Columnar Trees and Shrubs for Privacy

Since my lot is only a quarter of an acre, I have planted many columnar plants (and placed my basalt column, above) to add height without taking up too much space on the ground.  And since we can see parts of sixty-three neighboring homes from various points in our backyard, I use columnar plants to add privacy.  There is an ever-growing list of columnar plants available, especially for milder climates than mine.  Monrovia's website plant finder (under Advanced Filter, Growth Habit) allows you to search for columnar plants for your hardiness zone.

I planted columnar 'Spring Snow' crabapples (20-25' T x 15-20' W) on the east and west sides of the backyard to screen the view of the neighbors while leaving sunny beds where my flowers can grow.  In addition to their oval crown, these trees have beautiful, sweet smelling white flowers in spring and no messy fruit.  Unfortunately, here in Spokane we have a long season where these trees are leafless and don't provide much screening.
Although I love my eight 'Spring Snow' crabapple trees, my local nurseryman - whose nursery has been open as long as I've been alive, so he knows a lot - told me that these trees are falling out of favor with growers because they are susceptible to fire blight.  This fungal disease can strike in spring and causes twigs and leaves to look as if they've been burned black.  Infected trees should be sprayed immediately with a fire blight-rated pesticide, and infected parts should be pruned out, wrapped in plastic and put into the trash to avoid spreading more spores.  I haven't had a problem with this, fingers crossed.

Recently my husband caught this photo of Santa laying eggs in our neighbor's yard.  We endured this view for several weeks from our bedroom window before Santa left his eggs behind and went to rest for a few months.  As my trees and our neighbors' trees grow, this scene will be blocked during the growing season, but I wish I had planted more tall evergreens to cover it year-round.

Two years ago, I talked my husband into pulling out some boxwood shrubs and planting two columnar Norway spruce trees (Picea abies 'Cupressina').  These columnar trees are said to reach thirty feet tall and five to six feet wide at maturity.  Both are strategically planted to block views of the neighbors - especially their windows - when they reach full size.

The spruces have put on decent growth each year, and they'd surely grow more quickly in climates with a longer growing season.  I can think of several spots where I'd like to plant more of them, but that would require removing other beautiful plants.  It's so hard to balance functional evergreens with favorite beautiful plants.

This photo includes the young columnar spruces plus 'Green Tower' boxwoods (9' T x 2' W) and 'Fine Line' buckthorns (7' T x 2-3' W).  I have ten of the GT boxwoods and seven of the FL buckthorns planted around the yard.  Both shrubs are easy to prune to the height and width you desire, and they can be planted singly or in a row to create a hedge.  Some types of buckthorn are invasive, but FL is not.

This GT boxwood in the front yard greets visitors as they come to the front yard.  Kind of like a plant butler.  I should call it Jeeves.

A 'Caesar's Brother' Siberian iris at center is columnar in spring and vase shaped later in the growing season.  Many grasses have a lovely columnar form, like 'Karl Forster' feather reed grass, but I avoid ornamental grasses since they give me a rash and make me sneeze.  To the right of the photo above, two of my 'Fine Line' buckthorns add height to the bed.  This spring I decided they were too tall, and it was quick work to trim two feet of height off the top.

Last year I found room for a fifth dogwood - wish I had room for a dozen more - and planted this columnar 'Starlight' tree (Cornus kousa x nuttallii) at the corner of the dining room addition.  It's reported to bloom heavily and grow vigorously to a height of thirty feet and width of twenty feet.  Yes, it's obviously going to require pruning in this spot.  Good thing I took a pruning class in college.  Eventually it will give late afternoon and evening shade to the patio in midsummer.

At right is a columnar apple tree from White Flower Farm.  I don't grow a lot of food, but I had the idea that a columnar apple would be fun.  We'll see how it works out.  Meanwhile, the upright shape is lovely.

If you live in a crowded suburban neighborhood like mine, screening views is important even if you don't have a large yard.  Columnar plants - especially evergreens - are a good option for creating privacy without taking up too much room.  Please learn from my mistake and plan for privacy so you don't have to look at your neighbors' junk or allow them to peer at you through second story windows.  Let Santa lay his eggs in private.

