What a busy season it has been. May and June are usually a very busy time but the very unpredictable weather has made it really challenging. It has been very hard for those of us in the landscape profession to plan or schedule anything. Thank you to all the patient customers who have put up with the moving deadlines and have even watched your gardens be installed in the pouring rain!
On that note I would like to welcome my 2013 customers to their first issue of Down The Garden Path. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to look at past issues in the archives for the answers to your gardening questions.
On June 9th, one of the nicest weather days so far this spring, I was able to go on the Toronto Botanical Garden Tour again this year with a friend. It was held in Forest Hill this year. The landscapes were similar in some ways (to 2012's Rosedale neighborhood garden tour) and very different in others. The one thing that really stood out to me was the use of trees for privacy. I will talk more about it in my feature article. I hope you enjoy it.
Our gardens should be all tidied and now waiting for the blooming to begin!
Next to a request for low maintenance gardens, the request for privacy tops the list with my customers.
I do my best with the use of trees and wooden screening but many are concerned about how big trees grow and how they may affect neighbors etc.
On this tour I found no such concern... just aggressive plantings that really created privacy as well as a statement.
These trees were planted close together and 'topped' to create a hedge-like effect and provide privacy for homeowner from their raised deck.
This grouping of 5 Dawyck Beech trees created screening of the neighbors' house from the homeowners' window.
This home with a circular drive created a statement entrance or privacy 'hedge' from the street depending on how you look at it. This row of beech contrast nicely with the pachysandra ground cover below. Could you see this in a backyard looking for privacy from a neighbors' deck?
This time green beeches were used under very mature trees to fill the narrow space between the driveway and the neighbors' house.
Another example of creating screening. This time evergreens. Here are hemlocks planted closely together to fill this space. The pool was built last year.
I hope these pictures inspire you to think outside the box in your quest for privacy. Trees can be pruned and trimmed to make them into what we need them to be. They are very resilient.
Concerning ourselves too much with their 'future' growth may be preventing us from having the backyard we want now.
A look through the garden gate...
Here are some more inspiring pictures from
The Toronto Botanical Garden Tour 2013 in Forest Hill.
Joanne Shaw is the owner and operator of Down2Earth Landscape Design. A graduate of Ryerson University in Landscape Design, Joanne has 15 years experience in designing gardens and a decade in landscape and related business, both for her own clientele and established local nurseries.