In article .com,
"Joe" wrote:

I have a question which I am sure has been asked many times before
about screening plants (for Melbourne). I have a picket fence approx.
4ft (1.2m) high and 15ft (4.5m) in length which I would like to plant
in front of. I am not looking for a complete privacy screening hedge
nor something that is super tall.

Ideally I am looking for a medium coverage, approx. 10ft (3m) tall.

Suggestions so far have been pittosporums, bamboo or conifers, none of
which I am really interested in.

They would provide complete coverage and would be much taller than desired.

Any thoughts? I have tossed up ideas about weeping trees of some sort
like a weeping cherry that would grow higher than the pickets then
cascade over slightly.

I don't think that would make your height requirement.

4.5m is not very long at all. If you were looking for shrubs to 3m, you would
only be able to fit two of them into this space, and possibly only one,
depending on the shrub. A lot of shrubs are wider than they are tall. Would
a small tree be better? Is there an absolute height requirement imposed by
power lines etc?

When you say you want these things planted *in front of* the fence, do you
mean between the fence and the street? This is usually a very narrow bed,
inappropriate for shrubs or anything spiky (otherwise I'd suggest shrub
roses). Or do you mean *in front of* from your point of view?

And what colour scheme are we looking at?

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"... if *I* was buying a baby I'd jolly well make sure it was at
least a two-tooth!"
Mary Grant Bruce, The Houses of the Eagle.