Leylandii

For a fast-growing, low-maintenance and hardy evergreen you can't do better than the Leyland Cypress tree. The Leyland Cypress trees is a cross between the Nootka and Monterey Cypress, combining their foliage, hardiness and rapid growth into one plant.

These stumpy, flat needles grow only ½ inch to ¾ inch in length and thickly cover short branchlets that sprout from twigs. Dense branches that angle up as they grow resemble feathers.

Growing shrubs in the landscape offers many benefits, among them privacy. Fast-growing species up to 10 feet tall include althea (Hibiscus syriacus), American hazel (Corylus Americana), bridal wreath spirea (Spirea prunifolia plena), common elderberry...

"The world is so full of a number of things, I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings," sings poet Robert Louis Stevenson in an apt summary of the wealth and diversity in nature's plant kingdom.

Always keep mulch at least 6 inches from the flared root collar area where cypress trunks meet their roots. Hardy in USDA zones 6 through 10a, Leyland's extensive, shallow roots extend horizontally to distances equal to the tree's height.