The neighbour who lives behind us has cut down his photinia hedge along our dividing fence. It was about two metres higher than the top of the fence and provided privacy to both our back yards. He didn’t merely trim it, like he has done in previous years, but he cut it nearly to ground level. Now, we can see directly into his house and he ours. I’m not happy.
Since I can only control what happens in my backyard, I have been thinking about what to plant on our side of the fence. I wanted evergreen plants, since there are already too many deciduous ones in our garden. I love watching them change colour through the year but, in winter, they give no privacy.
There is already a tulip magnolia in my garden. The flowers are stunning and I look forward to watching the buds develop and open each year. The snails infest it and munch on the buds, so I need to be vigilant about removing them. It is a deciduous tree, though, and doesn’t offer any privacy in winter.
While I was doing some research about magnolias, I recalled how stunning they could be. About 40 years ago, I lived in a house which had a basic garden with one redeeming plant – a Magnolia Soulangiana. It was enormous and had never been pruned so the spread of the branches was wide. It was a magnificent feature tree. This magnolia is deciduous and grows too large for my garden, so not suitable for my purpose this time.
After visiting a local nursery, I have chosen Fairy Magnolia plants (magnolia hybrids). They are available in four colours: white, blush, cream or peach. They can be used as flowering hedges, for screening, or stand alone as feature trees and they also have fragrant flowers. They flower mostly in spring, with spot flowering at other times of the year.
Magnolias are best suited to cooler climates and are frost-hardy (yay!). They can be planted in positions that get full sun to part shade. Once planted, the soil should be kept moist as the plant establishes. Some varieties such as Teddy Bear or Little Gem can also be planted in large pots if space is limited.
I chose blush and cream Fairy Magnolias and, in my imagination, can see the impact they will have in my garden. Spring cannot come soon enough!
Note: if you are tempted to try a magnolia in your garden, this website has an excellent guide to the types available in Australia.