lisamartin
Newly Registered
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Nov 26, 2017 10:59 am

Landscaping tips needed - Spanish villa

Hi everyone!
I am looking for a tree, high enough to hide my neighbours' window overlooking our plot (6-7meters high), that would fit in our mediterranean house and won't grow much higher because it will be on the south side of our plot, the goal is to hide a bit the neighbours' house while keeping a good exposure to the sun. We might plant several to create a natural wall between our properties without making it feel like a wall. Anything palm trees alike would be great. We have many bougainvillas and palm trees on the property already. We need to buy a tree that's already high, we don't want to wait years before having the tree high enough.
Any suggestions ?
Already thought about Cypres, looking for alternatives

:)
More details:
The house next to ours sold one year ago and the new neighbours did a lot of renovation in their house. They changed every windows to larger ones. The kitchen window is facing our plot, overlooking our pool area and our terrace. Although the terrace is a bit higher than their window, we can see everything in their home now that they took down their kitchen wall and installed a new, larger window. We are very private people and are quite uncomfortable with the idea of them being able to see us during breakfast/lunch/dinner since it is a holiday home and we are literally living on this terrace. Moreover, we can see everything in their living area from the kitchen to the living room. In addition, our terrace is also overlooking their pool area which is not our biggest problem for us but still, we would like more privacy between the plots.
I need to mention that it is a 800m2 plot, it is hilly and there a sea views to take into account in landscaping.
Between our house/our terrace area and the limit of the plot there is probably around 15m. The terrace area is probably around 6-7meters high (2 levels house, terrace is on the second level). Their window is a bit lower than our terrace so probably around 6m high.

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Hmmm... having trouble picturing the area, but was thinking banana “trees” might grow quickly to the desired height.

You haven t really indicated summer/winter temperatures, climate, etc. so it’s difficult to know what will survive though.

Animal_lover
Full Member
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Jul 05, 2017 5:32 am
Location: Placerville, CA

What about hibiscus? It loves Mediterranean climate and might create a wall - don't know if it can grow tall enough, though. Or what about planting a lemon or orange tree? They don't grow too tall and give you fruits!

User avatar
rainbowgardener
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 25279
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

in the line of also gives you fruits, what about a fig tree?

But one thing to think about is the width you have. Most of the small trees are like this:

brown turkey fig: Reaches up to 25 ft. tall and wide.
emperor japanese maple: Reaches up to 15 ft. tall and wide
natchez crepe myrtle: Reaches up to 20 ft. tall and wide

So you want a tree that is 6-7 meters high (around 20 feet), but do you have room for it to also be 6-7 meters wide?

Also those above are nice, small trees, but deciduous, meaning they will provide very little screening in winter. Did you want something evergreen?

How about camellias? Depending on the variety, they can grow 15 to 20 feet tall and are capable of long lives. They are evergreen and have beautiful, showy flowers. Mine is blooming right now, when nothing else is.



Return to “Landscaping”