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ikea_gw

HELP!! Neighbor has striked again!

ikea_gw
13 years ago

So first my neighbor put a giant shed along the fence line and now he has built a giant ugly compost bin! I would like to plant some low shrubs that will screen their yard but the area is under trees so it doesn't get any direct sun except for winter. There is some filtered sun and the ground is very moist due to rainwater runoff. So can you help me find something that will grow nicely there? So far I have some mountain laurel and aucuba but I'd like something faster growing. Thanks!

Comments (27)

  • buyorsell888
    13 years ago

    seven foot solid cedar fence?

  • drrich2
    13 years ago

    'Low' and 'screen' aren't descriptors I usually see together; neither are 'low' and 'fast growing.' Just how tall would this shrub row need to be? What's the tallest you would accept? Are you after a row or one type of plant, mixed or what?

    Richard.

  • ikea_gw
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Richard, it needs to be 5ft tall at least and the tallest I would accept is probably 10 ft. I don't mind a row of the same type of a mixed row.

  • User
    13 years ago

    I would buy the fence.
    First the shed, now a compost bin?
    Cries for a fence.
    To each his own, LOL.

  • Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
    13 years ago

    Your shade may be problematic.

    We have similar issues with our neighbor and we have decided a tall fence is in our best interest.

  • cnm7
    13 years ago

    Silverberry is nice, dense, and will grow in full shade. Once it gets to size, you'll never see that eyesore nextdoor again.

  • ikea_gw
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    I am lobbying for a fence with my husband but he prefers the natural look. I don't know why he thinks a 14 ft tall shed or a giant compost bin look natural.

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    13 years ago

    I'd go with the fence too and then add things in front of it (or even on it) to make it look more natural. The fence gives you a starting point. It takes care of the problem and then allows you to tweak your plantings (small trees, shrubs, vines, perennials, etc) however you want. Go with a quality fence that will last and that will be high enough to take care of the problem. If you have plenty of room, you might consider setting the fence back just a little for ease of maintenance.

  • jay_7bsc
    13 years ago

    Oh, please. Let's preserve Her Majesty's English. Shouldn't the subject line read: . . . Neighbor has struck again! . . .?

  • Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
    13 years ago

    Ikea, a fence blocks today. A living screen will not block for several years minimum. Very simple decision tree. He can plant shrubs in front of the fence.

    I, personally, cannot imagine many simpler decisions than this.

    Dan

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    13 years ago

    jay, it makes no good sense to begin a critique of grammer, spelling, or other language problems on this forum.

    Bad manners....now THERE'S a target for ya.

  • nancyd
    13 years ago

    ikea, I have a similar issue with my neighbor's trampoline. Why do these things always seem to appear as far away from the owner's house as possible?! No offense to anyone with children, but watching 5 little boys jump their brains out isn't something I enjoy looking at while I'm relaxing on my patio. They're nice kids, but it's a bit much. Anyway, we have a four-foot fence around our property, but but the neighbor's property sits higher than ours in that area, so a taller fence is not an option because it would have to be ridiculously tall and out of code.

    I may have some options for you. I've thinned out some of the trees to let more sun through and limbed up a scraggly pine branch. I've had a problem in this area since I moved in 13 years ago. It's very, very difficult to grow a hedge, let alone quickly, in shade. What has worked for my are forsythia (if you can get enough sun through) and privet. I don't feel guilty as I'm not the one who put the trampoline there. We both get privacy and all is good.

  • schoolhouse_gw
    13 years ago

    As mentioned you'll wait awhile (at least 5yrs.)for any decent screen from shrubs, but remember unless you plant stuff that doesn't drop leaves in the fall, you'll still have that unwanted view during the winter.

  • wild_belief
    13 years ago

    It's not a particularly quick grower, but if you got some bigger starters, you could try Ilex glabra... it would certainly tolerate the damp soil, and can deal with more shade than a lot of the literature says, especially here in zone 7. They can get leggy when they start to get older, but with a little pruning, they make for a decent screen- I've got a row doing just that. Not the most interesting plant all in all, but they get the job done!

  • tina_2
    13 years ago

    Hi - I would try these. They have wonderful red blooms.
    I have mine in mostly shade, it grows fast!
    Good luck. tina_2

    Here is a link that might be useful: turk's cap shrub

  • jay_7bsc
    13 years ago

    rhizo,
    The purpose of previewing one's message before posting it is to correct errors in spelling, grammar, etc. That's a good thing for anyone to do.

