Perimeter Privacy

Maybe you’ve already purchased a piece of property, or you are in the process of closing on one but one thing you need to take into consideration is whether or not the property has your home secured from street view. While you may not have the current threat of people doing bodily harm to you, there’s always the obnoxious neighbor that loves to live at her window as she waits for a gotcha opportunity.

Ideally, you want to have a piece of property where your home is situated towards the back with a road the snakes from the entrance to your parking spot. You don’t want anyone to be able to see your home, let alone where you park your vehicle. I live in a community where we’ve had a spate of thieves blatantly stealing gas right out of vehicles during daylight hours, and it will only get worse as the economy worsens.

If you have already cleared off property or just a section of it is visible to the outside world, I’d like to suggest a few plants to help you erect a visual fence for your property. The absolute best visual blockage would be just natural woodland forest because obviously it blends in with the Florida surroundings but we want to work with what we can.

All of the plants are zones 5-9 and will work to help build your forest layers. Please do your due diligence and research the heights, width, water requirements, light requirements and any fertilizer needs. If you live outside zones 5-9, check your local nursery for assistance. Some of these are not safe for kids, some are not safe for pets and some have massive thorns so do investigate before buying.

• Azalea
• Bamboo (Clumping) – please speak to a knowledgeable nursery owner before just randomly picking a variety of bamboo.
• Bay Laureal
• Holly
• Boxwood
• Privet
• Dogwood
• Euonymus
• Juniper
• Forsynthia
• Oleander – Please wear long sleeves, gloves and khakis when handling this plant as it can cause severe rashes.
• Viburnum
• Camellia
• Simpson Stopper
• Pineapple Guava
• Tea Olive
• Little Gem Dwarf Magnolia
• Arbequina Olive
• Muhly Grass
• Elephant Ears
• Firebush
• Gardenia
• Roses
• Spanish Bayonet
• Turks Cap Mallow
• Crape Myrtle
• Fakahatchee Grass
• Indian Hawthorn
• Bottlebrush

As always, if you need assistance, come find me on facebook and make an appointment for consultation. Happy homesteading!