Hi folks,

I'm in a suburb in southern Ontario. We decided to buy a house that backs
onto conservation to get a little more privacy than the standard lot would
offer. Everything was great until our next door neigbour decides to install
a patio door and 2nd floor deck off the back of their house with a full view
of our back yard!!! (which wouldn't be so bad if they had a better past time
than watching us swim).
As the old saying goes, tall fences make for good neighbours... I'm looking
for a 15' fence! unfortunately the local bylaw will only allow for 6'.

Any good suggestions? It seems to be popular to go white cedar, but I'm not
totally impressed with the look. I have to cover about a 30' length.

I've done a couple of searches and came up with a few names:

Hungarian lilac
Spartan juniper
English laurel
Red elder
Siberian pea shrub
tall hedge buckthorn
Russian olive

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance

For some inexplicable reasons, "walms"
wrote:

:I'm in a suburb in southern Ontario. We decided to buy a house that backs
nto conservation to get a little more privacy than the standard lot would
ffer. Everything was great until our next door neigbour decides to install
:a patio door and 2nd floor deck off the back of their house with a full view
f our back yard!!! (which wouldn't be so bad if they had a better past time
:than watching us swim).

When they come out on their deck to watch you, have you
considered stopping what you're doing to wave at them? You also could
shout their names in greeting and yell how good it is to see them.

A few comments about their choice of deck furniture and
clothing acessories might help make landscaping unnecessary.

Either that or learn how to do cannonballs that soak their
deck....

--
Wendy Chatley Green

Any thoughts?
Yes, I would think about moving to a more secluded place.
Sue in Mi. Zone 5
(Right in the middle of 20 secluded acres.)

Shotgun?


On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 21:41:20 -0400, "walms"
wrote:

Hi folks,

I'm in a suburb in southern Ontario. We decided to buy a house that backs
onto conservation to get a little more privacy than the standard lot would
offer. Everything was great until our next door neigbour decides to install
a patio door and 2nd floor deck off the back of their house with a full view
of our back yard!!! (which wouldn't be so bad if they had a better past time
than watching us swim).
As the old saying goes, tall fences make for good neighbours... I'm looking
for a 15' fence! unfortunately the local bylaw will only allow for 6'.

Any good suggestions? It seems to be popular to go white cedar, but I'm not
totally impressed with the look. I have to cover about a 30' length.

I've done a couple of searches and came up with a few names:

Hungarian lilac
Spartan juniper
English laurel
Red elder
Siberian pea shrub
tall hedge buckthorn
Russian olive

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance

walms wrote:
Hi folks,

I'm in a suburb in southern Ontario. We decided to buy a house that backs
onto conservation to get a little more privacy than the standard lot would
offer. Everything was great until our next door neigbour decides to install
a patio door and 2nd floor deck off the back of their house with a full view
of our back yard!!! (which wouldn't be so bad if they had a better past time
than watching us swim).
As the old saying goes, tall fences make for good neighbours... I'm looking
for a 15' fence! unfortunately the local bylaw will only allow for 6'.

Any good suggestions? It seems to be popular to go white cedar, but I'm not
totally impressed with the look. I have to cover about a 30' length.

I've done a couple of searches and came up with a few names:

Hungarian lilac
Spartan juniper
English laurel
Red elder
Siberian pea shrub
tall hedge buckthorn
Russian olive

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance


Depending on the height of their deck and the distances involved, you might
not need anywhere near as tall a fence as you think to obstruct their view
(still probably more than 6 feet)

How about bamboo? Or willow? Or plant something like castor beans around
the the side of the pool facing your neighbors.

Local ordinances only allow a 6' fence, but what about a trellis? Then
plant a vigourous vine, like maybe hops or hyacinth beans.

Best regards,
Bob

How about a pull-up sort of fence thats actually some of the plastic or
nylon mesh stuff? We had a winter cover on our pool that was made of
that stuff and its not easy to see thru. Seems that HD & other home
improvement type stores have the mesh stuff in huge rolls.

walms wrote:

Hi folks,

I'm in a suburb in southern Ontario. We decided to buy a house that backs
onto conservation to get a little more privacy than the standard lot would
offer. Everything was great until our next door neigbour decides to install
a patio door and 2nd floor deck off the back of their house with a full view
of our back yard!!! (which wouldn't be so bad if they had a better past time
than watching us swim).
As the old saying goes, tall fences make for good neighbours... I'm looking
for a 15' fence! unfortunately the local bylaw will only allow for 6'.

Any good suggestions? It seems to be popular to go white cedar, but I'm not
totally impressed with the look. I have to cover about a 30' length.

I've done a couple of searches and came up with a few names:

Hungarian lilac
Spartan juniper
English laurel
Red elder
Siberian pea shrub
tall hedge buckthorn
Russian olive

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance

Sue in Mi. Zone 5
(Right in the middle of 20 secluded acres.)

