I just closed on a house a few weeks ago, we have a nice big backyard, but just chainlink fences down 2 of the 3 runs. We'd like a bit more privacy.
After seeing the price of wood privacy fence per linear foot, I'm thinking some type of plant shrubbery to get us to the 5-7 ft mark instead of thousands on fencing.
What would you plant along the fence line to give some privacy that isn't going to be a super high maintenance plant?
I'm new to all this hordiculture stuff! 
Here is an idea:
call up your local high school and ask their FFA chapter if they would like to "practice" on your yard.
I was on the nursery landscaping team in high school and a big part of being on the team is exactly what you are talking about- picking the right plant and planting them with the proper offset to give the effect you are looking for. Tell them you'll pay for the trees (and you could even offer a small donation to the chapter for their labor) in exchange they'd get real world experience.
We used to do stuff like that.
It depends on your climate, but we used bayberry for exactly that purpose and it worked great. Cheap, fast-growing, and stays green all year.
Im in the burbs of Tulsa, OK to give an idea of climate.
Confederate jasmine can be used to make the chain-link into a blooming fence. It's more like a weed than a plant, really, and smells good in the summer. It's a vine and can't support itself too well, though, so if you need additional height it's out.
Elaeagnus (silverthorn) is a fast-growing, bushy shrub that has silvery foliage and flowers you'll probably never notice but that butterflies like. It's drought-tolerant and hardy for zones 7-9. Prune it and you'll have an excellent hedge in very little time.
Those are my go-to favorites for privacy.
Margie
Don't, for the love of all that is unholy, be tempted to put Leylandii in. They are a weed in tree form and unless your new hobby is supposed to become "trimming the hedges every two weeks", just don't.
Some clever clogs planted one in my back yard (which is just about big enough to park the Elise in if I could get the car through the house) and within a guesstimated ten years it had taken over half of it and grown to about 15-20ft height. Finding a tree surgeon who was willing to take that thing down (it was about ten feet from the house) took a little doing.
It's not as robust as a PROPERLY scratch-made fence--it will sag sooner--but I bought the ready-made 10' fence sections at home depot. Planted the posts one afternoon, hung the sections the next (once the quikrete was done) and had plenty of time left over for drinking beer.
Total cost was right at $10 per foot.
It's still holding up well after 4 years. I estimate I'll get another 5 years or so out of it, at which point I'll keep the post and put up something more stout.... it's the cross-beams that let the ready-made sections down. They're not really as strong as they need to be.
Tim Baxter wrote:It's not as robust as a PROPERLY scratch-made fence--it will sag sooner--but I bought the ready-made 10' fence sections at home depot. Planted the posts one afternoon, hung the sections the next (once the quikrete was done) and had plenty of time left over for drinking beer.
Total cost was right at $10 per foot.
It's still holding up well after 4 years. I estimate I'll get another 5 years or so out of it, at which point I'll keep the post and put up something more stout.... it's the cross-beams that let the ready-made sections down. They're not really as strong as they need to be.
A simple way to prevent, and in your case, rectify this problem is to add small prop blocks to support the bottom rail.
Tim Baxter wrote: Total cost was right at $10 per foot.
Even at only $10/ft, IIRC (it's written down at home) that still puts us around $2500. Which is more than I want to spend on fencing anytime in the near future (~12 months).
We have a 1/3 acre lot in town and it's mostly backyard.
Park a bunch of project cars in your backyard until your neighbors put up fences
Since this will be a project that takes some time to complete, I would recommend talking to an extension office nearby. They can give you information that will work with your specific climate, soil, etc..
As a former fencing contractor, I would suggest Bouganvilla for a planting. Check with your local horticulture guys. It prefers southern locales, but is known as natures barbed wire. Full of REALLY nasty spikes. Great for real privacy. Is not happy with frost. Real pretty flowers, too. As a security guy, I love it.
We use a variety of crepes, camelias and loropetalums in the south. All with reasonable maintenance.
Marjorie Suddard wrote: Those are my go-to favorites for privacy.Margie
And privacy is pretty stinking important when you've got dead bodies under the patio.
FGC now ducks and runs away, serpentine style..
Kudzu? Put some back there, water it regularly with gasoline and used motor oil, feed it monthly with Agent Orange. It will block all access in 6 months.
To compliment the kudzu, drop some friendly waterhyacinth into any waterways nearby and see what happens within a year.
up here we had good luck with used christmas trees. Buy them with the roots still attached, have christmas, then take them outside the plant.
Might take 50 years.... but they make a nice privacy fence
Cedar makes an excellent hedge, you can clip it into a solid wall.
As MitchellC mentioned, call your local ag extension. Use the plants they recommend. Several great plants mentioned here would not do well in your area. Most home owners, not all, really suck at designing a yard so plan very carefully.
Keith wrote:Park a bunch of project cars in your backyard until your neighbors put up fences
The girlfriend laughed when I told her this.
She then gave me the evil eye indicating I had better not get any bright any ideas!
