Hedging Your Bets

My neighbors cut down their huge laurel hedge. Generally, I’m not a fan of overgrown laurel and I can’t blame them for wanting to reclaim a significant portion of their yard, but...it did hide their garden shed and screened the view of their and their neighbor’s home from my living room picture window. Conifers have been planted on my side and their side of the fence; however, it’s going to take some time before they are of sufficient size to act as meaningful screening devices.

Marty Wingate, a Seattle-based garden writer and speaker, might have some ideas to enhance my recently diminished privacy. Her newest book, Landscaping for Privacy: Innovative Ways to Turn Your Outdoor Space into a Peaceful Retreat, was released just this past December. An entertaining lecturer, she’ll be sharing some of her insights with a Yard, Garden & Patio Show audience on Friday, February 17, as part of the show’s free seminar series. (PS: Marty will be helping judge the showcase gardens.)

Other design-oriented seminars include Lucy Hardiman’s “Editing Your Garden: Time marches on in the garden” and Eamonn Hughes’ “Bring the Tranquility of a Water Feature into Your Garden, both on Friday, Feb. 17. Saturday’s design seminars feature Sadafumi Uchiyama, the Garden Curator of the Portland Japanese Garden, talking about “Japanese Garden Elements for the Home Garden.” Selecting small conifers for the garden (Dave Leckey and Anne Marsh) and building or revitalizing a mixed border (Jolly Butler) are options as well. On Sunday you’ll be inspired to make the most of your garden space from sidewalk to treetop (Lucy Hardiman).