Must be nice to have that kind of money (or to have gotten in early, before
it became so expensive). Not many places you can get something like that
for a reasonable cost these days.

James

"walms" wrote in message
...
Hi folks,

I'm in a suburb in southern Ontario. We decided to buy a house that backs
onto conservation to get a little more privacy than the standard lot would
offer. Everything was great until our next door neigbour decides to
install
a patio door and 2nd floor deck off the back of their house with a full
view
of our back yard!!! (which wouldn't be so bad if they had a better past
time
than watching us swim).

Check the building code... There could be something that would allow for
removing their second story deck. I know here in Calgary that this deck
would most likely be illegal.

While I hate this idea because I'm an Astronomer, I'd put up some 1,000 watt
floodlamps aimed right at them and put a elec.eye on them so that was the sun
went down, the lights would come up, thus the full glare of light would be
blinding to them.


--
"In this universe the night was falling,the shadows were lengthening
towards an east that would not know another dawn.
But elsewhere the stars were still young and the light of morning
lingered: and along the path he once had followed, man would one day go
again."

Arthur C. Clarke, The City & The Stars

SIAR
www.starlords.org
Freelance Writers Shop
http://www.freelancewrittersshop.netfirms.com
Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord

"walms" wrote in message
...
Hi folks,

I'm in a suburb in southern Ontario. We decided to buy a house that backs
onto conservation to get a little more privacy than the standard lot would
offer. Everything was great until our next door neigbour decides to install
a patio door and 2nd floor deck off the back of their house with a full view
of our back yard!!! (which wouldn't be so bad if they had a better past time
than watching us swim).
As the old saying goes, tall fences make for good neighbours... I'm looking
for a 15' fence! unfortunately the local bylaw will only allow for 6'.

Any good suggestions? It seems to be popular to go white cedar, but I'm not
totally impressed with the look. I have to cover about a 30' length.

I've done a couple of searches and came up with a few names:

Hungarian lilac
Spartan juniper
English laurel
Red elder
Siberian pea shrub
tall hedge buckthorn
Russian olive

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance




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I'm in a suburb in southern Ontario. We decided to buy a house that backs
onto conservation to get a little more privacy than the standard lot would
offer. Everything was great until our next door neigbour decides to
install
a patio door and 2nd floor deck off the back of their house with a full
view
of our back yard!!! (which wouldn't be so bad if they had a better past
time
than watching us swim).

SNIP

Obviously a row of trees is in order here -- shrubs just won't cut the
mustard. I'm not familiar with the climate in Ontario and you do not go
into detail about the property or soil, so it's tough to make a
recommendation, but there are a number of fast growing trees that are also
cold hardy. Something to be aware of however -- fast growing trees are
typically not without their problems.

Russian Olive grows well but tends to become invasive (billions of berries
that the birdies love) and they get pretty ratty. Junipers are tired and
overused, Elders invite pests. Laurel is a nice option and it's evergreen
however it's also poisonous if ingested (bad for kids, bad for pets). Pea
Shrub suffers the same issue as other shrubs -- only get to around 15 feet,
quickly become ratty, difficult to maintain and not very attractive.
Buckthorn is nice but again, it's a shrub plus it's perennial.

Several of the species you noted are viewed as invasive and in some cases
downright noxious. Something else to consider is the impact what you plant
will have on your pool -- you don't want anything that will over shade the
pool area or it will always be chilly when going for a dip. Just
something to think about.

Someone recently suggested Royal Paulownia (Paulownia Tomentosa) to me as a
viable option for some trees of interest and I'll be looking at those here
soon. Some folks hate 'em for their seeds and/or invasive nature while
others love them -- pretty standard response there.

Local ordinance requires that a fence be not more than 6' tall. Does this
apply to privacy fences or open fences? If only the former, then install
what amounts to a 10' lattice fence and cover it with vines.

If a fence is a fence is a fence by local codes (not always the case mind
you) then look at how you can actually combine solutions to achieve the
desired effects. For example....

1) Build a 15' tall pergola that separates your property from your
neighbors' property. Make it's width about the same as your pool (i.e., the
area to be blocked). Add various vines such as wisteria, clematis, and
honeysuckle to the pergola to cover it and make it an attractive landscape
addition. (As an added plus, this gives you a small sitting area.)

2) On either side of the pergola, add a 6' tall fence, per code. Tie it
into the pergola by giving them a common wall (i.e., the back of the pergola
matches the rest of the fencing or all are made from the same material, and
so forth). This adds privacy all the way across.

3) Plant a series of trees along the privacy fence area that will grow and
shield the remaining area from view. This further lends interest to your
landscape. Some species grow very wide -- might be your best bet.

The bonus about this design is that it not only gives you immediate privacy
but can really enhance the property. By rights, even your neighbors can
enjoy it if this is done properly -- there will be a nice privacy fence to
keep their side private, plus the pergola will have several beautiful
flowers and wonderful fragrances for them to enjoy while sipping tea on
their deck.

