Native plants for hedges and screens
A row of one non-native shrub is the standard privacy screen and a dead zone. These native shrubs and small trees do the same job — block a view, break wind, mark a boundary — while feeding birds and insects. A mixed hedge of several species screens just as well, looks better through the seasons, and won't be wiped out all at once by a single pest.
Bedfellow lists 383 of these.
The 30 most-observed are listed here — see all 383 in search.
- Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
- Creosote Bush (Larrea tridentata)
- Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
- Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus)
- Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana)
- American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
- Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
- Dutchman's Pipe (Aristolochia macrophylla)
- American Holly (Ilex opaca)
- Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea)
- American Basswood (Tilia americana)
- Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia)
- Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens)
- Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)
- Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa)
- Brittlebush (Encelia farinosa)
- Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus)
- American Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
- Purple Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)
- Mapleleaf Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium)
- Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana)
- California Sagebrush (Artemisia californica)
- Honey Mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa)
- California Barrel Cactus (Ferocactus cylindraceus)
- Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria)
- Blue Elderberry (Sambucus cerulea)
- Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia)
- Beavertail Prickly Pear (Opuntia basilaris)
- Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera)
- California Buckeye (Aesculus californica)