Yes, this would work, but make sure you buy plants which aren't
dwarfs. I like variety so up against my back fence I have many
different things.

Afghan pine
Cassia
Vitex

Other things as well. If you want it to be a monochromatic hedge, you
can't go wring with Texas sage, but if one gets sick you will lose
them all. They aren't prone to diseases, but only if you don't over
water it.

On Wed, 20 Sep 2006 03:10:26 GMT, "oldhickory"
wrote:

I have an idea about planting hedges around my new back yard. We are fenced
all the way around with white vinyl fencing and have a sprinkler system.
It's not a huge yard but I'd like to start making it something special. I
was able to get two raised beds in for herbs this year and am ready to start
planning for fall and spring.

I was thinking about hedges on both sides, maybe even across the back, to
create an old fashioned English garden setting, or maybe japanese. I think
bamboo would be tough to do--clumping bamboo doesn't propogate so it would
be more expensive and running bamboo...well, you know...

Anyway, I thought, perhaps, purple sage would be a possibility. I have read
that it can get up to 6-8 feet, which would be enough (if I don't get busted
by the HOA for letting it get too high) and the flowers would be a gorgeous
addition.

I'm concerned that keeping the sprinkler system going frequently enough
(usually every 3rd day for about 10 minutes) to keep the grass alive, will
be too much for the sage. I'm especially concerned that it might not get
tall enough.

Any words of advice from experts out there?

Thanks for any input!

ie