Oh well -- enough rambling. It's 2am and I gotta get some sleep. :P Hope
this helps some!

James

Laylandii

Will give you that height very quickly.
Who's garden is going to be put in the shade by it?

--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

Well, you do have the option of hedges, plants, vines, or trees that drop
their leaves, because I"m assuming that in ontario you will only be using
your pool in summer. That does broaden your possibilities. If you are set on
an evergreen hedge, some people have used blue spruces as a hedging plant -
they grow right to the ground and will grow into one another - maybe space
them 7 -10 feet apart - you might only need 3 or 4. However, they are slow
growing, so you'd probably need to spring for some big bucks to get more
mature specimens.
I like the idea one of the posters said, of building a little pergola,
trellis, or summer house between the deck next door and your pool area. Done
well, this would also provide a lovely sitting area for you after your
swims......with lots of lovely vines coming through and around - grapes,
wisteria, silver lace vine, climbing hydrangea - you name it.
"walms" wrote in message
...
Hi folks,

I'm in a suburb in southern Ontario. We decided to buy a house that backs
onto conservation to get a little more privacy than the standard lot would
offer. Everything was great until our next door neigbour decides to
install
a patio door and 2nd floor deck off the back of their house with a full
view
of our back yard!!! (which wouldn't be so bad if they had a better past
time
than watching us swim).
As the old saying goes, tall fences make for good neighbours... I'm
looking
for a 15' fence! unfortunately the local bylaw will only allow for 6'.

Any good suggestions? It seems to be popular to go white cedar, but I'm
not
totally impressed with the look. I have to cover about a 30' length.

I've done a couple of searches and came up with a few names:

Hungarian lilac
Spartan juniper
English laurel
Red elder
Siberian pea shrub
tall hedge buckthorn
Russian olive

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance

I suppose a group marriage or polyamory doesn't fit the situation.
zemedelec

On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 21:41:20 -0400, "walms"
wrote:

Hi folks,

I'm in a suburb in southern Ontario. We decided to buy a house that backs
onto conservation to get a little more privacy than the standard lot would
offer. Everything was great until our next door neigbour decides to install
a patio door and 2nd floor deck off the back of their house with a full view
of our back yard!!! (which wouldn't be so bad if they had a better past time
than watching us swim).

For (relatively) complete privacy, buy 10 acres in the wilderness and
build a house in the middle. For living in suburban communities, you
gotta make allowances. Even for 2nd floor viewing decks.

As the old saying goes, tall fences make for good neighbours... I'm looking
for a 15' fence! unfortunately the local bylaw will only allow for 6'.

Do some geometrical projections of viewing lines. I don't know the
numbers, but preventing a 12' tall platform from seeing a ground level
area may require more than a 15' fence/planting.

Any good suggestions?

Keep y'r swimsuits on. Shelter the pool area with up-slanted awnings.
If your activity isn't anything that could be photographed and sold to
the tabloid press, go ahead and enjoy, and point to and giggle about
onlookers. If they *are* obviously fascinated by your activities.
Maybe they just enjoy having a 2nd story deck. If I were rich, I'd
have French doors in my bedroom leading onto a "widows walk" over my
front porch where I could take breakfast and watch the birds in the
trees. Or possibly get a better stargazing view.

walms wrote:

Hi folks,

I'm in a suburb in southern Ontario. We decided to buy a house that backs
onto conservation to get a little more privacy than the standard lot would
offer. Everything was great until our next door neigbour decides to install
a patio door and 2nd floor deck off the back of their house with a full view
of our back yard!!! (which wouldn't be so bad if they had a better past time
than watching us swim).
As the old saying goes, tall fences make for good neighbours... I'm looking
for a 15' fence! unfortunately the local bylaw will only allow for 6'.

Any good suggestions? It seems to be popular to go white cedar, but I'm not
totally impressed with the look. I have to cover about a 30' length.

I've done a couple of searches and came up with a few names:

Hungarian lilac
Spartan juniper
English laurel
Red elder
Siberian pea shrub
tall hedge buckthorn
Russian olive

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance

Amur maple, pussy willow, barberry, and burning bush will also
work well. A mixed hedge might look a little more natural for
the area. Make sure that the bushes you choose match the sun /
water availability you have, and make sure that you don't plant
stuff with invasive roots too near the water lines or
foundation. And, now, I know you want privacy -- NOW -- but,
long-term, you will have a fuller, healthier hedge if you
consistently prune 1/3 of the new growth each year until they
reach the height you want. Then, you can just keep them pruned
off at that height.

Since I have two neighbors who believe in living life at full
volume on their back decks, I really can sympathize . . . we've
got birches, willows, poplars, red twig dogwood, olive, grape
vines, and burning bush all planted to help with the view . . .
wish we could do something about the noise -- why on EARTH would
someone want to discuss the intimate details of their finances /
sex lives where the whole neighborhood can hear?

Chris Owens




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