Creating Privacy with Fast-Growing Evergreens: Planting Leyland Cypress

Our new house has one recurring challenge: a few spots lack privacy. It’s not extreme, but after living in a place where the backyard felt completely private, we sometimes feel exposed here. One of the most obvious trouble spots is the narrow side yard — our “alley” — that gives a direct line of sight to our neighbor’s back deck.

That earlier photo shows how sparse the area once was. Nature has already helped fill things in a bit since then, but the sight line to our neighbor’s deck is still a concern. One late night the smoke detector by the alley went off right after bedtime, and I found myself changing a faulty battery while standing on a chair in boxer shorts in front of our floor-to-ceiling sliding doors — lights on, room visible. Definitely an awkward, very public moment.

We prefer leaving our main living-area windows and sliding doors uncovered to maximize light and the feeling of openness. Closing curtains or pulling down vertical blinds every evening just isn’t our style — and it feels like too much effort for every common room in the house. Instead, we wanted a long-term, low-maintenance solution: blocking that shared sight line with fast-growing evergreen trees to create a natural privacy screen.

After asking local gardeners and doing some research, we chose Leyland cypress trees. They’re a common recommendation because they grow quickly, stay green year-round, can become quite tall and wide, and are relatively low-maintenance. In short, they’re an excellent choice for a privacy screen. The specimens we picked were affordable on sale, and planting three together should create a dense visual barrier over time.

We arranged the three trees in a staggered triangle so each would be planted about ten to fifteen feet apart as recommended, allowing them to layer visually without crowding each other as they mature. That spacing helps them form a thicker screen without forcing them to fight for root space.

Before planting, we cleared out some dead boxwoods and other debris. While working I discovered a small frog (or perhaps a toad) and later a plastic duck tucked into a shrub — little reminders of the previous owners and the quirks a yard can hide. I left the duck where it sat; it felt like a tiny welcome sign, and there’s something comforting about finding familiar oddities that echo past homes.

With the planting holes dug and the trees set in, the new Leyland cypress trio looks modest now, but the plan is long-term. Regular watering and a few sunny days will help them establish. Over the coming years they should grow into a tall, dense, evergreen barrier that maintains privacy through all seasons, especially in winter when deciduous shrubs lose their leaves.

To help visualize the end goal, we imagined how the area might look once the trees mature — a green, wooded feel that restores the sense of privacy we miss. I edited a photo to illustrate the expected coverage, though the real trees won’t have any odd color effects — that was just to show the contrast more clearly.

Planting fast-growing evergreens like Leyland cypress is an effective, low-maintenance way to create a privacy screen, increase year-round cover, and add a more wooded, secluded feel to a yard. It will take time for the trees to reach their full potential, but the investment now should pay off with minimal upkeep later — and fewer late-night flashpoints with the neighbors.

Have you ever planted Leyland cypress or other fast-growing evergreens to improve privacy? Do you prefer natural screens over blinds or curtains, or vice versa? We’d love to hear about other people’s privacy solutions, planting tips, or surprising discoveries you’ve made in your own yards.

Thanks for reading — here’s to turning exposed corners into quiet, green retreats.