms of fence, especially in winter. Therefore, you can supplement it with a fence, against which its ornamental pattern will look especially advantageous.
Dear Garden Associates, Inc.
Julie Moir Messervy Design Studio (JMMDS)
Creepers on a trellis
But the fastest way to create a hedge is definitely vines. They will not be leaders in protection from prying eyes, so if you have such a fence around the perimeter of the garden, it is also good to complement it with a fence.
But a wall of fast-growing vines will perfectly serve as a screen for zoning the site and will not require much hassle. In a couple of years, your garden will be decorated with lush masses of greenery.
SEE ALSO…
Living Screen: Plants That Provide Privacy
Dennis Mayer - Photographer
Mix and match just one type of green hedge In a closed enclosed garden, a combination of strict, well-balanced lines looks good - a sheared hedge or a trellis: they create an image of security and reliability, give the impression of free lush masses of vegetation - they will give the atmosphere a relaxed atmosphere.
Think about the layout
Planning the site is a very important step in creating a romantic indoor garden.
And immediately good news for the owners of small plots! It is easier to create an atmosphere of solitude and contemplation in a small space - it seems to have been invented to embody the image of behind-the-scenes closeness.
But in this case, do not try to fit everything here at once. In the garden for a serene rest - not a place for fuss. Therefore, if you have a large family and diverse needs, pay attention to thoughtful zoning.
Andrew Renn
Divide a large garden and a garden with a variety of functional tasks into separate closed zones - then there will be a place for all family members and the opportunity to create corners that are completely different in mood.
Tip: Try to keep as far away from each other or as possible isolate areas that involve activity and noisy activity from places of rest and relaxation. For zoning, use all the features of your site: existing and, in particular, planned buildings, terrain, screens and hedges.
Hoi Ning Wong
Consider the house and buildings when zoning
Sometimes - especially on a small plot - it seems that the house takes up too much space.
However, any building on the site is an excellent means of zoning, especially when a clear separation of zones is necessary. Buildings make it possible to isolate functionally unrelated sites by placing them in different parts of the site. Moreover, they provide not only visual separation, but also create a barrier to noise and fuss. So, if you can't make your entire garden the focus of silence, set aside one of the zones for privacy, securely protected by a house or other buildings.
SEE ALSO
Scenic Gorge: Design Solutions for Lot Tightness
Katherine Shenaman Interiors
Use the Garden as a Hiding Place
Old trees (ideally evergreen) with spreading branches and soft, relaxed shade under them will help separate the secluded recreation area from the noisy part of the site. Especially if you complement it with shrubs, which will act as additional visual and acoustic protection.
Divide the plot with screens
If it is not possible to arrange a buffer zone separating a secluded corner, place a cozy relaxation area with your back to the passable and bustling areas of the site and close it with a screen.
Screens are an excellent zoning element that works both in the interior and in the landscape. They do not take up much space and do not look overly heavy, but allow you to visually separate the zones. Garden screens can be both stationary and traditionally mobile. Use hedges, decorative fences and lattices to divide the garden space in the form of small fragments.
The Garden Builders
Troy Rhone Garden Design
Use gates for walkways
If you're designing a small, enclosed area, use the decorative possibilities of walkways, gates, and skylights. Let them immediately set the mood at the entrance to the zone, attract with mystery, invite you to look inside. Decorate the passage with vines - climbing roses, princes and clematis twining the gate look very romantic. Or arrange a passage to a secluded area with a pergola.
SEE ALSO…
Just repeat: How to design a gate with leftover PVC pipes
Create intrigue
Let some accent touch, interesting and intriguing, be seen through the passages or the gate. Whether it will be a brightly flowering flower bed, or a shrub with unusually colored foliage, a sculpture or a fountain - it should create a contrast with the space located outside, should promise a new intriguing image, promise a new relaxing atmosphere.
B. Gordon Builders, Inc.
Sutton Suzuki Architects
Set up some privacy
Cozy backstage spaces will complement the privacy of your garden's secret corner—or replace it if there's still no room for a dedicated, secluded area.
- Pergola can also act as a sheltered area. Place soft sofas under it - and a relaxing seating area, closed from the fuss and prying eyes, is ready.
SEE ALSO…
This is not a gazebo: A pergola in your garden
Groundswell Design Group Inc.
