Need Recommendations for a HUGE Perennial Fescue Please

[SweetMamaKaty]

My back yard is fully fenced - one side is a tall privacy fence which I love, but the other sides are 4 foot chain link fencing. It's good for keeping the neighbors' dogs out and the kids in, but that's where we have a little situation. The dogs stand at the fence and bark at the kids.

So I'm looking to plant that whole corner in some tall fescue to block the view a bit and hopefully reduce the stress level for everyone. But they're a little on the pricey side, so I want to be sure to make the right choice - are there any varieties that are hardier than others? This is a full-sun area.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[LIcenter]

Whats a 'Tall Fescue' if I might ask? The only tall fescue that I know of is a type of grass, as in lawn grass.

 

[CanadianLori]

Dog biscuits are cheap. Bribe the dog. I do!

 

[SweetMamaKaty]

Whats a 'Tall Fescue' if I might ask? The only tall fescue that I know of is a type of grass, as in lawn grass.

You're right it is a grass. But I'm thinking of ornamental varieties that get very tall (4-6 feet!) and have little tufts... I can picture them from landscaping I have seen, but I was hoping for some advice with the names of certain varieties that may do a little better or get taller than others.

@CanadianLori, we may just have to try that!

 

[ChanellG]

Why a fescue? Why not something like a cold hardy vine? You could even just put up some kind of covering that could withstand the weather in your area. However, blocking the view isn't going to stop a dog from barking. Are the dogs friendly? Chances are they just want attention from the kids.

 

[SweetMamaKaty]

No, the dogs aren't friendly. They're rescue dogs, and it's more of a "let me at 'em" kind of bark. I like the idea of a vine, but I'm not 100% sure who the fence belongs to. I also just realized I am probably calling that grass by the wrong name - the word "pampas" just popped into my head, so maybe that?

I planted a lilac bush between the kids play area and that corner originally, and I think when it's mature that will help block the visibility, but by then the dogs may be gone and the kids will be much older. My thought is that if I can somehow keep the dogs from seeing the kids, they would just go about their business, but that may not be the case with these dogs anyway.

 

[ChanellG]

No, the dogs aren't friendly... but I'm not 100% sure who the fence belongs to.

Dogs don't have to see you there to bark. Think about dogs inside the house that bark when someone is on the porch or in the yard. If I were you I would first resolve who owns the fence. I take it this is rental property and not a home you own. Next, I would talk to the neighbors about the dogs. Maybe you can work out some kind of compromise about the times that the dogs are in the yard so the kids can have some peaceful playtime. Getting acquainted with the dogs would help too because they would eventually stop barking.

 

[LIcenter]

I have to agree with ChanellG. You could build a brick wall there, and the dogs are still gonna bark. One of my dogs is totally blind from diabetes. It used to be she would only bark at someone coming on the property. Now that her hearing is more acute, she now thinks our property extends down the block. My neighbors dog used to bark at me from his side of the fence every time I went in the back yard. So what I did was talk calmly to him whenever I was out there. Not long after he accepted me as a non-threat, and now all is good.

 

[Pat]

I agree that covering the fence will not stop the dogs from barking at the kids, the dogs get excited when they hear or smell the kids in the yard are you concerned the dogs will jump the fence or you just do not like the noise they are making. If it is the noise not much you can do but talk to their owner, if you are concerned about them jumping the fence then that is a different problem all together.

 

[SweetMamaKaty]

Good points everyone, but I'm disappointed. You're right though, we notice when we go on walks we can hear dogs barking from inside houses. We own the property - the issue with the fence is that all of our properties adjoin via an easement. So in some places the properties on the South have bigger backyards, and others the North. Maybe whichever side got their fence up first, judging by all the different fence styles. There are only a few feet where our yard and this yard adjoin thankfully, because we are actually "catty-corner" properties that both happened to get the bigger chunk.

When we first moved in a few years ago, the wife was really friendly, introduced herself and told us all about the dog. The husband would wave and talked to my husband a few times. But she has(d?) some serious medical issues, and we haven't seen her out any more sadly. They added a couple more dogs - and yes it's the ferocity of the barking that scares me, not the noise. I have no idea if they would try to jump - but you're right, we may need to have a talk with the neighbors about the safety concerns.

