Plants for Landscape and Privacy Screenings

Best grown in well-drained sandy loams with regular moisture in full sun to part shade. Tolerates full shade but with much reduced flowering. As a vine, it is perhaps best sited where it would receive full winter sun, such as the south side of a building or against a south-facing wall. Tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions. Train as a vine on a support structure or sprawl along the ground. When grown as a ground cover, plants will spread less aggresively in poor, lean soils. Prune as needed in early spring just after flowering is completed. If renovation is needed, cut back hard to 18-24” or replace plants.

The winter jasmine, Jasminum nudiflorum, is really a wall shrub, but its long, lax stems are easily trained over trellis or on wires to cover screens and fences. Masses of starry golden yellow flowers appear on bare stems in late winter and early spring.

Cornus sericea – Red Twig Dogwood

Excellent massed or as a specimen. Effective in shrub borders where plants can be combined with evergreens or a contrasting color of redtwig dogwoods for interesting winter contrast. Also effective in naturalistic plantings in moist soils where plants can be allowed to spread and form thickets. Plants perform very well in wet locations such as low spots or along streams or ponds where spreading roots can help combat soil erosion. May also be used as a property line screen.

In Spring, it puts out attractive white flowers. Summer, it fills out into a well shaped shrub with beautiful green leaves. Fall starts warming up with red fall foliage. Come winter, the leaves drop, exposing this amazing bright, red bark. Use the Red Twig Dogwood as a privacy screen or even as a foundation hedge. It makes an attractive, large shrub all by itself, but is definitely most dramatic when several are planted together. Birds in need of good camouflage are drawn to the foliage of this shrub. More importantly, this serves as a place for shelter and food supply, too. By tending this tree, you effortlessly yet significantly contribute to providing a more conducive ecosystem to overlooked species that are integral part of our spheres too.

Security of property need not be sealed with high fences and steel bars. Nature permits gardeners to maintain the fluidity and serenity via privacy trees like the red twig dogwood. For those who simply want a private space outdoors, planting this shrub will definitely make your leisure time more worthwhile and intimate, too. You can enjoy the wind, the sun, the snow, or a little of nature’s wonders without having to worry whether you are being stalked or talked about bypassers-by or nosy neighbors.

Grows in full sun or shade, but the more sun, the more color. The red twig dogwoo is a staple in a winter garden because it boasts of bright reds that signal the time for the sappy, cozy, crazy season, too. The ravishing yet very random rusty red across a stark white scenery is both captivating and comforting. The red twig dogwood is at its peak when it sheds its leaves to let the world see its stems that seem to purposefully trim its intricacies.

is a cross between A. chinensis and A. uniflora. It is a deer resistant rounded, spreading, multi-stemmed shrub in the honeysuckle family. Typically grows on gracefully arching branches to 2-4′ tall. Specimen or grouping or mass for shrub borders or foundations. Also effective as an informal hedge or low screening.

Mass on slopes or banks for attractive shrubby cover and erosion control.Easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Best flowering in full sun. Prefers moist, organically rich soils which drain well.

Abelias (Abelia x Grandiflora usually used as a hedge) has the distinct hedging advantage of a dense, bushy habit, and throughout summer they look fantastic with the small, tubular white flowers held in clusters above reddish coloured sepals (that’s the bit that holds the flower in place) against the back-drop of dark glossy green leaves. Its small size makes it ideal for small gardens and for growing in pots for a terrace or deck.

The middle of summer is when Abelia is in full bloom. Flowers range from lavender to pinkish white to pure white depending on the variety you’ve selected. Blooms are fairly fragrant, and often persist in random numbers all through summer and into early fall in many areas. Foliage will also take on a very interesting, and equally attractive, soft purplish green color during winter months – returning to the usual dark green with the onset of warmer temps in spring. No serious pests or disease problems noted with this plant. Possible branch dieback / damage has been observed in some zone 6 areas if winter temps drop below zero degrees.