Take time to choose the right plants to use as screens
One of the challenges we face as gardeners, no matter where we garden, is finding the right plant for the right place. When it comes to plants for creating a screen or hedge in a narrow space such as between buildings, or along a property line or driveway, choosing the right plant or plants is especially important. A screen can be open or solid, as long as it distracts and draws the eye away from the area you are trying to screen. If there is lots of room where the roots will be, then there are many options, both deciduous and evergreen. If space is restricted for both root and top growth, there are fewer choices. If you’re ambitious and you want something different, free-standing espaliered plants like Magnolia grandiflora ‘Little Gem’ make a dramatic living fence. Evergreen vines such as Carolina jessamine, Gelsemium sempervirens, trained on wire fences also act as an effective screen. Using large pots planted with trees or shrubs so that roots have adequate space is another way to create enclosure or privacy. Prunus caroliniana ‘Bright N Tight’ is a compact selection of Carolina cherry laurel that grows 10 feet to 15 feet high and 8 feet wide. It works well as a screen in a pot or in the ground as a hedge.
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