in the pic.. i dont understand where you are referring to ...

right down the line of the short cement line???

if so .... all you need do.. is look at the grass... if it were truly shady.. to the extent to affect a plant.. the grass would be weak ...

its not..

so i would suggest.. you skip this variable ... good you considered it.. now reject it ....

i would also suggest you find something better than a golden eunomous .. but i dont know your zone well enough to offer alternatives ....

look outside bigboxstore ...

how deep is the foundation of the cement.... if properly pored... and 6 to 8 inches.. i would suggest you will both be dead and gone before a shrub will move it .... more facts on this part ..

ken

ps: that tree will damage the cement.. long before a shrub.. BTW.. is there a circling root around the trunk????

Hi,
I am posting another picture. I am wanting to plant the hedge on the inside of the concrete retaining wall. The area is now in dirt in the picture. It is about 3' from the concrete wall. The wall is about 12-18 deep, up to 24" as I just removed a stump in that location.

The tree is a maple and has lots of surface roots. I have pruned it pretty high. You are right, that grass is very healthy.

I just took the pic and summer has done a job on it and also lots of dirt form removing the stump...it will come back a little.

My other neighbor has Escallonia and it is beautiful and provides a lot of privacy.

I hope my neighbor does not get upset about it, but it is all on my property. I am tired of seeing his different tenants go in and out of the apartment upstairs with access through the garage.
We are in a nice SFH suburban area in Portland, OR.

Thanks!

I want to wall the area off!

its his house we are looking at??? .. and you want to plant this side of that little thing you are calling a wall????

dont turn your gizmo to take the pic ...

ken

Yep. You are looking at his house. The "curb" there is his retaining wall.
You can see where I have been working on preparing the soil on this side of the retaining wall.

I was much impressed by hollies planted locally between a bunch of one story condominiums and a major road. From the Road you could not see the buildings at all. The holly was of a form that has no spines on the leaves. Still beautiful, although vines have come, as they always do, and some tending is needed to uproot them. Holly is easy in my area and a natural understory tree on my property, so it seems quite shade tolerant, but I cannot see where you would have a problem with excess shade, going by the photos.

I don't think shade is a problem, based on what you are saying. I am looking for a good hedge plant now. Leaning toward Escallonia.

I don't think shade is a problem, based on what you are saying. I am looking for a good hedge plant now. Leaning toward Escallonia.

cpy911,
If the maple isn't there any more, you can plant anything you like there as a nice privacy hedge.
Personally, I would choose Japanese privet, and shear them after they bloom and make cute trees out of them. See pics online, they take a good shear easily, but need to be faithfully watered in the heat.
They will grow nice and fast for you, so you will be pleased when you don't see your neighbors in the first season you plant them.
There is also wax leaf privet, a little different, very attractive bush, takes pruning very good. Doesn't grow as fast as the Japanese privet though.
Another option could be ornamental grasses also.
They will need water, but they grow fast, and except for the first couple months of spring, when they are cut back, you will have privacy from June through the next March every year. I have silver Miscanthus grass, needs water, but it is beautiful and about 7 ft tall and 5 feet wide.
Or you could just find a tree that spreads at the top, and is evergreen, you could buy a larger specimen at a local nursery, see what they have. That would look nice and you will plant it and water it in this winter and the maintance will be a lot less than a hedge.
Oh, by the way, look up Pittosporum on Google.
I love these bushes, they are beautiful and have orange fragrant flowers in spring. Perfect for what you want to use it for.

Options (all will need regular maintenance/pruning). Some are taller, some are wider. Some may not be hardy there.

Ternstroemia gymnanthera
Pittosporum tobira
Viburnum 'Conoy'
Viburnum propinquum
Osmanthus x burkwoodii
Osmanthus heterophyllus (Goshiki) -- slower.
Osmanthus fragrans (if hardy there)
Photinia
Choysia ternata
Arbutus unedo
Japanese hollies (Steeds, etc).
Holly 'Castle Wall'
Ilex 'Honey Maid'
Ilex 'Dwarf Burford'
Lorapetalum (lots of pruning)
Sasanqua camellia
Ligustrum japonicum
Golden Euonymus
Abelia
Phillyrea latifolia

Many more. Ask at your nursery.

Will your neighbour mind your going onto their land to cut your hedge? If they might you need a space on their side but within your boundary for maintenance. The strip of soil you've prepared doesn't look wide enough in the picture to take a hedge of Escallonia. It will be about a yard wide at 6 feet tall - and that's with regular clipping. If allowed to grow naturally you'd need about 6 feet width to allow for its growth.

I don't think he would mind me trimming on his side. I plan on widening the strip to about 3 feet and plant about 2 feet from the retaining curb. That gives me almost 3 feet to his lawn. If the plant is 6 feet wide, it should not bother his grass.

You may consider asking your neighbor if you could plant something there that may go over onto his property by 2-3 feet. He may not have a problem with it at all.
Where I live, people apparently didn't believe in easements back in the late 1800's. The south side of my house is butted right up to the property line as is the north side of my neighbor's garage further west along our properties. I asked him if I could plant some Dallas Red lantanas along the south side of my house that hang 4+ feet onto his property, and he was totally fine with it. As a fair trade off, I mow the grass between our two properties. In these photos the brick border is 4 feet onto my neighbor's property. I have a good relationship with all of my neighbors. We treat each other well and look for one another.

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