Wide Garden Views at April's End

Spring is progressing so rapidly that I have a lot of photos to share, so come take a walk with me around the back and side yards.  Above is the view looking south toward the back gate.  The 'Spring Snow' crabapples are fulfilling their name with 'snow' petals on the branches and all over the ground.  We think it looks like someone decorated for a wedding.

A view of the area looking west reveals red peony shoots among all the spring green of other perennials and shrubs.  Spring is early this year, and I have no complaints.

 I came back out a few minutes after the first photos to capture the interesting lighting during one of those April showers bringing, well, you know.  The pink 'Royal Raindrops' crabapples are just starting to open their blossoms.  I forgive them all their faults (those endless babies springing up all over) when they explode into the fiery magenta-maroon glory of full bloom.

Here is a view of the northwest corner from my second story window.  By this point the sunset had shaded everything pink.  Notice the new little arbor over the bench in the corner.  My husband kindly installed it a week ago, and it has been getting a lot of use since then.  It's fun to have a place that feels hidden away - a feeling that will increase when the 'Hall's Purple' honeysuckle vines I planted on either side grow up to cover the arbor.  I'm still thinking about what else to plant nearby - perhaps a couple of 'Fine Line' buckthorns to frame the arbor?

Looking east from the arbor bench gives this view.  The mountains above the fence line are too washed out to see in this photo, but we can see them in real life, at least until the honey locusts leaf out.

Looking back toward the northwest corner shows pink phlox blooming and plants leafing out.  The 'Ambassador' allium rosettes are starting to yellow at the tips as the buds reach upward.  In the bottom of the shot you can see blurry tall buds from 'Early Emperor' alliums already starting to open.

A closer view of the NW corner shows my giant 'Victoria' rhubarb plants.  I just love these pretty plants, even though I'm not a big fan of eating rhubarb.  The poor sick-looking 'Little Rascal' holly shub at bottom right looks awful - I think I need to find a more protected place for it where the soil doesn't dry out so much in winter.  I'll replace it with a 'Smooth Touch' compact holly, which is much sturdier around here.

Purple 'Negrita' tulips are already in full bloom, while pink 'Don Quichotte' tulips are opening across the front of the main sunny bed.  Pink 'Renown' should follow in a week or two to extend the show.  All three of these tulips are supposed to be good perennials in well-drained soil, so I have high hopes for them here.

After rounding the northeast corner (which still looks barren, hence the lack of photos), the view towards the south shows lilacs ready to open, interesting dark leaves on the 'Black Lace' elderberry (at left), and the wonderfully fragrant blooms of a Korean spice viburnum at bottom right.  'Medallion' Oriental poppies are growing vigorously in front of the elderberry, and their rosy-lilac blooms should be especially pretty in front of that dark background in June.

More spring 'snow' covers the ground on the east side of the house.  Delphiniums, columbines, rhododendrons, and alliums will bloom here soon.  At the top right you can see the small contorted filbert (Corylus avellana 'Contorted') I planted as a focal point at the end of the path.  Someday it will be as tall as the fence.  And when it gets too wide, I will happily prune off branches for floral arrangements.

A shot from an upper window shows this area from a different perspective.  In a month there will be much less soil showing as perennials leaf out.  At left you see the two support stakes for the columnar apple trees I planted last week.  They are supposed to stay less than three feet wide but still produce a few apples.

This view of the same area includes the rainbow we enjoyed during the rain.

I'll finish with a couple of shots of the west garden, where the pink 'Don Quichotte' tulips I planted last fall are a nice addition to the bright color scheme.

Each spring it is amazing to watch the garden burst back to life and color.  I love this time of year!

Before and After Photos of VW Garden

Who doesn't love before and after photos?  Here are some shots to show the changes we have made to our landscape since we moved into our home nearly eight years ago.  The poor quality photo (sorry, it was all I could find) on the left shows the house when we bought it in late spring 2007, and the one on the right shows it seven years later.

