How do I Hide the Basket Ball Hoop?

by Tom
(New England)

New construction.
Nice home w/ short (ish) driveway.
On the right hand side is a half court hoop court I would like to screen. But, I do not want to call too much attention to it.


Thoughts?


I am in New England.


Tom

Thanks for sending your question and the pictures. The pictures are so helpful! With new construction, you are at an advantage because you can blend the landscaping from your new house to incorporate the basketball court. You draw attention to things you want to screen when you isolate the landscaping around them. Think of the well with a circle of shrubs around it, how obvious is that? It appears that you have a parking space between the house and the basketball court, so it is fairly close to the house. Have the planting beds from the house also sweep around the parking area and take in the basketball court. The sloped areas to the driveway and road appear to be too steep for grass, so need to be planted with shrubs and groundcover. The shrubbery you use around the court does not have to be planted in a straight line or be all the same shrub. Have these plantings look like they are shrub beds installed to enhance the appearance of your entrance, not to screen a basketball court. As far as screening the hoop, the only thing you can do is use tall evergreen trees behind it to enhance the approach to your house. If there is a place to incorporate evergreen trees at the end of the bed that is along the road, you would get screening from the front view as well. Be careful not to plant evergreen trees where they will block the view of the front of the house. You want your planting to frame the view of the front of the house not block it. Once these planting beds are established, the basketball court will not be so obvious. The beds along the driveway and road will completely screen the edge of the basketball court pavement. Once that's out of view, your eye is not looking for a basketball hoop. You were smart to install one with a black pole that will help it visually fade away. Have fun landscaping your new home. Find a rebutable nursery or landscape design professional that will guide you on the best landscape plants to use for your area.

All the best to you,

Nancy