Taking down the fence. now what?

[Big Lou]

We live in Dallas County Texas USDA Zone 8a where the summers are extreme and winters somewhat cold. Continuous four season weather is not always the case.

We are removing the backyard west fence that divides our property from our neighbors and the south fence that borders the street. About 50% of our westward backyard slopes downward at the approximate same degree as ours neighbors property. I'm attaching photo's that better illustrate how the backyard currently looks. The remainder of the back yard is a bit more complex. The other 50% of our yard is higher than the neighbors. At a certain point their property begins a steady downward slope until it levels off at approximately 5' below grade which is at the northwest rear of our property. Confused, you should be. Our northwest backyard to separated from the neighbors property by a cross tie berm. This is best illustrated by a photo of our garden pond and the berm

We cannot install another fence so we are seeking suggestions about how and what to use along our property line. Our current idea is to use evergreen shrubs as a small, low neat hedge. We really need suggestions since we want to get this right the first time. Please ask as many questions as needed. Trees will not be used.

Thank you in advance



Photos:
The left portion of the south fence facing the street and a portion of west property line fence. During the project the bird house and pole will be removed and bird feeder pole set straight.


The right portion of the south fence facing the street. The tree shown in this photo is no longer there.


This photo shows our garden pond and in the back of the shot you can see the end of the fence and the side of our neighbors house. The berm is located at the rear of the pond.


Photos of the berm. In the first two pictures note the narrow space between the berm and the pond wall. Since this shot was taken the rubber liner has relaxed and now goes straight down. In other words more ground space is available for planting. We want to plant something here hopefully to distract the eye from the neighbors house wall. The third photo show a long view of the berm wall and the neighbors low side yard.




Additional photo - Front of our home

 

[Jed]

Firstly that's a lovely pond you have.
Why do you want to plant a deciduous hedge. Wouldn't an evergreen be more pleasing. My first thought were acacias/wattles but they probably would be too tall for what you need. I'm sure someone here would be familiar with your region.

 

[Big Lou]

Thanks Jed. I meant evergreens and have edited my original post. Unfortunately, the plants you suggested are much too large. Although I have not provided a photo the whole backyard is quite attractive. I have dislikeed that vinyl fence for many years. I would never recommend one. If you can think of any other plants please let me know. Thanks

 

[Kyla]

Do photinia grow in North Texas? I bet they do. Otherwise known as redtips, they are a lovely hedge plant and I believe they are relatively fast growing. Do make sure when you go to install your hedge plantings that you have good drainage! I lost an entire hedge once because I failed to ascertain the drainage capacity of the area, as it was not usually an issue there. That year though there was a week of torrential rain in an unusual amount and all the labor and expense was lost because there was no way to correct the standing water around the roots.

Maybe North Texas does not have such issues but you know your own climate best.

 

[Big Lou]

Thanks for responding Kyla. Red Tip Photinias do grow here. Unfortunately, this fast growing and attractive shrub requires a lot of continual trimming plus is prone to disease. Drainage is not a problem here. One reason is that we did not receive a tremendous amount of consistent rain. Soo sorry you lost your plants. What do you ultimately do about your hedge?

Again, thank you.

 

[Kyla]

Oh darn, I was hoping photinia would be the solution for you. But, how about Ligustrum? Or what my daddy called Texas Privet? I don't know how fast it grows but I always loved it so, and the blossoms have such a wonderful scent.

As for my situation, that was actually a job I had and not my own garden. I was fortunate that the gal who hired me didn't hold me to blame for the mess, too. But she saw how hard I worked trying to solve it and I guess she took pity. Also this was a number of years ago and I honestly don't remember what she ended up doing. I never solved it, though.