As a rule, a garden can be protected from prying eyes with an ordinary privacy hedge made of cherry laurel or flowering shrubs. In the case of gardens on a hillside or next to high-rise buildings, trees may also be necessary as high privacy screens.

Beeches can also be cut as a hedge

Keep distances for legal and practical reasons

Planting vigorous tree species undoubtedly requires far more thoughtful planning than landscaping a flower bed or a low shrub hedge. After all, trees can quickly reach sizes and heights that sometimes make changes and maintenance measures very complex or expensive. So ask yourself in advance how close you can and should get the trees to be planted to the property line. After all, not only the height of the trees themselves, but also the shadows they cast can become a problem for neighbors over the years. In addition, it is not uncommon for trees that have shot up to have to be removed after a number of years, so that gusts of wind do not represent a sword of Damocles for your own roof structure.

Choosing the right tree species

When looking for the right type of tree as a privacy screen, the fundamental question to be clarified is whether the desired privacy screen should and must also be given in winter. Trees such as maple, beech, willow and poplar lose their leaves as deciduous trees in winter, so that only the trunk and branches can provide a certain privacy screen. The situation is different with pines, spruces and firs, which as conifers can provide the desired privacy screen in the garden almost unchanged even in winter. However, other factors such as the usual habit of the respective tree species also need to be considered. Although poplars are generally considered to grow very quickly, they remain relatively narrow in stature. With poplars as a privacy screen, relatively dense planting in the form of hedges would therefore be necessary. A maple tree forms a broader tree crown, but it hardly branches in the lower trunk area. If the green privacy screen is to form a green wall down to the ground, it is more advisable to plant spruces. However, with increasing age, these may no longer be cut out in the lower area, as it is then very difficult for them to form new branches at the base.

Rapid growth is possible with trees

Last but not least, trees are often used as high privacy screens because they are usually comparatively inexpensive and sometimes create amazing growth of several meters a year. Under the right site conditions, the following tree species, among others, grow particularly quickly and reliably:

  • maple
  • ash
  • Spruce
  • beech
  • pasture
  • poplar

Caution pruning: professional tree care provides security

In particularly exposed locations and with certain tree species, improper pruning can sometimes destabilize the treetop against attacking gusts of wind. Therefore, the pruning of particularly stately specimens should be done by a professional arborist, especially when it comes to trees on busy roads or next to buildings.

tips

Trees can not only act as a particularly high hedge at the property border, but also define or block certain visual axes in the garden when planted solitarily. A cleverly positioned tree with a stately crown can also shield views of a terrace or lawn from high neighboring balconies.

Category:

Garden design