Windy, walled garden

jonathan_haley

Hi all

Just looking for some advice. We moved into a new build a couple of years ago and the wind in our backgarden can be unbearable at times (to the point where we struggle to sit outside in summer). We live on a corner plot and the garden is walled on 2 sides with a fence between us and our neighbours. The garden is west facing with the walls to the south and west. Does anybody have any experience of this and how did you go about counteracting this? I planted some climbers last year to try and take the bareness away from the walls. 

Thanks in advance 

Lizzie27

That's not an easy problem I'm afraid @jonathan_haley.  The wind must be hitting the wall, which creates turbulence on your side - the higher the wall, the greater the disturbance it causes. We get the same effect here in a valley where the west winds storm up the Bristol Channel, zoom up and over the hills and then barrels down the valley.  The trick is to diffuse the wind somehow, probably by planting some tough evergreen bushes or creating some screening shrubs around your sitting area if that's possible. Other suggestions might be to lower the walls, hit out some bricks all along to let the wind through (not easy) or replace the fencing (if it's yours) with fencing that's got alternate gaps (hit and miss fencing) which also helps to disperse the wind. Hopefully some of the OP's will have more ideas.  

Fairygirl

Do you have a photo @jonathan_haley?
It helps to see what size the space is. 

A simple pergola or screen, in the area you like to sit, with climbers on it, will provide a windbreak. It doesn't have to be huge. It will provide shelter even when plants are dormant.
That gives you somewhere to use until you have some mature enough shrubs/trees/hedging planted and growing well in the face of the prevailing winds to counteract it.
The space you have, and the time to maintain it, will determine what will suit. 

jonathan_haley

Thanks very much for your responses I will try and upload some photos tonight to give you an idea of the problem.

Fairygirl

If you click on that wee icon that looks like a mountain, that will give you the info.

The pix are best kept below about 1MB, if you can manage it, so that they load up easily 

jonathan_haley

So this is what I'm working with, as you can see it's a bit bare at the minute  

Lizzie27

Thanks for the photo @jonathan_haley. That's much easier to visualise your problem.
You can't alter either that lovely wall or the fence as I suggested earlier, so I think your only option is to plant some bushes/small trees in front of the wall (what's on the other side?) and/or enclose your seating area with strong trellis panels at the edge of the patio and plant either clematis (perhaps an evergreen one?) or climbing roses, all of which would help break the force of the wind. If've you've no experience in erecting trellis or haven't the time,  it might be better to employ a professional, although there's plenty videos on the internet to show how to do it. 

If you need suggestions for suitable plants, do please post again and ask. I'm sure my fellow posters will have lots of good suggestions.

Fairygirl

Hi @jonathan_haley - plenty of scope for some nice planting, so don't rush into anything.
A lot depends on what time you have for gardening, and your budget. Also whether you have children who might use the garden, or animals and so on.
You could do a basic hedge or row of trees/shrubs along the 'windy' boundary, but bear in mind that you'd have to create a decent enough border for them first. 
You could do that, and while waiting for them to grow well enough to form a shelter belt, I'd go with a simple screen/pergola, to give you the shelter when sitting/dining.
Pick the spot that suits best for your needs, and then decide on either a ready made one, or a self build, depending on budget etc. 
It can be square/rectangular, like a 'standard' pergola, or a simpler triangle. You'll need to lift the paving to give access to the ground, and concrete posts in to take trellis or screening, if you build it yourself. 
Climbers can then be planted, but the screen itself will give some shelter from the wind anyway. 

jonathan_haley

Thanks very much for all of your advice. I think we'll go for a hedge of some sorts along the wall and possibly just put up with the wind for now. I'm a little bit reluctant to start pulling the patio up to put in some of screening for the seating area 

Lizzie27

@jonathan_haley.  A hedge would be a good start but will take time to get to the height you need. I thought it would be possible to erect a straight trellis at the edge of your patio, just where your seating is, to give you some quick protection ready for the summer - if we have any!

 Actually I've just remembered that you can get special fixings for posts that can be bolted onto paving/concrete.

Fairygirl

Yes - you can get bolt fixings if you don't want to lift paving, but bear in mind that the planting will give extra protection from sun/wind, and when you plant it into the ground at the base, it will thrive far more readily.
If you bolt the supports on, the planting would need to be in large containers