I live on a corner, and the south side of my house faces a street. This is my favorite part of the yard, BUT the neighbors across the street have completely trashed their yard and I'd rather not look at it. (And to be clear, I'm not talking about unconventional landscaping here - they actually just leave heaps of trash in the front yard for extended periods of time.)
So, the spot I'd like to screen off has 3 baby trees staggered throughout it. Once is a 4-foot tall sugar maple sapling that is actually in my yard, and 2 are street trees in the terrace between the sidewalk and the street (both about 10 feet tall, a linden and another maple). The trees are spaced a good 20 feet apart from one another in a 'V' shape.
I'd like to place a shrub or small tree on either side of the little maple sapling (which forms the point of the 'V') to help block off the view. I'm thinking a small northern magnolia (my garden center has one that only gets to 10 ft tall at maturity) and a Compact Stella sweet cherry (gets to 8 feet tall at maturity and is self-fertile). These are both trees/shrubs I'd really, really love to have in my yard, but don't have the space for right now.
The thing is, I know sometime in the future (I'm guessing 10 years from now at the most), the spot is going to be too shady for both the cherry and the magnolia, and I'll have to take them down and come up with a new solution. I'm thinking for the $50 I'll spend on the two trees combined, I'm OK with that. Should I just go with some shade tolerant shrubs from the get-go and forget about having the cherrry and magnolia?
Thanks for your thoughts!
So, the spot I'd like to screen off has 3 baby trees staggered throughout it. Once is a 4-foot tall sugar maple sapling that is actually in my yard, and 2 are street trees in the terrace between the sidewalk and the street (both about 10 feet tall, a linden and another maple). The trees are spaced a good 20 feet apart from one another in a 'V' shape.
I'd like to place a shrub or small tree on either side of the little maple sapling (which forms the point of the 'V') to help block off the view. I'm thinking a small northern magnolia (my garden center has one that only gets to 10 ft tall at maturity) and a Compact Stella sweet cherry (gets to 8 feet tall at maturity and is self-fertile). These are both trees/shrubs I'd really, really love to have in my yard, but don't have the space for right now.
The thing is, I know sometime in the future (I'm guessing 10 years from now at the most), the spot is going to be too shady for both the cherry and the magnolia, and I'll have to take them down and come up with a new solution. I'm thinking for the $50 I'll spend on the two trees combined, I'm OK with that. Should I just go with some shade tolerant shrubs from the get-go and forget about having the cherrry and magnolia?
Thanks for your thoughts!
