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If you are not using your garden as much as you would like because it is not private enough, this article is for you. Below I explain how to create a living hedge or screen even if you are on quite a tight budget.
Opt for the lower priced screening trees
Screening trees are ideal for the job. They grow fast and you end up with a dense barrier between you and the neighboring space. As well as stopping people from being able to look in on your property they have the potential to keep a lot of noise out as well.
There are several varieties available. You can buy Thuja Green Giant from The Tree Center without having to spend a fortune to do so. This particular variety of screen tree is typically cheaper to buy than the more popular Emerald Green Arborvitae and Leyland Cypress varieties are. Yet, Thuja Green Giant still grows nearly as fast as they do. It also reaches a respectable height of around 40-feet. If you do not want them to be that tall, all you need to do is to cut the tops off as soon as they reach the desired height.
If you buy the younger trees that are only a foot or two tall you will only have to wait a season or so to end up with a screen that is nearly as tall as an adult. Younger, shorter trees are very much cheaper than more mature trees.
Buy your trees gradually
You do not necessarily need to buy all of your trees in one go. There is no harm in buying one a month during the planting season. You will be surprised by how quickly you will complete your living hedge even if you have to do it in a piecemeal fashion.
Look out for special offers
At different points in the year, most nurseries and tree retailers hold sales. Keep an eye out for them and buy your trees then. In some cases, you can get as much as 50% off. It is worth signing up for a few newsletters. Most firms notify those people on their mailing list of upcoming special offers. This means you get the chance to buy before anyone else and reduce the risk of the trees that are on special offer from selling out before you get a chance to buy.
Buy with a friend
A lot of firms offer considerable discounts to those people who buy in bulk. So, if you know that someone else in your street or area also wants to create a living hedge you could consider buying your trees together. Naturally, with this arrangement, you would need to know the person well and feel that you can trust them.
Do the planting yourself
Another way to save money is to do the planting yourself. Provided the trees are not too tall, this is not hard to do. You can learn the correct way to plant most screen trees by reading this pamphlet, which is written by a forestry expert.
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A former school teacher, Jocelyn Brown created Hip Mama’s Place in 2007. Her motto for this blog is: get inspired, create and share! Jocelyn loves sharing about food and recipes, crafts, DIY projects and her random travels with her family. She also loves all things social media, but her latest obsession is Instagram.
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I am really loving this idea, I had no idea you could buy trees! How cool is that? Definitely saving your post!
My mom is fond of gardening and she has a big garden as well as the farm. I wish I too had time for it!
I would love to do this because we live at an intersection where two roads meet – and the stop sign is at the edge of our front yard! When we sit on our yard swing, we end up staring at cars going by, which is not much fun and there’s no privacy. A row of trees or hedges would be wonderful! We do have a fenced-in back yard and raised flower beds, though, along with bird feeders. It’s really pleasant back there!
Hmm.. I’m gonna look into this species as we need a lot for our backyard. I just need to know if it will grow good in the desert as it is really hot in here. And if the roots don’t grow crazy as we are worried about the pipes in the pool. Thanks for sharing.
Your post reminds me so much of being a kid. Growing up we lived on a farm and I can still remember the year my parents planted the grove of trees along the entire north side. I was in charge of mowing and every year the space between them got a little bit smaller. They’re all mature now, and it’s fun to remember back. x
I actually wasn’t sure what a green garden screen was until I began reading the article. It makes sense now! We have one made of large bushes. However, those were mostly there when we bought the house. These are great tips and I had never thought about how much work and money it would take to accomplish this. Gives you a whole new respect for those yards you pass that have nice ones!
This is such a great idea. I rent now so it’s not an option for me at the moment. However, when we purchase a house this is definitely something that I will have to keep in mind.
When we moved in our realtor said “you could plant some trees and in a couple of years they’ll screen the neighbours’. Well we didn’t and now I’m kicking myself, lol. I really do need to get on and do it because it will make all the difference!
This year I plan on investing time and effort into building my own garden for fruits and vegetables. I haven’t planted in years and I’m a little nervous of animals trying to get in and eat my crops.
Wait you can buy trees? I had no idea this was possible like this…
We have a corner house so a little more privacy would be a great thing. The greenery would make a great screen.
Wow a garden screen is a great way to give some privacy to a space, I think it would look amazing in my yard.
This is such a perfect way to create more privacy in the yard. I have a green garden screen along my backyard and it’s wonderful at helping us feel like we have more privacy from prying eyes of the neighbors.
I have been wanting to put up a green buffer/screen. These are great things to keep in mind.
I work in a nursery, and these are great for creating a green buffer. They do grow so quickly and you can trim and shape them as needed. Definitely a popular choice for creating privacy in your yard.
That’s really helpful and it will make your garden look even better as well. I think it’s a brilliant idea especially if you want a little more privacy in your garden.
I love garden screens in certain places in my yard. This year we’ll be planting along one side and these are all great tips to make it easy on the wallet!
This is a consideration for the Spring plans we have in mind for our garden. Would definitly look better than what we have now.
I love this! A garden screen is so much prettier than a bare fence. We’ve been talking about doing something like this to hide the fence we have to have for our dogs.