 Hedges Good fences make good neighbors, especially in a crowded residential area, and hedges, either formal or informal, make good fences and are more attractive than cinderblock walls.Our elderly next door neighbor is a man of leisure who spends most of his day peering over his wall to see what we're up to. With luck, our hydrangeas will be tall enough to block his view next year. On the south side our new neighbors located their bath directly across from our kitchen alcove when they built their house and the husband is in the habit of taking his evening bath with the blinds up and the window open - we've planted privet, aucuba, fatsia and other relatively fast-growing, evergreen trees along the wall in an effort to spare ourselves the sight of his nightly striptease. Bamboo forms a tall screen on our west side, where our neighbor is building a two-story apartment building in the lot he used to use for vegetable patches. When the municipal government decided to lay sewer mains and rebuild the road in front of our house the need for roadside greenery appears not to have occurred to any of the engineers, so we will have nothing but concrete in front when the road is completed - we would like to have planted some sasanquas for privacy and early spring color. Nearby, some neighbors planted a hedge of fast-growing firethorns (pyracantha) that have filled in nicely in just a couple years. Another neighbor's property is surrounded by a thick hedge of tall camellias and sasanquas that bloom scarlet and white February. Many people favor photinia because it grows quickly, provides a brilliant display when new leaves sprout, and can be clipped without worrying much about mistakes. People who are more interested in utility than flashy displays use box, yew, enkiathus, or conifers. Others favor daphne or azaleas in a row on top of a low stone wall. Pines also provide an attractive screen. Roses or lilacs serve as attractive screens during the flowering season. We tried kerria as a privacy blind for the warm months at our old house, but soon learned that, while it served the purpose and the flowers were pretty, it required constant trimming to keep it in check and the mass of tangled, empty branches was a mess during winter.  Other candidates for hedges include forsythia, pittosporum, broom, Japanese quince, deutzia, abelia, rhododendrons, taller varieties of spiraea, nandina, andromeda, oleander, gardenias, Japanese snowball, pomegranate, hibiscus, evergreen euonymus, and holly. Choose the variety that suits your needs and local conditions.Along with privacy, hedges serve as a windbreak, an important consideration in our area, where the wind blows almost constantly off the ocean. They also cover up unsightly structures, such as the cinderblock walls that enclose most of our yard, their greenery provides a backdrop for flowers, and they serve to muffle noise. Deciduous trees provide shade in summer and let the sun in during the winter. One minor drawback is the need to trim hedges, but for most varieties this only has to be done once or twice a year. |