Perennials: Privavcy Barriers(Screen), 0 by ButterflyChaser

ButterflyChaser wrote:
For evergreen shrubs, I like Loropetalums. They're ever-purple, tolerate sun or shade. A lot of the businesses around here grow them and they keep them trimmed into ugly, formal little balls. I let mine grow naturally and trim them when they get in the way. They can be trained as an espalier for some architectural interest. I should mention that there are different Loropetalums; some are dwarf, some are medium sized, and some grow rather tall if allowed to. So read the tags to see which size you're buying. Mine bloom pink pompoms in the spring and fall. I think they bloom on new growth so if I trimmed them more often, I might get blooms more often. Maybe one day I'll have time for all that.

For non-evergreen plants, I use tall cannas and arundo donax variegata. Arundo is in the cane family, similar to bamboo. It spreads rapidly and gets very tall; mine is about 10 ft tall right now. It also makes canes like bamboo, which I use to stake my tomatoes and make trellises. Arundo is much easier to divide and control than bamboo. It spreads by rhizomes like cannas and gingers and they're easy to dig up. I've tried to dig a clump of bamboo and it's nearly impossible; in fact, I couldn't dig it up which is why I didn't bring it home to my gardens. Now I'm glad I didn't. The arundo is much better substitute. My arundo starts out white in the spring and it's awesome! It's usually white until it gets about 6 ft tall (when summer hits), and then the foliage changes to yellow with green stripes and then gray green looking much like bamboo. Here's a pic of it in spring.