side lot hedge or fence
Hello from Hamilton, Ontario Canada
My house is on a busy corner lot in the city, and I have a good size albeit fairly narrow side lot that I would like to turn into a lovely garden. Looking at the article "A Dynamic Design for a garden Passageway" has me thrilled. I notice he has an iron fence. My problem is city bylaw and prickly neighbors re fencing... is there any way to use plants or a hedge down the length (say 60-75 ft) that would create privacy, a windbreak (border faces north), still allow view for traffic coming down side street and be relatively easy to look after? I am wondering if you have any pictures of hedges or names of plants to consider. Or should I go for some kind of "temporary fencing", and if so, what kinds. Any photos would be helpful.
Thank you for your responses in advance.
Spookababe.
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(post #15396, reply #1 of 7)
You should call Hamilton's traffic department and get their policy on "Daylight Triangles" That is the area at each corner of an intersection where there can't be any visual obstructions.
Once they tell you how far back from th ecorner it has to be clear, ask about height. usually it is around 1.0 - 2.0 metres high.
Now you know the area that you have to keep low. Start your hedge behind that. But Don't give up! You *may* be able to put a tree in there as long as you keep it pruned high enough that a truck driver would be able to see under it to check for oncoming traffic, and its trunk is back from the corner far enough that it doesn't encroach on the daylight triangle. While you are on the phone with the city, ask them the following (using my exact words) "how far back from back of walk does the road's Right of Way extend" What you are asking is how far back from the sidewalk is your property line. The city actually owns a fair amount of property back from the sidewalk.
Anything you plant in the right of way (between the road and your actual property line) you should consider as a donation to the city. If they do any work on the road, plants that have been planted there will be destroyed. You will not be compensated for them since the plants are officially on city property. Tell them you plan to put a hedge in there. I doubt they will care. They will say you have to maintain it. (you already cut the lawn there, so that shouldn't be a surprise).
If you want some cast iron up in the daylight triangle you will likely get thumped by bylaw enforcement (thank the neighbours). But you CAN end-run that by putting in a corner of rock (yes, I would use it here) or other perma-scape. even a short section of interlocking retaining wall ($$$$) that tapered off into the hedge. The trick is to just keep the corner clear, and then tie the corner into the hedge which no one can complain about as long as it is on your property, doesn't block sidewalks, and is maintained. If you wanted to, you could put up your cast Iron fence to follow the line of the daylight triangle (usually it angles off the corner of your property nearest the corner), and then plant in front of it. You often see this done in big fancy neighbourhoods with entry features, and at the main driveway to shopping centres. An example of this is at the driveway to Strathallen College. (I went to Mohawk.)
If it can die, I can kill it.
Certified Brown Thumb, 4th degree
If it can die, I can kill it.
Certified Brown Thumb, 4th degree
(post #15396, reply #2 of 7)
Hi Dagwood,
Thanks for your great response. Yup, have talked to Hamilton City-issues of their concern include permanent stucture (building permit) which I didn't plan on having anyway- visibility for traffic at the corner and of course easement to sidewalk. I didn't want to put the fence right to the sidewalk anyway. I think your ideas are great and will allow me to come up with a plan.
I like your rocks idea. I'll call the city back and find out about the height/distance for visibility. That should help too. I am having a hard time coming up with the boundary materials/concept. Really the plants are relatively simple once that's figured out.
Got any ideas about what plants I should use for that "hedge"?
Spookababe
(post #15396, reply #3 of 7)
How good is the relationship with neighbours?
Depending on whether you get along well, and whether they will snitch, your choices may vary. As a kid we had a fence of yews along one side of our lot. Along another it was cedars (corner lot) but that was in Kitchener in the 70's, and times have changed.
I really think that as long as you keep your fence/hedge out of the daylight triangle and under 3 ft tall, no one will say anything. I'm not sure about Hamilton's building bylaws though. You should research that (it sounds like you already have).
If I were doing a planting adjacent to a sidewalk, and needed the setback distance, I would likely put in some vigorous, thorny roses in the ROW space and daylight triangle just so dogs wouldn't be using the garden, and to discourage kids from stepping in it. The name escapes me right now, but we had one at my last house that formed a nice thick blanket with lots of tiny blooms and never got above 2 feet tall.
