Plants used for borders and screens serve several important design functions such as blocking undesirable views, separating areas in the yard, creating vistas, and adding vertical dimension to an area, among others. In recent years, increasing attention has been devoted to the function of environmental or climate control with plant materials. Properly located border or screen plants will buffer highway noise and dust, deflect wind currents away from home, cast shade in summer for cooling, and allow sun penetration in winter for heating a structure.

Once the functional aspects have been determined, select plants that will be tolerant of your soil and exposure conditions. Then select those which offer aesthetic value during several seasons of the year.

Always properly prepare the planting site, space plants at least one half their mature size apart, water during dry periods and control weeds, insects, and diseases as needed.

Space limitations preclude lengthy lists, however, the plants listed below represent some of the major plant groups that can be used for borders, screens, hedges, and wind-break purposes.

Windbreaks

The most effective windbreaks are evergreens. However, since they grow slowly, fast growing deciduous plants are often planted in front of evergreens and should be removed as the evergreen matures.

Thorny Barriers

Trees and shrubs with thorny stems are useful as more permanent barrier plants.

Source: OSU Ext. Elton M. Smith