Alexey Kozyr Architectural Studio
- Pavilions also traditionally help to create a cozy local recreation area. And if you add vines, plant lush shrubs around and place in the back of the site - the gazebo will become a place of solitude that does not take up too much space. Textiles will also be very useful for giving privacy - both as a decor and addition to the gazebo, and as a replacement for it.
- A gazebo doesn't have to be traditional - treehouse can be an unusual retreat. Who didn't dream of this as a child?
SEE ALSO. ..
Garden Corner: Pergola or patio, terrace or armchair?
katie moss landscape design
- Creeper-covered swing or bench – a gazebo in miniature. Place them as a decoration and a relaxing element in a dedicated, enclosed corner of your garden, or entrust them with the role of a secluded hiding place.
Advice: When placing a pergola, pergola or swing, complement the general closeness with open areas. Let the cozy gazebo overlook the wide plane of the lawn or pond. Such a contrast will create serenity and give rest to the eyes.
Fill your garden with details
Turn your little nook into a garden box, closed from the outside, but full of interesting details and experiences.
Use decorative lighting to create different lighting scenarios and whimsical lighting patterns, such as illuminating shrubs, trees and flower beds. Or decorate them with garlands for a touch of magic.
vgzarquitectura y diseño sc
Lenkin Design Inc: Landscape and Garden Design
Place an object for contemplation in the secret garden, be it a sculpture, a fountain, a plant arrangement, or a rock garden. The main thing is that any of them will help you get distracted, switch your thoughts, provide rest for your eyes and create the right mood.
SEE ALSO...
Cherry Blossoms: Hanami, or the Art of Cherry Blossom Viewing
Add nuanced details, little surprises, unexpected objects found in thickets and flower beds. Place fabulous images in the garden that will fill it with a very special atmosphere, so that when you come there, you can immerse yourself in your world, different from the surrounding reality. Therefore, when planning a secret garden, think about what image you want to immerse yourself in. It doesn't have to be the old romantic garden I suggested. You can choose your image of comfort and relaxation - it will be a Japanese garden, a sea coast, or even an indoor monastic garden. And small details and accents will help you recreate it.
SEE ALSO…
Tropical Paradise at your fingertips: Resort on a summer cottage
Visiting a fairy tale: Gardens inspired by literary masterpieces
Burnett "Secret Garden": "Most importantly, she managed to find the Secret Garden, and now she has her own world in which she will do whatever she wants. Even the sun here seemed to shine brighter than outside the fence ... "
Howard Design Studio
COMMENT
Where do you hide from the hustle and bustle of the outside world? Is there a place of privacy in your garden?
Handicraft landscape | Dacha
When it comes to shrubs, two questions usually arise and sometimes torment them: what to buy and where to plant? To one degree or another, all bushes are decorative, especially if they are planted where necessary.
Therefore, we advise you to put the second question at the forefront, and then think about the first.
Zone X
Look at your yard before starting a new plant. Who, if not you, knows the most advantageous viewpoints? The most important is the porch. From it we inspect our site most often. The view that opens from the entrance gate also matters. Here we and our guests get the first impression of the whole dacha. Each window of the house is also a "point". A good view from the window always has a calming effect, improves mood. Let's add benches, gazebos and other places of rest to the list.
Have you decided? Look around. Somewhere there is a sense of emptiness, and somewhere an ugly economic object catches your eye completely inopportunely. Maybe some place will seem dull and in need of a bright spot. Is there a need to isolate oneself from the road or from the neighbor's all-seeing window? All this will allow you to understand what type or variety of bush you need to purchase.
If you are dreaming of a particular shrub that has already captivated your heart, you should also visit the viewpoints. Imagine how the plant will look in one place or another and whether it will be comfortable here.
Any bush can be planted in different ways. How exactly?
Tapeworm
This unappetizing word refers to something that grows alone in an open space. For such purposes, bushes are suitable that retain their decorative effect all season or even year-round - for example, conifers. As a tapeworm, plants with an interesting crown shape (ball, umbrella, pillow, nest, cake, fountain, etc.), with decorative leaves, with beautiful flowers, or combining all the signs, are chosen. The solitary bush has the ability to develop its crown in all directions, it is not oppressed or obscured by neighboring plants, therefore it forms the correct crown inherent in this species or variety in all its glory. However, using a plant as a tapeworm, you need to learn about its size, growth rate.
