living fence

When we bought our house it came with two driveways...one on each side of the house. The lower driveway empties into a large concrete pad which I use as a courtyard. This area is also fenced-with a very old picket fence. We made due until this year when the back panel literally was rotting out and falling down. With our house being Tudor, we are somewhat limited with what fencing options to use, not to mention budget. Stone is the only traditional element that our house is missing, but an entire stone fence would have been thousands-not where I want to spend my money. One night last week I had the idea to introduce plants as a more eco-friendly alternative to traditional fencing. I also could allow for an arbor or gate to provide access to the backyard-something we hadn't had before. Believe you me, it's not so much fun to lug two 2 gallon watering cans from my rain barrel all the way around the house to water in the backyard. We ripped out the old fence and I planted 4 Howardii Ligustrum (8'x6') and got a great deal on a metal arbor with gate. I then set out to replace the rotted landscape timbers. I'm happy with the results so far. The other two fencing runs will also be replaced. The jury is out on the long run as I want to plant Fragrant Tea Olive (10'x6') while my husband wants to replace with new wood fencing. We are in agreement that the front panel will be faced with stone and we will add a metal drive fence to tie it all together. I know this much, I will definitely be waiting until fall to do any more planting!