We hired help to complete a large landscaping project in the front yard in February 2010.  The photos above show the project in process (left) and the new 'lawn river' (right) between the expanded flower beds.

I didn't have a good shot of this angle from 2014, so the 'after' photo from 2012 above doesn't show how large the cherry tree is now.  But you can see how the porch and surrounding flower beds were changed during the 2010 project.  Removing the railing, replacing it with a stone-based column, and adding wide steps across the front of the porch helped this side of the home to better balance the large garage.

The front yard used to feel very flat and open, but now maturing trees, shrubs and perennials add layers of height to create interest.  Houses in our neighborhood are built close together, and I think large trees help to make them feel more separate.

These photos aren't exactly the same angle, but on the left you can see how small the flower bed on the west (left) of the house used to be.  During the 2010 project, we took out all of the grass on this side of the house and created a flagstone path with planting areas on either side.  Now instead of walking past the garden on the way to the backyard, you walk through it.  Stone facing, shutters on the window and trellises also enhanced the area.

 

In April 2013 we completed a large landscaping project in our backyard.  I drew the plans, but we hired a landscaping company to carry them out.  The landscapers used large equipment to remove the lawn all around the edges of the backyard, install a barrier to hold back the neighbor's invasive aspen tree roots, and create a flagstone path that circled the yard with spurs running down the east and west sides of the home.  I hesitate to show "After" photos of the backyard because it doesn't feel mature yet, but I'll do it anyway and then update them in a few years.

 

Back in 2008 my husband (with 'help' from our son) cut out little circles of lawn to plant trees in the backyard.  Those trees, six lilac shrubs and the center of the lawn were the only plants left in place during the 2013 project.  By 2014, the trees had grown quite a bit and the southwest corner of the backyard (just inside the gate) included shrubs, perennials, flagstone path, and not a bit of lawn. 

 

The photo at left shows the west side of the backyard in late 2008, including the baby trees we planted earlier that year.  The photo at right is from a different angle but shows how the west of the backyard was full of large trees, shrubs and perennials by 2014.   The landscapers did the biggest projects in 2013, but after they finished my husband hauled 20 cubic yards of soil and 15 cubic yards of bark to the backyard.  Then he planted or transplanted over 100 shrubs for me, using a pick axe for most of the holes since our native soil is so rocky. 

 

The northwest corner of the backyard was empty of anything except lawn originally, but by early 2013 we ("we" as in I directed and my husband dug) had cut out a flower bed around the trees as you see above left.  During the 2013 project the flagstone path was installed in front of the old mound and we created a new mounded bed on the other side of the path.  This area has been the hardest one for me to design, and I'm still waiting to see if it comes together as it matures or if it needs more refining.

 

I didn't have a photo of the barren northeast corner of the backyard from right after we moved in, and by early 2013 we had created a veggie garden around the tree in the corner as you see above at left.  As part of the backyard makeover, we installed a higher quality swing set, which you can see at right. 

 

This last set of photos shows the changes to the southeast corner of the backyard, which was as empty as the rest of the backyard in 2007.  By 2010 my husband had planted trees along the fence and dug out flower beds around them, and I had planted many shrubs and perennials.  The 2013 project removed the rest of the lawn and replaced it with flagstones, and we have planted quite a few more plants since then. 

Even as I wish for the gardens to be more mature, these photos remind me that we have accomplished a lot in eight years . . . in addition to going from two kids to four and keeping up with the rest of life. Capturing photographs for this blog has helped me to see the beauty along the way, and being able to share that beauty with others has been a joy.  Thanks for visiting.

2014 Review of the Garden

 

A review of photos from last season shows that the garden made a lot of progress in 2014.  Above is a shot of the west garden from June 10, because I didn't want to start with a bleak winter photo!  The 'Teasing Georgia' climbing rose at top center was especially magnificent last year.

The season started with flooding when the air temperature shot up while the ground was still frozen.  This photo shows the southeast part of the backyard on March 5.

