Before starting the project, you need to make a rough sketch of the area to be screened. In addition, consider the requirements and preferences of the project. Screening plants are mostly used for dual purposes - shade and windbreak, shade and screen, security and privacy. Decide which facility you want, while choosing the screening plants.

Make use of vines and shrubs to cover the bare fence of your garden. By doing this, you will ensure that you have added a decorative element to your garden as well as protected your fences.

Plants and trees that can be used for screening your garden include Abelia, Azalea, Butterfly-bush, Camellia, Ixora, Jasmine, Plumbago, Oleander, Feijoa, Bamboo, Tinus, Dogwood, Hawthorn, Willow, Poplar, Alder and Tamarisk.

Japanese cedar is the best bet for providing partial shade to your garden. Apart from growing fast, it holds more of its lower branches, so that it can be best utilized for providing shade and privacy to your garden.

If you want a lot of shade, planting hollies is suggested. You may also go for Atlantic white cedar, if the place is chronically wet.

Although hedges require a lot of maintenance, they make very effective screens and barriers gardens. They can be grown as high as 15 feet, or lower as well. If hedges are thick, prickly and thorny, they can provide more security to your garden.

Perennials can be used to provide a wonderful screening to your garden. They can also be combined with shrubs and trees.

If you have plenty of space to plant the screening plants, then consider a tiered or a layered look for your garden. For the purpose, you may make use of a small tree with a wide top, such as Crabapple. You may plant the Crabapple in the back, with medium bushes in the front. For a low ground cover, you may plant bulbs in front of the bushes.

Another way to screen your garden is to plant tall ornamental grasses in the back, with lower grasses positioned in the front.

A combination that is quite popular in the present time is tall pine in the back with deciduous shrubs in the front of the trees, complemented by flowers in the front of the shrubs.

Evergreen plants provide continuous screening for your garden, throughout the year. You may select plants with multiple or curly stems, so that appropriate screening is provided to your garden. You may also combine evergreens with deciduous plants.

Maples, buckeyes, birches, oak and elm are perfect screening trees for a spacious garden. A combination of such trees and large shrubs such as Russian olive and lilacs often work out well for such gardens.

Small gardens can be screened with plants such as roses and cinquefoil bushes. You may also erect a couple of small trees and tall shrubs, to provide screening. Willow tree can provide a lot of screening to your garden.