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I plan to build a seating area close to my neighbor's yard.

The little problem is privacy, and I would like to solve it by making a cherry laurel grove. Since I am a kind of plant-collectory person, I would like to have various cherry laurels.

Can you help me design that area?

cherry laurel grove plan

The size of planned cherry laurel area is appr. 6m x 2m (18ft x 6ft). It is a very sunny area. Existing magnolia, cherry and maple are dwarf or stunted specimens, and do not represent significant light or other barrier.

My yard landscaping style is naturalistic (so no formal features) ).

This is not my yard (though I wish it was), but a visual explanation what I want to achieve:

enter image description here

The cherry laurel cultivars available in my area are following:

  • ’Any’ - H 0.8-1m, W 1.5-2m - young leaves dark red;
  • ’Caucasica’
  • ’Etna’ - H 2-3m, W 2-2.5m - young leaves copper-orange;
  • ’Kleopatra’ - H 1-1.5m, W 1-2m - young leaves light copper-orange;
  • 'Mano' - smaller than usual (6x3cm) leaves
  • ’Marbled White’
  • ’Otto Luyken’
  • ’Reynvaanii’
  • ’Rotundifolia’

I would like to combine as many as possible cultivars.

I don't mind light pruning in the future.

Is this a good idea at all?

Can you suggest some placement of cultivars? (I will be looking at the grove usually from "future seating area", so that view is more important; "desired view" mentioned in the diagram is a larger view to the rest of my yard that I want to remain unobstructed)

VividD
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1 Answers1

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A 'grove' is composed of understory trees, most coveted are multistemmed species. Your are considering dense shrubs? Would love to help with this as 'groves of trees' are one of my 'things'...a grove of trees makes a space; that space will have a roof and walls and a floor. My favorite 'grove' tree is Amelanchier alnifolia multi trunked. One needs a minimum of 3, 4 is better and 5 is better yet...or even 7 made to sweep around the bottom of your viewing area. 3/8 minus gravel makes an incredible floor. A leveled spot for adirondack chairs, small table...up lighting for your trees using little black spot lights all lights turned away from people's eyes...that grove will be breath taking even at night. No lights necessary for paths...the ambient light will be more than sufficient. Better security than bright security lights. Where is your home? Any area meant for humans should be accessible from the home...especially at night. Hot tubs need to be within 20 feet! Something like that or they won't get used. What are you imagining? Cherry trees or a dense, solid hedge for this 'grove'...a grove is one of the most wonderful out door rooms one could add to their landscape...powerful, just need to wait 3 to 5 years for the effect. There are many other species that would work beautifully but if you want an easy keeper, gorgeous flower show beginning of spring...super duper foliage, berries to bring in the birds, gorgeous soft dove gray trunks, fall color to die for, a low canopy human height to give you a vase shaped ceiling, the trunks for walls and some thick gravel you have a wonderful room with blossoms falling all around, or fire colored leaves trickling down from the canopy in the fall...branching pattern gorgeous for the winter...Service berry is a rare 4 season beauty tree.

Please send me a sketch, by hand, on graph paper, give it a scale such as 1/4" to the foot, put your home in there, neighbors, road, irrigation (roughly) and some idea of the slopes, like draw a cross section, rough with your idea of the slope? Do you know what a pea shooter is by any chance? Do you have a level? Just take your level, look down the top and when it is level, mark the spot at the end of the level. Take the height where you stand with the level to the level at your eye height use that as RISE. Measure the distance to that spot as a level, straight line. That is RUN. RISE/RUN=SLOPE.