  • Embothrium
    13 years ago

    I had an image of him walking back and forth, carrying a placard and shouting slogans.

    Fences and hedges, as the saying goes, make good neighbors. The problem with the neighbors behind us is that our fence is not as high as the code would permit - big mistake that was, putting in a shorter fence when the woods behind were sold and developed.

    Another mistake was putting in a gate between us and the one place. One of a sequence of occupants thought at one point it would be okay for their kid to use this gate to walk through our place to visit the kid on the other side - without discussing this with us first.

    Now we just have people who reach across the fence and mal-prune our shrubs, throw the cut branches down in our yard.

    They also have a shed right next to the fence, in a corner as far as possible from their house.

    And old, unusable rotten firewood stacked against our fence.

    Erect a good solid fence, then plant taller-growing shrubs and trees in front of it for added height.

  • nancyanne_2010
    13 years ago

    bamboo - make sure to use bamboo barrier.

  • mori1
    13 years ago

    Red twig dogwood loves moisture and partial shade. Mine is over 7 ft tall.

  • adopt_greyhounds
    13 years ago

    I know the bad neighbor thing all too well. Mine cut down 10ft viburnums and replaced them with ugly arborvitae. Then she cut down our mature 10ft hedge. On our property. Sigh. We put up a fence and I'm willing the sad little shrubs to grow quickly.

  • alia
    13 years ago

    A rustic cedar fence will enhance the natural look and obfuscate the neighbor's hideous additions at the same time. Tell your husband he can nail bird houses on it to invite more wildlife, or some such thing.

  • adopt_greyhounds
    13 years ago

    That's kind of like what we put up. Not cedar but nice and rustic looking. I have one bird house, I think I need more! Plus the shrubs are growing up well. I'm thinking the neighbor won't be cutting them again, unless she really likes snooping on us that much. Needless to say the windows on that side of the house (that were formerly protected by the hedge) always have the shades drawn!

  • dee_can1
    13 years ago

    "Nancyd - ikea, I have a similar issue with my neighbor's trampoline. Why do these things always seem to appear as far away from the owner's house as possible?!"

    The horror. I know, I've been there. They loved to use my fence to jump off onto the trampoline.

    My county has set-back by-laws stating that sheds have to be at least 4 feet away from the property line. I had to use this when my neighbour put his shed on my property... long, gruesome story.

  • krgardens_z6a
    13 years ago

    For shade, Rhododendron are great everygreen sheilds. The are not very dense, but will spread and provide good screening over time. Plus gorgeous flowers. I also have viburnum that grows in shade, but it is supposed to need some sun, though mine doesn't seem to. The red twig dogwood is a good choice, too, though little help in winter. Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) is another lovely shrub for shade. It is beautiful in flower, which here in northern new Jersey is just finishing, and has very pretty leaves. It thrives in understories, but is not as dense as a hedge. If you set either rhododenron or kalmia in a bit from the site you are trying to sheild, however, you will be unlikely to see to the shed and compost bin beyond. A large mirror set back against the shed behind your new lovely sheds gives depth and interest in that corner too. Just a thought.:)

  • calliope
    13 years ago

    "Why do these things always seem to appear as far away from the owner's house as possible?!"

    Sitting here LOL. Because they know they are ugly and don't want to look at their own stuff.

    Fence? Walls would be better. Stone walls.....the English have the right idea.

  • johnlvs2run
    13 years ago

    > Now we just have people who reach across the fence and mal-prune our shrubs, throw the cut branches down in our yard.

    > They also have a shed right next to the fence, in a corner as far as possible from their house.

    Maybe you could mal-prune their shed?

    There is a setback here too. No sheds or any other structures within 6 feet of a fence.

  • Embothrium
    13 years ago

    I've finally gone to buying big tubbed shrubs and planting them in the gaps between the existing ones. Over time I'm going to really pack it.

    But in a coordinated and attractive way. The site is dark and rooty, yew, holly and box will be the mainstays. The first one to go in will be a silver holly that will go very well with what's left of the ~half century old deep crimson red 'Trilby' rhododendron that was sawed on after I pointed out the property line marker and said not to be cutting on our side.