Living Fence

Installing a living fence by using hedge plants is a great way to give you some privacy in your backyard landscape, decrease noise, give you a wind barrier, and help the environment all at once! Now how often can you accomplish so much with such a simple task?

Hedge plants are wonderful...WONDERFUL means to add much needed privacy to your front AND back yards. They are a much cheaper alternative to installing outdoor fences, and they are virtually maintenance free! What a bargain!!

I have landscaping bushes on every one of my perimeters. The hedge plants don’t encompass the entire property line, but are sufficient enough to give me much needed privacy.

Probably my most favorite hedge plants is the one provided by my arborvitaes (opens new window) along the east side of my house. This row of evergreen hedge plants gives me a great deal of privacy from my neighbor’s house even though it is only about 20 feet from mine. I haven’t even met my neighbor’s in the last 5 years!! Now that’s privacy!

But let’s not forget our old friend the privet bush (opens new window). I planted a row of these landscaping bushes on the west side of my yard. They started out small and scruffy, but are now averaging about 5 feet in height and they’re filling out quite nicely.

Another good option for a living fence is the boxwood hedge. These evergreen hedge plants don’t grow as tall as some of the others, reaching a mature height of no more than 6 feet, but do well even when trimmed at a much lower height. They are also more moderate growers. Whereas the privet bush will grow more than 12 inches in a season, the boxwood grows slower, making it an ideal choice for those who desire a shorter fence. And it can be trimmed and fashioned into all sorts of fun shapes – like a box! for example.

Yews are also excellent hedge plants to use for a privacy fence. The Japanese Yew can grow to about 20 feet in height, and is tolerant of shade making it a very desirable landscaping plant. The Japanese Yew has rounded pine needles, so they are soft to the touch as opposed to other sharp pine needles. The female variety of the Japanese Yew produces berries which can be toxic to pets. Make sure you are planting only the male variety if you have animals that you need to protect.

Enjoy creating your own unique living fence.

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