If I were in your situation, I would mulch heavily, put the roses in, and then put up a very short (2 foot high) garden fence. The fence is more for decoration and delineation. To people walking by it says "step beyond this, and you're on my turf." It doesn't need to be permanent. You can buy the cheesy plastic border fencing at Home Depot or Crappy tire, but I am thinking something a little more permanent looking than that.
Behind the fence, plant the real garden. Here you can put in some junipers for height and privacy, some shrubs for shape, and some small trees (like Jap. Maples, Crabapples, and flowering pears) and then fill it in with whatever your heart desires. Remember this is the side of the garden YOU will be looking at while from the street they see the roses and fence; which are pleasant, but are really the back of the garden.
When you do this, bear in mind that you will still need to get out there to cut the lawn on the boulevard. You may not want to drag the mower all the way around to get out to it, and if that's the case a pathway wide enough to slip through with the mower (gated) may be beneficial. Of course, this may open up a shortcut to neighbourhood kids.
Being in Hamilton you also have a wonderful resource in the RBG. They have a spring plant sale that you MUST NOT MISS. Good prices on plants you may never get a chance to buy again.
If it can die, I can kill it.
Certified Brown Thumb, 4th degree
If it can die, I can kill it.
Certified Brown Thumb, 4th degree
(post #15396, reply #4 of 7)
I once had a privet hedge that I cut at various heights and widths all in the same border. You could also use cotoneaster lucidus or a salix nana. These three are all deciduous, but shrubby enough to give some sense of privacy.
You could come up to the corner, cross over diagonally to the other side. Plant a limbed up tree, a flowering crab, maybe underplanted with something colorful like petunias (rather than the rock). You could keep the hedge shorn to a couple feet and step it up father from the corner line of sight.
(post #15396, reply #5 of 7)
My home is on a corner lot with west and north sides being the street sides. When we moved in, the entire thing was enclosed with a peashrub (Caragana) hedge and set to lawn. I still have the hedge, I maintain at 3 ft. to ensure views for drivers, with a once a year trim. I have dug up the entire lawn and converted it to garden with a path and patios, and and large arch at the path entry. I would like to dig up the hedge and plant naturally low growing shrubs instead. I'd love bridal wreath spirea, but it may grow too tall.
The rock idea is good, but I'm at the top of a hill and the winds from the northwest scour my property. I need some kind of windbreak at the corner, which even the bare branches of the peashrub provide.
The neighborhood kids, and the mailman, use my path instead of the sidewalk, to move around the corner. I don't mind this one bit.
Lone Pine Gardening has a great little book called "Tree and Shrub Gardening for Ontario" by Alison Beck and Kathy Renwald. A great resource.
(post #15396, reply #6 of 7)
My next door neighbors have a Bridal wreath spirea hedge by our lot lines and it definitely gets large. They prune it down to about 5-6 feet every couple of years, but in between it gets easily 8 feet tall. I suspect if it was not pruned back it would get even bigger and bigger. I planted a short hedge of a Japanese spirea once, I don't remember the exat name of it, but it has pink/red/white flowers and after about 10 years is only about three feet tall. The bridal wreath spirea hedge is a beautiful backdrop for my flowerbeds when it is in bloom, and I love it, but if you decide on that just expect it to get tall. And I want to be gardening too, but am a little deterred by several feet of snow at the present time. This too will melt!
Edited 2/22/2009 2:52 pm ET by 1946
(post #15396, reply #7 of 7)
With pink, red and white blossoms your plant is probably Spiraea japonica 'Shirobana'; it gets 2-3 feet high as you describe also. Other shorter varieties, all japonicas, include 'Anthony Waterer' (3-5'), 'Little Princess' (3'), 'Goldmound' and 'Limemound' (3'), and for really really short try 'Magic Carpet' which often holds at 18".
Marty
"The plants have been good to us." Lester Hawkins
Marty
"The plants have been good to us." Lester Hawkins