I didn't take many wide views of the garden in early spring, as the small early bulbs don't show up well unless you get close, and the evergreens were stilly spindly and small.  So here we skip to April 29, when the tulips were in full swing in the front yard.

Peony-flowering tulips bloomed sweetly in the southwest corner of the backyard on May 7.



Also on May 7, 'Axcent Blue' Aubrieta, basket of gold (Alyssum), tulips and 'Blue Spike' muscari made rhythmic pops of color in the west garden.

On May 9 in the northwest corner the pink crabapple trees ('Royal Raindrops') bloomed with 'Victoria' rhubarb and creeping phlox.  In fall we planted several hundred pink and purple tulips in this area, so next spring there will be more flowers to photograph.

The northeast corner was all shades of green on May 25.  The chartreuse 'Sutherland Gold' elderberry shrubs (Sambucus) on either side of the swing set doubled in size by the end of last season, so they'll make a bigger impact this coming spring.

Also on May 25, softly colored flowers brightened the garden on the east side of the house as lilac shrubs and dogwood trees bloomed above.

The west garden looked better by the end of the month (May 25) as green leaves filled in around the flowers.

 

After the burst of spring color, the crabapple trees quieted down to maroon leaves (still May 25).  I added quite a few more perennials to this area in 2014, so in 2015 there should be more flowers in the late spring view.

 

The angle of this May 28 view actually frames my neighbor's house, but you see how nicely the 'Walker's Low' catmint billows among all the greenery before the 'Coral Supreme' peonies and English roses burst into bloom.

On June 1, white bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis 'Alba') made a nice backdrop for the backyard fountain.  Maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum) and white-flowering heuchera leaves covered the front of the pedestal.

When the 'Eglantyne' (above) and 'Abraham Darby' English roses were covered with blooms on June 10, passersby could smell the fragrance from the sidewalk.  'Eglantyne' has an old rose scent, while 'Abraham Darby' smells citrusy.

In this shot of the west garden from July 2, early yellow 'Stella d'Oro' daylilies were in the middle of their main flush, while many other daylilies around the garden were getting ready to open.  Rosy-orange Asiatic and Orienpet lilies reached above the lower perennials, and golden 'Early Sunrise' tickseed (Coreopsis) echoed the color of the daylilies.  Somehow I didn't get any good shots of other daylily areas this month, sorry.

On August 10, most of the flowers in the northeast corner of the backyard came from hydrangea shrubs and the long blooming 'Rozanne' hardy geraniums.

Also on August 10, the view facing northwest included a few little 'Thumbelina Leigh' lavender shrubs and some unruly 'Cranberry Double Click' cosmos off in the distance.

On August 10 the White Garden included blooms of 'Green Jewel' coneflower (Echinacea) and 'Green Mist' laceflower (Ammi visnaga).

 



Also on August 10, this view of the backyard included mostly shades of green, though butterfly bushes (Buddleia) bloomed just outside of the frame to the left.  It's just as well that there are fewer flowers in August, as I'm always tired of deadheading by that point in the year.

The southeast section of the backyard (still August 10) sported plumes from 'Autumn Bride' heuchera, a few late 'Sunday Gloves' daylily flowers, and a stalk of 'Casa Blanca' Oriental lilies in the back, just right of the bench.

Apparently I didn't take any wide view photos in September, as this next shot was from a wonderfully warm afternoon on October 7.  The golden 'Shademaster' honey locusts were about to drop their leaves, while the maroon crabapple trees were just starting to change color for fall.

 A final shot of the west garden, also from October 7, highlighted the yellowing foliage of the daylilies.  The catmint was still covered with lavender flowers and on warm afternoons, bumblebees and cabbage white butterflies. 
Unusually warm weather meant the roses kept blooming until Halloween, though a blast of Arctic air shut down everything in early November.  In thinking back over the year, I realize that I made quite a few changes and additions.  2015 will include some different vignettes.  Hopefully some areas of the backyard that haven't worked yet will come together in a pleasing way.  Now that the busy holidays are over, I'm ready to get out in the garden again, but I'll have to wait a couple more months to do so.