We're all pretty much cooped up inside right now, although the kids do play out on the warmer afternoons. We haven't had any run-ins with the dogs this winter, thankfully. I'd be thrilled to find out they have re-homed them, but more likely they just aren't outside as much in the snow.

I guess I was hoping to gently diffuse the situation without having to have a difficult conversation.

 

[Jewell]

A quick growing summer solution that will add nitrogen to the soil is the scarlet runner beans. You can even harvest and eat the beans. The vines get over 12feet tall and would naturally vine along the fence. There are several clematis varieties both evergreen and deciduous that could be planted at the same time you plant the beans and help cover the fence in the next year. My Jackanii clematis has provided shade for the south side of our shed in one year.

I prefer the dwarf pampas to the taller variety. Beware of how much work it is to remove and it gets big, as wide as it is tall in a few years.

I planted ivy to cover our wire fencing years ago. It does require a hard hedging once a year, but is evergreen and when kept hedged doesn't take up much room. You will need to train it up the fencing. Most vines follow the saying, first year sleep, second year creep, third year leap.

 

[Mockingbird]

Sounds like you definitely need a privacy barrier of some sort. If this is full sun I would be inclined to plant some Forsythia Bushes, you will have a pretty solid natural barrier that is easy to grow and will change color through the seasons. Forsythia can be trimmed back to be small and compact, or if you have the room you can let it grow up big and more natural. I like it as a bush because it does not draw bee's. As nice as trellis flowers and vines are, many of these varieties attract all sorts of insects. Last thing you need is the kids being stung.

If you have a wide area you can alternate Forsythia with Japanese Fire Bush to have a dazzling color sequence that will change with the seasons. Both bush varieties are not that expensive. Forsythia is yellow, then green then rust color, Japanese Fire Bush is green, then rust then vivid red. In the bottom picture of the Japanese Fire Bush you will see two Spirea's, these are very nice to place in front if you have the room. They are chartreus, then light green with little flowers (usually pink or red ones) then a deeper green with rust edges.

 

[Cereus]

Pampas is notorious for spreading a lot and depending on where you live can be on the invasive species list. Their leaves are very sharp so definitely not kid friendly, they like to spread since they produce so many seeds and they're very prone to fires when they dry out.

Have they ever been outside the house and shown any aggressive tendencies such as jumping at the fence when your kids come out? Because if they are then you have a situation on your hands. Untrained dogs can be quite dangerous towards little children and if there hasn't been anything done about training then things can escalate quite fast.

I had a horrible neighbor next door who never trained her dog, it kept barking all the time and one day she left it out without chaining it. The dog got out and it would have savaged another neighbor- a woman with a newborn child who just got home from the hospital if I didn't rush out to slam the dog away. (I love animals but this was a very dangerous situation and there was no way I was going to let a dog have its way at a newborn child and a mother.) I was lucky to have been home at the time and got there just in time to prevent a tragedy. I had told the neighbor with the dog plenty of times prior to that incident to keep her animal under control but she never listened. That instance and the dog trying to savage my own leg during a garbage run was the last straw. I called in animal control and reported her to the police for animal abuse, violation of laws to keep her dog chained up and more. I have no tolerance for owners who don't keep their animals in line. It's not the dog's fault but I'm not going to just take things lying down, especially when there's innocent people who are going to be harmed because of one person's selfishness and stupidity.

I know you may like your neighbor, but safety comes first. If they can't heed to basic courtesy of keeping their animals in control, then they don't deserve to be owners. You should not be forced to bend over backwards in order to keep your family safe and stress free because your neighbor can't keep her animals in control. Everyone has a responsibility of taking care of their own animals.

 

[LIcenter]

Very well said cereus. What happened to the considerate, and caring world that I grew up in? I guess that came to a halt when the saying "Fences make good neighbors" started being bantered about.
Tall grasses; Had them, and will never have them again. Even the clump ones are nothing but a nightmare in the average size property lot.

 

[IcyBC]

I like Mockingbird's suggestion to grow Forsythia with Japanese Fire Bush alternate to create the color contrast! That would definitely look pretty against any fence. I love both of these bushes, especially the Japanese Fire Bush. The different colors they turn in the fall are truly beautiful.