Achieving Privacy With Your Garden

To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization, and at present very few people have reached this level.
Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970), Conquest of Happiness (1930) ch. 14

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One thing many homeowners want from their garden experience is privacy!

Today, I'm going to speak about some covers that can give you that privacy and more.

Vines have been called nature's drapery, and privacy is certainly one of their attributes.

For trellis growing, there are two types of plants to choose from:

1. Those that climb by twining around their support
2. Those that climb by attaching small tendrils or leaf stalks.

Hardy perennial twiners to consider are the silver vine (Actinida polygama), a relative of the kiwi with silvery leaves and white spring flowers, and Dutchman's pipe (Aritolochia durior), which has large heart-shaped leaves.

Ducthman's pipe can take a couple of years to get established, and it does not leaf out until fairly late in spring. But once it gets going, it makes a beautiful wall of green.

Vines that climb with tendrils include grape (Vitis spp.), which you can also grow for its fruit, and clematis, of which there are hundreds of species and cultivars that offer a mind-boggling assortment of flower colors and shapes.

Try one or more of these on a trellised porch!



Victor K. Pryles
"The Weekend Gardener"