A screen is a row of plants grown to:
- provide privacy
give shelter
reduce traffic noise
hide unsightly views
divide the leisure area of the garden from the utility parts: compost heap, garbage and recycle bins, drying area, shed or woodpile.
to screen more tender plants from salt spray in seaside gardens.
Tips
- In a small garden, where storage areas are never far from the windows of the house, ready-made lattice is ideal for screening and climbers.
Choose plants to screen fences which look good from the ground up and are at least 2m tall.
Check the width measurements when working out how far apart to plant.
Where there is not enough space for a screen to grow, make a temporary screen with bamboo canes and sweet peas for picking or runner beans for eating.
Some prickly plants have their place as an impenetrable screen against dogs and to divert foot traffic. They also provide wonderfully safe nesting sites for birds well protected from cats. Here many of
the attractive prickly wattles and grevilleas can be used.
Most often a natural screen is made up of a closely planted row of the same species. However, plants with differing growth habits are very effective and if tall plants thin out at the base the lower growing varieties will fill the gaps.
A screen of plants is often desirable near a swimming pool to provide a sense of privacy and conceal the washing so it won't intrude upon your peaceful pool setting! A plant screen can camouflage pool supports.
Care and maintenance
To get good growth from any tree or shrub used for screening encourage healthy root growth when planting.
- Mix in compost, leaf mould or moistened peatmoss with the soil to be filled back around the roots to encourage them to spread out.
Keep up the water during the hot months until growth is established.
Do not feed until new growth develops, then only sparingly.
Trim several times during early growth to encourage branching at the base.
Prune once or twice a year, especially after flowering to maintain compact and healthy growth.
Source: Gardening Made Easy (Murdoch Books)
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