Hello everyone, We are considering using a very tall hedge to mask the views created by two buildings about 33 feet high (see photo below). The house is on the French Riviera, so in a Mediterranean climate. In your opinion, what kind of dense, drought-resistant hedge could be planted to effectively conceal these annoying visibility issues and shield the pool from view? Do you think it would be technically feasible to create such a tall, vegetal screen in this climate? What result could we expect? Thank you! Phil
I think growing a perennial vine will be easier to maintain in my opinion. You only need to have a scaffolding of some type, over which the vine can climb - In exactly the desired shape and height you want. This way you won't need to deal with the headaches of constantly trying to shape your hedge over years. However if the regulations are such that you can't have a scaffolding, then obviously, hegde is the only answer. Therefore I'd recommend Conocarpus, as it grows VERY FAST, and is easy to shape. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conocarpus Conocarpus is actually very drought resistant, as in the last 20+ years since it's been introduced to my area - It's done very well in my hot and harsh coastal semi desert environment at the shores of the Arabian Sea. So this tree/shrub stays green throughout the year here in Karachi.
You're welcome! However please wait around a bit before ordering and planting - As there are gardeners over here at the GardenStew, who are far more experienced then me, (some of whom have been gardening since long before I even existed). So I'm sure someone else over here is going to come up with a far better suggestion soon.
We are leaning towards planting Mediterranean cypresses 5 feet appart and letting them grow without trimming.
That's an excellent idea also. I assume the aim is to have some privacy around the swimming pool area. So I think Mediterranean Cypress (pencil pine) will look great as well. Unfortunately we don't have it over here, and I don't understand why. Because Wikipedia page of Mediterranean Cypress says that it grows in northeastern Libya and in Egypt too, as well as in Iran. Plus it's suited for coastal areas. So why not here in my region??? However we do have the Drooping Ashoka tree over here that's very popular, (and grows in a similar way). Which my insane neighbor keeps cutting the top of, making it very ugly, (see link below). https://www.gardenstew.com/threads/dendrophobia-fear-of-trees.42979/ She actually has an extreme case of Dendrophobia - Which is a fear of large trees. Hard to believe I know, that such a mental condition exists, but seeing is believing...
