kyrsyan
Has No Life - Lives on TB
First, my house has a solid N/S bearing. So the east side is full sun for a giant chunk of the day. That side of the yard is about to undergo a makeover. I'm restarting my mini orchard on that side of the house. For most of the length of the house, the trees going in will have natural max heights of 10 to 12 feet and they will be that far out from the side of the house. (To protect the house from storm whipped tree limbs. Smaller trees tend to whip more in high winds.)
This leaves me needing some type of bush/plant that would act as a winter windbreak close to the house. How close to the house vs the trees depends on the expect average size. And they'd probably get an average of 6 hours of good sunlight, maybe more, during summer due to the way my house sits. (Even with a monster water maple at the front of the house, that side still gets full sun.) I have no problems pruning regularly. And the current bushes aren't evergreens.
Problem one - There is about 15 feet that I would prefer to have a thorny or otherwise unpleasant plant along. That area covers windows for a bedroom and bathroom. I tried roses but leaching from a very old concrete walkway resulted in very poorly growing roses.
Problem two - whatever I put there needs to have enough density that it can serve as a windbreak during the winter.
So far the only ideas I've come up with are blackberries, raspberries, and elderberries. Now I know both blackberries and elderberries will grow in dappled sunlight. But my experience with raspberries leaves me doubting their ability to survive there. And I can't see blackberry canes growing in thick enough to serve as a windbreak for winter. I don't know about elderberry for that.
So, any suggestion for plants that I can look at for that area? I would prefer edible or medicinal but if I have to give that up, I will. The need for a windbreak is important because the house is uninsulated. It has a natural R-11 value because of how it was built but if I leave the wind to come directly against the house the electric bills are higher and the pipes freeze more.
This leaves me needing some type of bush/plant that would act as a winter windbreak close to the house. How close to the house vs the trees depends on the expect average size. And they'd probably get an average of 6 hours of good sunlight, maybe more, during summer due to the way my house sits. (Even with a monster water maple at the front of the house, that side still gets full sun.) I have no problems pruning regularly. And the current bushes aren't evergreens.
Problem one - There is about 15 feet that I would prefer to have a thorny or otherwise unpleasant plant along. That area covers windows for a bedroom and bathroom. I tried roses but leaching from a very old concrete walkway resulted in very poorly growing roses.
Problem two - whatever I put there needs to have enough density that it can serve as a windbreak during the winter.
So far the only ideas I've come up with are blackberries, raspberries, and elderberries. Now I know both blackberries and elderberries will grow in dappled sunlight. But my experience with raspberries leaves me doubting their ability to survive there. And I can't see blackberry canes growing in thick enough to serve as a windbreak for winter. I don't know about elderberry for that.
So, any suggestion for plants that I can look at for that area? I would prefer edible or medicinal but if I have to give that up, I will. The need for a windbreak is important because the house is uninsulated. It has a natural R-11 value because of how it was built but if I leave the wind to come directly against the house the electric bills are higher and the pipes freeze more.