Landscaping: Planting Living Privacy Borders

Planting a living privacy border is a great way to get more privacy, create a relaxing space in your yard, block wind and attract wildlife. You’ve probably seen these around a lot and they tend to be a big long row of one type of larger evergreen like leyland cypress, thuja, cryptomeria or spruce.

A row of solid leyland cypress

We like our borders to have some more variety. I select a few evergreens, flowering shrubs, a smaller ornamental tree and some perennials to make a truly fantastic living border. This sort of border really creates a garden space- a peaceful haven where you can sit and put your feet up and watch the birds.

A nice variety of evergreens, shrubs and perennials to create a softer living privacy border

While variety is my key component I do repeat multiples of the same type of plants. I would select the following from the categories below, based on your sun/shade exposure: one tree, 2-3 evergreens depending on length of border, 2-3 flowering shrubs and 3 perennials. These are just some ideas of the ones we like to use- there are many many options! Let us know if you need help selecting or you can go to your local nursery to see the plants.

Small ornamental trees:

Redbud, Dogwood, Witch hazel, Elder, Star Magnolia, Fernspray falsecypress, American holly

Evergreens:

Fernspray falsecypress, Cryptomeria, Thuja, Inkberry holly, Rhododendron, American holly

Shrubs:

Viburnum, Clethra, Inkberry, Mt Airy Fothergilla, Azaleas, Rhododendron, Red Twigged Dogwood, Winterberry holly

Perennials:

Tiarella, Heuchera, Coreopsis, Blue and Red Lobelia, Joe Pye Weed, coneflower, there are so many possibilities in this category.

Place Your Plants

Once you have selected the plants you would like to use then place them in your new bed in a somewhat random fashion. To help with this I have quick sketch below to get your creative juices flowing. Starting from left to right I like to do an evergreen, then a tree, 2-3 shrubs, another evergreen and 2-3 more shrubs. Then I place some perennials in front, filling in appropriately. The important part is to mix it up but try not to have more than 3 or 4 different types of plants. You can use the template below and fill in your favorite tree, evergreen, shrubs and perennials and even repeat the pattern if your border is longer than 30ft. When I design living borders I imagine the plants 5 years down the road as they grow in. Don’t plant too closely in the beginning!

Enjoy watching the wildlife enjoy your new peaceful haven!