Hide behind your plants instead of a fence

If you'd like a little privacy but not necessarily a fence, consider creating a screen of shrubs and trees. Fences need upkeep and don't last more than a decade or two. Well-chosen plants grow more attractive over time.

Also, the height of fences is limited by code: in the city of Seattle, 6 feet of solid fence plus 2 feet of lattice on top. Plant height is not restricted by municipal code, and you might need the additional height for screening.

Decisions, decisions...

When creating a screen, decide whether you want a formal hedge that requires clipping or an informal, unclipped one. Informal screens require much less work.

Another decision: Evergreen plants, which keep their leaves year-round, or deciduous plants, which drop their leaves in the winter when you may not need as much privacy?

Low-maintenance

One of the most common evergreen screening plants is popular because it is inexpensive, stays narrow and won't grow out of control. Pyramidalis (Thuja occidentalis 'Pyramidalis' or 'Fastigiata') is a narrow arborvitae that grows to 25 feet high and 5 feet wide. Despite its omnipresence, older plantings are majestic, especially when left to grow to 15 feet or so, creating a handsome dark border.

A newer cultivar, 'Emerald Green,' also known by its German name, 'Smaragd,' is deep green all year, while 'Pyramidalis' browns in the winter. 'Emerald Green' also stays lower and narrower — up to 15 feet and 3-4 feet wide.

Both varieties grow slowly enough so they can be easily maintained lower than their maximum height and don't need clipping to keep them narrow, although they can be sheared to create a formal-looking hedge. Grow them in full sun; they look ragged in shade. Plant them 4 feet apart for a hedge.

Dark green hedges

Choose English yew (Taxus baccata) and Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata) for a dark green hedge. Yew tolerates shade and can be clipped for a formal look.

Annual trimming of formal hedges will keep them looking good. For the plants' health, taper the sides so they are narrower at the top than at the bottom so that sun reaches all parts of the hedge.

Tall hedges

Many conifers widely used for screening grow quickly and very tall. Leyland cypress (x Cuprssocyparis leylandii) will reach 60 feet tall and up to 15 feet wide. It can be clipped as a hedge and kept at 15 feet tall or so. Leyland cypress can grow several feet a year, so it is a high-maintenance hedge.

Hogan cedar (Thuja plicata 'Hogan') is a narrow form of our native western red cedar. Reaching 50 to 70 feet tall and 20 to 25 feet wide, it makes a good screen if you have the space for it.

Bamboo hedges

Bamboo is popular for screening because it is extremely narrow for its height, up to 35 feet, although most varieties stay lower.

There are two types of bamboo: running and clumping.

Running bamboo spreads by sending out rhizomes that can be many feet long. Contain growth with a polypropylene plastic sheet 30 to 36 inches deep and 40 to 60 mils thick. Cut off rhizomes that jump over the barrier every September. Instead of using plastic, control growth by trimming around the roots with a spade in August and late September.

Clumping bamboo has rhizomes that expand just a few inches every year. It forms a fountain shape, spreading wider at the top than at the base, so it needs more room than running bamboo to make a screen.

Broadleaf evergreens

Broadleaf evergreens make a dense screen. If you choose plants that will naturally stop growing at the height you want, they can be low-maintenance, too.

Glossy abelia (Abelia x grandiflora) grows 8 feet tall by 5 feet wide.

Escallonia is a large genus that has many species that carry pink, red or white flowers in summer and fall.

White escallonia (Escallonia bifida) can grow to 6 to 15 feet tall and has smaller growing cultivars such as 'C. F. Ball.'

Ceanothus, another genus with many species and cultivars, is fast-growing with white or blue flowers. It does best with little or no summer watering.

Ceanothus 'Victoria' has dark green leaves and reaches 12 feet.

Mix it up

Consider a tapestry screen composed of a mix of plants. Many older properties have examples of mature plantings that have grown together to create privacy between yards.

You could copy this look by mixing the evergreen foliage of rhododendrons, camellias and pieris with deciduous lilac and weigela. Add in the coniferous texture of hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa), threadleaf false cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Filifera') or plume cedar (Cryptomeria japonica 'Elegans').

A plant native to the West Coast from Washington to California, Myrica californica is a broadleaf evergreen shrub that grows 10 to 30 feet tall. It thrives with little summer water.

Phil Wood has a degree in landscape architecture and designs and builds gardens. Write to him at thegardendesigner@seattletimes.com.

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