Comments on: The Screening Test

By: kerri

kerri — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 02:49:14 +0000

I finally got back to read your post!
As Pam says, it’s like reading an article in one of your books. Very interesting. You’ve shown some fabulous plants!
I haven’t planted any really tall perennials or grasses because I don’t want to block our view, and our neighbors are far enough away so that we don’t have a privacy issue. We do have some trees (some very large) to give us a wind screen and a bit of privacy, plus lilacs and a few other shrubs.
Your garden looks wonderful with all the tall perennials Nan. They fit in so well with your house and yard, but in my mind’s eye I just can’t picture them in mine.
We have surrounding fields full of Joe Pye Weed and goldenrod which are gorgeous, so there’s not really a need for me to grow them. We get to enjoy them without any work invested! :)
I’d love to fit the ‘Lemon Queen’ in somewhere though, and that Ironweed looks gorgeous. I love the ‘Cloud Nine’ photo especially. That stuff is gorgeous with it’s soft, fuzzy effect, and all those plants look so good together! You sure have a knack for pairing plants.

Hi Kerri! I like your comment about not having to grow the tall perennials because you can enjoy them in your fields. That’s actually another reason I like them here, because I’m trying to create a visual link between my meadow and my garden. I’m still not sure that I’ve accomplished that, but I think I’m getting there.

By the way, you were right about the photo of my garden also being on the inside of the Gardening How-To magazine: it’s the same path as on the cover, but looking in the opposite direction. That one too was reversed!
-Nan

By: ken from Sweden

ken from Sweden — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 19:37:36 +0000

I love your garden and your piqtures.
I now the feelings with flat garden..we have it to.
The problem for us with tall perenials is that here in Sweden it rain weru much and they dont like it.
If you now what I mean.
Here in Sweden the fall is comming, so now is the time for relaxing, reading garden books for example.
Regards Ken

Hi Ken! I understand how it could be difficult to enjoy tall perennials if they are prone to sprawling in rainy conditions. Our summers are often rather dry, so the stems here tend to be pretty sturdy – at least on those I consider my favorites. We’re due for a deluge tonight, though, so we’ll see what stays upright by tomorrow!
-Nan

By: Meadowwood Garden

Meadowwood Garden — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 13:57:29 +0000

Thank you for such an excellent and timely post! I’ve been wracking my brains trying to find a decent and relatively inexpensive way to screen the view of my neighbor’s house. The problem is that I need to screen about 250-300 feet of a 700 foot lot line!

Whatever is planted needs to be hardy in zone 5b and at least somewhat effective during the winter. Minimal pruning is necessary because of the sheer amount that will be used. Height needs to be at least 7 feet. I’ve been considering some sort of evergreen. Do you think switchgrass might be a reasonable solution?

Thanks again for opening my eyes to this new possibility!

Brian

I definitely think that ‘Cloud Nine’ could be a good option for you, Brian. If you want grasses that are even taller, consider giant reed (Arundo donax) or ravenna grass (Saccharum ravennae), or the Miscanthus giganteus that Steve suggested. In spring, you could cut any of these down with a brush mower, a string trimmer with a blade attachment, or even a chain saw. Perhaps you’d want to consider a combination of tall perennials and grasses to create a border-like effect. That might be a cheaper route, because then you can use whatever’s easy to find. Hey, here’s another idea to save money: Maybe see if you can get divisions from a gardener in your area through Freecycle.org?
-Nan