stormy
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  • am a bit puzzled,, that's not what I understand grove to mean - the actual definition of 'grove' is 'a group of closely planted trees, without understory planting, which may also be called a copse or a thicket'? Is that not the case in the USA? – Bamboo Nov 21 '17 at 10:35
  • I planted four amelanchiers in some other places in the yard this spring - however they are very rare in my area, both in nurseries and in nature - and expensive as well! I am also not sure whether they would provide the screening I need. – VividD Nov 21 '17 at 14:38
  • @stormy Is aronia melanocarpa comparable with amelanchier regarding beauty, screening, wildlife attraction...? – VividD Nov 21 '17 at 15:12
  • @stormy I asked separate question (https://gardening.stackexchange.com/questions/36279/amelanchier-canadensis-vs-aronia-melanocarpa) on aronia vs amelanchier. Thanks for giving me new ideas! – VividD Nov 21 '17 at 18:41
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    @stormy The scene with adirondack chairs and a table is powerful. :-o – VividD Nov 21 '17 at 23:07
  • Cool, I didn't know you needed screening even though 'groves' of small trees do provide some screening. I would suggest Taxus b. repandens for a low screen and for a medium screen...send a to scale sketch (sort of to scale) to include house, sheds, neighbors, fences, anything else that will help to 'see' what is happening for both of us. Thanks, Vivid! – stormy Nov 22 '17 at 00:53
  • @stormy This weekend I am starting digging the seating area from my drawing. It needs leveling, it is situated on a mild slope. – VividD Nov 22 '17 at 01:37
  • Don't make it perfectly level, give it 1 to 2% slope. For gravel dig down 4", use stakes and 2X4 pt for edges. Lay landscape fabric down and fill with 3/8 minus crushed gravel. Use only dove gray color. For a 'more' natural look sink 2X4's with the top level below the finished surface at least 1/2 inch so the edging doesn't show and the gravel can spill over the edging willy nilly. More informal look. You'll still want to compact at least 3" of your gravel as you fill between the edger boards then cover the last 1" and rake. Or allow the edgers to be level with the finished surface... – stormy Nov 22 '17 at 20:49
  • ...they will eventually go gray and match the gravel. For round corners use set radius each curve and score to bend the 2X4 (1/4" every inch?) Check that. You could also use Treks brand lumber made from recycled plastic. Only use dove gray. To bend you use a propane torch very very very carefully so your board doesn't break because it is cold and too brittle. Adirondack chairs should be bright white, matt finish. Or teak and allowed to gray. There are protective stains in matt that are clear that allow the UV to gray uniformly and much quicker. Very nice. – stormy Nov 22 '17 at 20:56
  • ...to figure the amount of gravel in cubic yards, divide the number of square feet by 81. That will give you how many yards to order to fill 4"... – stormy Nov 22 '17 at 20:58
  • If you can't find Amelanchier, multi-stemmed redbuds (Cercis canadensis) would also work well. If you're not familiar with them, they have fantastic magenta flowers in spring and butter yellow fall foliage. Much large leaves than A. alnifolia, which might be an asset here. They get about 20' tall, though, which might be taller than you want. No pretty berries, though, and nothing that I know of eats their seeds. OTOH, I've seen Orchard Orioles eating insects drawn to the flowers, so there is some possible spring bird-food available. – Jurp Nov 24 '17 at 00:24
  • @Jurp I agree with your alternate! Forest Pansy is a lovely purple colored tree...green and purple? Bill Gate's stupid contractor was able to take 7 of them I had tagged, ribboned and even paid for! Perfect group of Forest Pansy Red Buds. They are a bit particular with light and moisture and need at best raised beds for better drainage. More light. Great pruning skills, their frame work is spectacular. They aren't at all as hardy as Serviceberry. If managed correctly, Red Bud is spectacular for 2 seasons...20' to 30' is called a small tree. Perfect height for human 'rooms'.... – stormy Nov 24 '17 at 02:26
  • Multi stemmed or multi trunks are the trees to look for...lots of so called multi trunks are merely branches off a single trunk down low near the soil. – stormy Nov 24 '17 at 02:29
  • @Vivid ...no matter what, you should make sure to get a gas powered Stihl blower. You'want to blow the leaves and organic matter off and out of the gravel...a blower is critical to make your life easier doing yardwork. Get me that sketch and I'll send you a quick sketch with possible choices to shop for for those perennial beds in that picture you posted. Easy peasy! – stormy Nov 24 '17 at 02:33