As land sizes get smaller, the quest for privacy in the backyard becomes more of a challenge.
There are several plants you could place along your fenceline that will soon give you a green screen.
Grevilleas make a excellent screen while also attracting birdlife. They grow quickly, will take full sun and flower throughout the year.
Photinia and viburnum are ideal plants for a hedge that you keep clipped two-to-three metres. Both produce a white flower and the new growth of the Photinia is a vibrant red.
Murraya (mock orange) is another quite fast growing hedge that has a lovely perfume.
Oleander and NZ Christmas bush can work as a hedge in windy areas.
Lillypillies are another options but they can be susceptible to psyllids, an insect that damages the new growth of the plant. The variety called Acmena generally has the best defence against this bug.
Bamboo is the good choice for a fast growing hedge as they are very dense and bushy, but make sure you get a clumping non-invasive variety such as Bamboo Gracilis, or a variety that is cloned from another non-invasive variety (i.e. not grown from seed). Clumping bamboo species are available from half a metre to four metres in diameter.
If you have a nursery or garden centre nearby it would be worth speaking to a horticulturist about which local plant varieties are suitable for your area.
