PLANTING for privacy needn’t mean creating an evergreen fortress, writes TOM ATTWOOD. Privacy is something most of us want, especially in our garden spaces and by using and selecting a range of plants this is entirely achievable.

The default choice are the evergreens and it cannot be denied these offer something really effective every day of the year. However, they don’t have to be the only option. You can still achieve privacy using ‘non-evergreen’ or deciduous plants. The trick is using a mixture, and this is when it’s important to work with the space you have and to also think about how the plants you put in are going to fare in years to come, especially when it comes to available space.

My parents moved to a house some years ago where the boundary of the property was planted with golden Cupressus, a fast growing conifer used extensively in this country. Some 30 years on from when it was planted the plants are in a mixed state largely as a result of some bad pruning and chopping with large vacuous chasms in the main growth. It looks dreadful and leaves you with a dilemma as the entire boundary is composed of this one plant with extensive root systems that are hard work to remove. Gradually, they are taking sections and replacing them with a mixture of both deciduous and evergreen plants. We opted for a range to include Snowy Mespilus (Amelanchier), Golden Holly (Ilex ‘Golden King’) Portugal Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus), the Spindle Tree (Euonymus europaeus) and Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus). This mixture not only looks infinitely more exiting but will also provide food for wildlife from the berries produced in the autumn. There are flowers in the spring for insects as well as fantastic autumn colour from the Euonymus and Amelanchier. The plants are staggered so that an evergreen sits either side of a deciduous plant and if strategically planted can produce a very convincing ‘screen’ but without it becoming an overbearing, impenetrable block.

Next week: dressing your pots for winter