Instant privacy trees

I've written here and in print about living green walls, structures that allow homeowners to create a wall of living plants inside and out. They're an interesting trend, something that might appeal to gardeners interested in the "wow" factor. After those stories, I received a polite email from the manager at Nursery Trees.com, a Snohomish business that sells "instant privacy" trees. It's posted below and includes some good links.

I have two long rows of arborvitae planted in my yard. Arborvitae -- you know, those evergreen trees that look like fuzzy green exclamation points. They do indeed provide instant privacy and I recently learned they do a great job of stopping wayward cars from plowing into my yard. One downside for me is that the shallow roots quickly invaded my nearby vegetable and flower beds. Within one season, I had arborvitae roots travel under a gravel parking space and up into raised beds. In the right spot in the yard, these plants are a cost-effective, attractive option to a traditional wood fence. Not next to the veggie beds or roses or blueberry bushes.

Here's that email:
Hi. I enjoyed your article in today's Home & Garden section about green screens. We are a Snohomish County nursery/landscape company that specializes in "Instant Privacy" trees. We do a lot of this work throughout the state. Your readers might be interested in the following links:

Our "Instant Privacy" tree page:
http://www.nurserytrees.com/Privacy_Tree_landing_page.htm. The yellow comparison chart is particularly helpful for people considering the options.

And here's a link to our Photo Gallery: http://www.nurserytrees.com/Photo%20Gallery.htm

and one to the "About Us" page: http://www.nurserytrees.com/about%20us.htm

The living walls described in your article are very interesting, but are a lot more complex and expensive than simply planting a line of privacy trees such as arborvitae. On the other hand, trees don't work in certain situations such as low shade, where some vines or a structure such as you describe would be a nice option to have. Thanks for the information and please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Michael S. Gillie, Manager
NurseryTrees.com, LLC
(425) 343-2650