Goldner Walsh: Hiding the Neighbors for Over 60 Years

Without a doubt, the neighbors are our best business. From the regular customer walking in off the street to our full-blown design and landscape clients, their number one request is how to hide the neighbors. This in turn forces us to come up with more creative ways to do just that.

We could just give you the typical “arborvitae fortress” however it has been done ad nauseam and just seems to look too remote. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes the fortress is needed and can be cool if done right. Ironically, if you go to a big box store arborvitae would seem to be the only plant recommended.

Check out the Japanese maple in the photo, the customer had a patio and really only wanted to block a view of the neighbor’s window. Mission accomplished, fortress avoided and community spirit intact. So ask yourself a couple of questions: what time of year do I need to block the view and what is your angle of view? Another customer just hated looking at the neighbors while standing at the kitchen sink. The answer was a single ornamental tree which in turn the “neighbor” just loved. Kind of poetic.