Will he grow into a "monster" that will block half the perspective? On lawns of a large area, almost any shrub can be used as tapeworms, including such tall ones as common hazel, varieties with red leaves, black elderberry of various varieties. Think about whether you will have the ability and desire to constantly cut tall bushes, keeping them in the given desired shapes. Barberries, spireas, dwarf varieties of spruce, yew berry, tuevik, bean "Golden Rain", different varieties of willows look great. In a shady place, for example, on the north side of the house, hollow-leaved mahonia, paniculate and tree hydrangeas are indispensable.
Tall solitaires are not needed in small areas with mini lawns. Now it has become fashionable to form various figures, green sculptures with a haircut. They can both become tapeworms and make sculptural compositions.
Group planting
Plants of the same species can be planted in a group. This is done if there is a need to create an array, usually over large spaces.
In small areas, group plantings are often made from various species, combining coniferous and deciduous species, high and low, trying to most advantageously show the decorative qualities of each plant. With group landings, there is such a thing as a plan: back, middle and front. Moreover, the closer the plan, the lower the bushes should be. Group plantings often also include trees and herbaceous plants.
Group members are selected not only by height, but also by the combination of color and texture. For example, lilac and mock orange are especially beautiful during flowering, which lasts 3-4 weeks. The rest of the time, the bushes are not very attractive, besides, the lower part of many of them is often exposed, and the crown is “spread out” in all directions. But in a group planting, it is easy to smooth out the shortcomings by planting low bushes in front of them that bloom in the middle or in the second half of summer or have decorative foliage. It can be varietal spireas or derains.
Group plantings of barberries and spireas are well decorated, creating an edge with falling shoots. The group can include any shrubs that bloom both large and small flowers. It is advisable to choose an assortment in such a way that the group always has a plant that focuses attention on itself - flowers, fruits or beautiful foliage.
In group planting, the denser the placement, the faster the crowns of plants will close. However, after closing the crowns, they begin to fight for a place under the sun. Fast-growing and larger shrubs begin to shade and oppress slow-growing ones, and the latter may even die. Experience shows that the distance between plants should not be less than 1/3 of their maximum possible height.
By planting group by group along a strip, for example along a fence, you can create a wonderful hedge. If you need a high landing, then it can include fruit-bearing trees and shrubs, such as cherry, plum, hawthorn, viburnum, sea buckthorn, mountain ash, blackthorn and others.
Hedge
The most common variant is a hedge of one type of shrub. As a rule, it is cut, due to which a thick green wall of a rather strict, “official” look is obtained. However, scatter groups of decorative bushes and flowers against its background - and the view will immediately become cozy. For tall hedges, shrubs are planted that tolerate shearing well: hawthorn, Ussuri pear, arborvitae. For medium - use cotoneaster or deren. In warmer regions, privet, honeysuckle, and hornbeam are used. To create impassable hawthorn hedges, plants are planted in two rows in a checkerboard pattern, the distance between the rows is 60 cm, and in the rows also 60 cm.
Border
The same ordinary planting of shrubs - but low. They can grow naturally, or they can be sheared. It is from the curb planting that the patterns on the lawn are made. In parks, wide border strips of Japanese quince are magnificent during flowering. In home gardens, I like to plant borders of floribunda roses, placing them along the bend of the paths.
For them, I select roses of any one variety with a height of 45-60 cm, plant seedlings at a distance of 50 cm from each other in a humus-rich substrate. From May until frost, the roses of this group constantly bloom, for abundant flowering it is only necessary to cut off the faded inflorescences in a timely manner, preventing the formation of ovaries. Very beautiful borders of Potentilla tree. It is unpretentious, blooms all summer with bright yellow flowers, tolerates a haircut well.
When designing a playground, it is advisable to limit it to a curb landing. I use undersized varieties of spirea or Potentilla tree. The border gives the child a sense of privacy within the playground, and at the same time, parents can see him from afar, doing their own thing.
The combination of spherical shapes with borders can be interesting. For example, make a border from trimmed low-growing spirea of the Japanese variety Litl Princes, and plant the Golden Princes variety at the corners, forming them with a haircut in the shape of a ball.
