A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Landscape trials and triumphs Please help hide me from my neighbors!

Hello everyone! I'm new and seeking serious help! I don't know much about plants or gardening. I'm from far northern MN and haven't grown much in my lifetime! I now live in a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri (zone 5b?) and am fighting for some privacy.

Here's the deal: we live in a regular neighborhood and have a 6ft privacy fence. However, our backyard is basically on a hill, with the back fence being the lowest part of the hill. So, all of the neighbors to the rear of us have a clear view up into our yard!

The problem is that we have a pool, which is at the highest part of the hill. We've lived in this house for four years now. It wasn't in great shape when we moved in. The back yard was dirt, and there were 9 osage orange trees. We had six removed and now we have grass, but no privacy!

Along the rear fence line there is a small strip garden with daffodils, some low bushes, etc. and a rock border. There is nothing tall in this strip.

We've asked advice each summer from local landscaping stores on what to plant for privacy along the fence line. Of course we want something that grows quickly and we don't want to spend a fortune, but we really haven't been given any great ideas. It seems like some of these stores just want to make a sale and don't really listen to you. Or, if we go in with an idea of something we saw elsewhere, they'll discourage it if they don't carry it. For example, someone recently suggested poplar trees. The closest gardening center said that they have too short of a life span. I didn't get any detail on what that life span is!

So, I'm turning to the real experts! Please let me know if you have any ideas or advice for me! My husband seriously feels that we'll have to move if we don't get this solved!

I should add that I planted some Giant Reed grass last summer. It grew very fast and got at least 15 feet tall, but I don't know if it's going to come back this year. I saved the tops and was hoping to plant the "seeds" from it, but I don't really know what I'm doing!

Poplars will give you privacy for many years. Most 'short lived' trees mean they don't live for centuries. A poplar will grow for about 25 years and send up new babies from the roots (many). Look online for poplars in garden catalogs for some of the best prices. They will also grow about as quickly as any plant can for coverage as fast as any can without have adult trees moved in for you (expensive).

Oh and a most important part...Welcome!

poplars are deciduous and lose their leaves for winter. So you would lose your privacy for winter too.

Thank you so much! I had to wonder what a "short" life span was for a tree! I'm not to concerned about winter because we won't be outside much.

You are very welcome. There are other trees out there too. Poplars are just one of the fastest growing though. I like them for spaces on the outer fringes. They are not good around septic tanks or vulnerable plumbing because of invasive roots. Their leaves tend to shimmy and sparkle in breezes. They do tend to sucker from the base or from the roots so you do need to cut down any unwanted babies.
I'm also thinking that some kind of privacy wall or screen closer to your pool might help you feel more comfortable as well? Maybe latticework with vines or something? About 6 ft away from your pool. It would add to your privacy feeling if someone is truly nosy.

We thought about planting something against the back edge of the pool, but that's basically where the hill starts, so I think it would look funny. I should have taken a picture, but I feel like that would basically cut off the majority of our yard. We'd come out of our house and see patio, then pool, then lattice, no grass. Does that make sense?

yes, I do understand. It makes perfect sense. The lattice would certainly block your view as well.

Someone's going to have to help me with the name. But I'm thinking of the evergreens that grow like pillars. I see them used as privacy screens all the time. But I haven't a clue as to there name or rate of growth. It's just a thought.

There is an Oak tree that grow around 5 feet a year as well---

is it Nutteral Oak???

that may help as well--the 3 to 5 feet ones are fairly inexpensive.

Last summer I saw a pool that was surrounded with beautiful arbovitae, which are evergreen. It made a nice wall all around for privacy. They can grow quite tall, but if you have any deer around it is not a good tree to plant - it's deer candy!

Thanks! I'll check into that one too! Noo deer - our yard is fenced. I was looking online at Lombardy Poplar trees. One site has them for around $35 per tree, shipped at 3-5 feet while another has them for $6.50 per tree, shipped at 2-4 feet! Is there really that much difference in pricing with such places, or do you think the cheaper site is going to mean poor quality? Of course I'd like to go with the cheaper site, but I'm leery since it's soooooooooo much cheaper!

These holly trees were in 1 gallon pots and were planted 6 years ago. They broke off during an ice storm one time but are still pretty big.




in this picture you can see the trees that we planted in front of the hollies. They are Arizona Cypress and are disease resistant. We bought them in either 1 or 3 gallon pots for $7.00 each. The info says they grow 3 feet up and 3 feet out a year but those were planted 6 years ago and also broke off, almost in half for some of them, during an ice storm.so they grew more than 3 feet. They were about 30 feet tall before they were cut down for the road widening. The hollies are on a little hill but the cypress were on the flat ground. They were beautiful trees. Fluffy and a silver sort of color on the edges.

Thanks! I think I'll check prices at a couple of local garden centers and then check online again.