Natural Screens for Protection and Privacy

Today’s backyards have truly become outdoor living rooms, perfect places for entertaining, family fun and everyday activities. However, outdoor living often means we need a little more privacy or protection from the elements. Trees, shrubs or vines can provide a natural solution. Natural screens can be less expensive than fences or walls. They can add texture, color and fragrance as well as privacy. Plants can also help control noise, keep dirt and debris from your yard, and protect you and your lawn from too much wind or sun.

Natural screens can:

• Separate the street or neighbors from areas where you entertain or relax.

• Hide work and storage areas.

• Divide parts of your lawn, like garden and play areas, and guide foot traffic.

Here are a few options:

• For maximum privacy, a solid hedge of shrubs works well. Evergreens provide year-round screening and can be informal or formal, depending on how you trim them.

• Vines on trellises are quick-growing and inexpensive. They work especially well in narrow spaces.

• Even single trees or shrubs, carefully placed in a line of view, can solve privacy problems.

• Plants can channel air for a soft, relaxing breeze or create the right amount of shade for that late-afternoon barbecue.

Shrubs, trees and vines can also help you control the climate of your yard for more enjoyable entertaining year-round. In fact, the air temperature in the shade of a tree can be 10-15 degrees lower than in an unshaded area.