Your Secret Garden

Planting for Privacy

By Amy McDowell

The garden is a place to get away from the world—to escape from everyone and everything. Shed that cloak of stress and step into nature’s embrace. Your deck or patio can be an intimate, private retreat. It doesn’t matter if your neighbors are delightful—you can engage them in conversation if you choose—but you must create a space in your garden that is isolated from the outside world.

Privacy fences are tremendously popular because they create a visual barrier that takes little space and little care. There are many wonderful plants you may use to create a softer barrier. Here are a few shrubs to help create privacy in your garden. They are just about as easy to install and maintain as a fence.

Emerald arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis ‘Emerald’) is a narrow, upright evergreen commonly used for screening. It creates an attractive deep green backdrop for other plantings—flowering perennials look stunning in front of arborvitae. Emerald arborvitae grows slowly, reaching twelve feet tall and four feet wide at maturity. Pruning is not necessary to keep them looking sharp. Some arborvitaes suffer winter burn that creates brown patches, but emerald arborvitae is hardy and durable.

Lilacs (Syringa vulgaris) form a terrific hedge as long as you have the space for them. The deliciously fragrant blooms will fill your garden in May. You can find lilacs that bloom in every shade of purple, pink, and lavender, and even white or pale yellow. The common lilac grows fifteen feet tall and about eight feet wide. The best way to prune a lilac is to cut out no more than one third of the oldest, woodiest branches close to the ground. This will encourage new suckers to sprout at the base, keeping the overall size reduced and the blooms within range of your nose, rather than above your head.

Viburnums come in many shapes and sizes. Arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum) is named for its arrow-straight upright branches, and Koreanspice viburnum (V. carlesii) is named for its fragrant blooms. Arrowwood viburnum will grow to eight feet tall and six feet wide, and Koreanspice viburnum will mature to about five feet high and wide. Viburnums have rich dark green foliage and are extremely hardy here in central Iowa. In addition to these two, there are many other excellent varieties to choose from; each with its own wonderful characteristics.

Your list of plant choices is blessedly long and diverse. If your deck is elevated, your site may call for a small tree or a cluster of them. Imagine your deck or patio embraced in privacy. Picture a lush green barrier in your mind. Your new plantings may not give you the instant privacy of a fence, but it won’t take long. Take a deep breath. Soon you will have that delightful, secluded pocket of heaven in your garden.