Forum home› Plants

Ideas for tall, evergreen privacy (& maybe flowering!)

SandTSandT Posts: 70
in Plants

I'd love something to put between us and our nosy, intrusive next door neighbours at the front of our terrace. It's a classic small Victorian terrace, so the space is only about 2m long and 90cm deep.

It's South facing and gets lots of sun. Is there something which will grow fast, be evergreen, but happy to be clipped to a wheelie-bin ish width so not too bushy? Anything flowering would be a bonus so we can add some colour to the front. I can only think of Photonia...

Thanks

Pic: This isn't our house, but it's a similar space - see the white wall!

image

Posts

  • pansyfacepansyface Posts: 21,891

    IS IT GOING TO BE IN A POT OR IN THE SOIL?

    IF IN SOIL, HOW ABOUT A BAY TREE?

    Apophthegm -  a big word for a small thought.
    If you live in Derbyshire, as I do.
  • SandTSandT Posts: 70

    Yes, in soil. 

  • Kitty 2Kitty 2 Posts: 5,150

    If anyone can think of a suitable climber image, it would be the perfect excuse to erect a trellis (instant screening) for a plant that you "adore" and simply can't live without image

    image it has to be there, cause it's the perfect aspect image

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,119

    Pyracantha - evergreen, spring blossom with nectar and pollen for bees and other beneficial insects then berries in autumn for birds.  It also has thorns which should be a deterrent to nosy neighbours.

    It can be grown as a wall shrub or trained on a trellis or supported by wires stretched between 2 posts until the stems mature enough to support themselves.   Available with red, orange or yellow berries.  Best time to prune to shape is just after flowering.

    If you don't want to go spiky, have a look at the small leaved evergreen ceanothus which have gorgeous blue flowers in late spring/early summer.  https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/97563/i-Ceanothus-i-Concha/Details  You'd need to prune it to keep it to 2m and train it so the branches spread to cover your boundary.

    Another possibility, if you can provide support, is trachelospermum jasminoides which has scented blooms for a couple of months in summer and should be very happy in a south facing London garden - https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/93768/i-Trachelospermum-jasminoides-i-Variegatum-(v)/Details

    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • SandTSandT Posts: 70

    Thank you! I'm growing trachelospermum in the back garden, but I'm after something more dense and faster growing.

    Ceanothus - isn't this quite a round bushy shape?

    I ideally need something tall and fast growing, which won't mind being pruned into a width of a foot and a half. It won't be climbing, clinging or creeping. I'll plant into the soil. Just want to block those neighbours, their bins and curtain twitching!

    Last edited: 23 April 2017 18:13:32

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,119

    Ceanothus can be grown as wall shrubs and I expect are often used as hedges in their native California.  The RHS has this advice and also recommends them as wall shrubs - https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=354 

    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
Sign In or Register to comment.