Marie Staunton

OK, so screening plants are those plants that grow tall enough

screen out a view that you may not particularly want to see.

So whether it's a garden that's overlooking you or a window from another house that's overlooking you or just a very ugly view that you don't particularly want to wake up to every morning and be looking at.

So there's kind of lots of different options

the cheaper options and the more expensive options.

They do.

And they work, you know, when you think about it, most people would consider putting up fencing, you know, like the traditional fencing that you would put up, lattice ones or whatever.

And the problem with walls and fencing is they create a thing called an eddy, which when the wind hits a wall or a solid piece of something, it goes over the top and then creates this swirl.

So you're better off in some instances, if it's quite a windy site, having the protection of trees to slow down the wind coming into the garden.

And then you can plant other plants behind that screening, if you like.

So it works quite effectively in

For instance, you know, gardens beside the sea or just places that tend to get really windy.

So it's a very good idea to have screening plants instead of like a solid block wall or something like that.

They do.

And the problem is when you're looking at them in garden centres,

they look lovely, you know, innocuous looking plants.

And then suddenly over, well, not suddenly, but over a period of time, they become out of control trees that you need to get somebody in to, you know, put manners on.

And that costs an awful lot of money.

So ideally, you don't want to be going for something like a Leylandii or Leyland Cypress because they do grow really quickly.

And if you're not honest with cutting them back yearly,