Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Skinny Green Giant Needed

(BennyBeg.co.uk)

A neighbor of ours recently cut down NINETEEN (yes, 19) trees in their yard. I am mourning the lush green canopy that was once there. The privacy the tress provided was perfect.

I have decided to make lemonade out of the lemons.
I am going to refurbish the formal garden at the back of our property. I need to select a "backdrop" hedge that will accompany an old stacked stone wall.


Here's the problem: I need an evergreen plant that will take part sun/part shade, grow to about 12' minimum height, BUT I need it to be narrow (or can be pruned as such).

A master gardener friend recommended the following:

osmanthus-or tea olive
The tea olive would be nice for it's white blooms and scent.
(Google Image)

arbrovitae-Does anyone have experience with "Nigra"? This is certainly skinny, tall and evergreen.
(MountSi Nursery)

yew-taxus media "hicksii"
Taxus x media (Yew)
(Weston Nursery)

The yew can be pruned into anything and is a typical hedge for an English garden.

Can any of you offer suggestions on these plants or others?

19 comments:

  1. I like arborvitae; mostly because it works great in floral arrangements and lasts forever. I use it a lot around the holidays....

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  2. Tea olive....love it. Wish I had more in my yard. Smells so good, needs very little attention and I've seen it both pruned into a hedge and left as a "tree".

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  3. Mountain laurel is another nice option

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  4. What a lovely idea.
    Arborvitae will provide a wonderful back ground. If you decide to go this route, you may want to research the possibility of deer "visiting" your property due to your location. This tree of choice is one of their tasty treats. You can easily mix up a simple concoction of sorts to persuade them to look elsewhere. Our friends have done so and theirs are vibrant despite the heavy population.

    Jo

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  5. I'll treat you to the "real" Mystic Pizza anytime!

    Jo

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  6. We planted "Leland Cypress" two years ago for privacy. They were at the time 18" tall and now over 5 ft tall. They grow fast and fab for privacy.
    xx

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  7. no advice here. i'm still trying to get over the fact that your neighbor cut down 19 trees!

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  8. 19 trees. Oh my goodness...I feel dizzy. Way to go for your "lemons out of lemonade" attitude!!!

    My parents really like their arbor vitaes. Great for privacy too although no canopy. We recently talked to a master gardener and were just amazed with the wealth of knowledge. So great that you have a MG friend.

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  9. Just planted 8 Blue Totem Spruce. They grow about 3 feet wide and up to 15 feet tall. They are slower growers so we bought the larger B & B but feel it was well worth it. Lovely blue spruce color. Good luck.

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  10. I have more experience with arbrovitae coming from the Pacific N.W. It's very common there so I don't find it as charming as the cypress which conjures of images of Italy as does the Olive tree. The olive does have beautiful blooms & pretty leaves. We have a huge one in the front yard of our San Diego house & it sets the stage for the whole yard. You will make the perfect choice & your neighbors trees will be only a weak memory.

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  11. My vote is for tea olive...there is nothing like that smell! Soo fragrant!

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  12. i have olive in my yard and i love them.. they make me so happy as they shimmer... but they are not too skinny... i have lelandi cypress as well and these can be trimmed to any shape and size you would like....
    your yard looks so lovely... wish we could sit and talk in it for hours...
    hopefully someday... xx

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  13. Depending on your climate zone, i find yews so appropriate for formal hedges. It makes a marvelous backdrop against which you can be as creative as you wish.

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  14. Sometimes 19 trees just have to go...It is private property after all.I love your blog and attitude.....

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  15. I commend you for your restraint in not burning down your neighbor's house. It must have been tempting!

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  16. 19 trees!!!! Thats ridiculous. What did they do put in a sport court??? Blech.
    I go for tea olive.

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  17. I used tea olive (zone 7B). Fiancee is so happy! She had them growing on the playground where she grew up in Tokyo. Now when we smell them, we shout, "smells like Japan"! As for Arborivita, when one dies, you can never replace it with a like size plant, whereas tea olive can be pruned to match size of replacement.

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