Trees along a border fence

astoncharlotte90yWPB8Hj8

Hoping for advice on best trees to plant along a border fence to provide privacy. I've been looking at pleached hornbeams but our neighbour really hates leaves falling into his garden and I'm concerned the hornbeam will drop a lot of leaves. Are they the best option for providing cost effective privacy or is there something else we should be looking at? Picture of the fence attached.


Edited to add that there were originally big trees there that we have had removed at the neighbors request. Photo of the trees from another angle. Unfortunately didnt think to take a proper one before they were cut down

Lizzie27

That's a tricky one. I'd say definitely not trees. Anything taller and evergreen might stop the light into his conservatory and your NDN wouldn't like that either. Is there a gap between his conservatory and your fence and how wide is your garden?

You could maybe plant some tall grasses in a row in your border, some grow quite tall. Definitely not bamboo however, too many problems with those.

Hopefully other posters will come up with ideas.

Good luck

fidgetbones

I'd put some trellis on top and train some clematis over it.  Unless you have a neighbour that camps out by the stairs window upstairs , I don't think a tree is appropriate in that size garden.

Ceres

Anything that grows higher than the fence is going to overhang your neighbours property and will need trimming at some point so that might be a problem if your neighbour is leaf averse. If you can keep it under control, a photinia hedge could look good and whilst it won't give you the privacy you crave, it is evergreen so you won't be left with a patchy effect throughout the winter.

Another possibility is ivy, hated by many and liable to head off in any direction it sees fit, but it does give good cover and the birds love it for nesting sites and for the berries. The only danger is, it could decide to rampage across your neighbour's extension roof if you don't keep on top of it. It does have the advantage of being cheap and there are many beautiful leaf forms.

Plantminded

Is the quality and depth of the soil in your border OK after removing those trees?  If you've managed to remove most of the root growth, and the bed gets sun, you could consider an informal staggered row of various tree-like shrubs such as Portuguese laurel, Bay laurel, Thuja, Buddleja, Cotinus and Sambucus.  Choose the first three if you want evergreen cover. If you add trellis to the fence (assuming the fence is yours) the fence and trellis need to be within the permitted total height of 2m.  Otherwise, you may need planning permission.

Loxley

You can get pleached evergreens e.g. Japanese privet, which I think would look smart. Require a fair amount of trimming, like any hedge, though.

Plantminded

Loxley said:

You can get pleached evergreens e.g. Japanese privet, which I think would look smart. Require a fair amount of trimming, like any hedge, though.

This would give you instant screening without taking up too much space in your border.  (Leave an access strip between the trees and your fence so that you can trim them without having to consult your neighbour and keep any trimmings on your side!) 

astoncharlotte90yWPB8Hj8

Loxley said:

You can get pleached evergreens e.g. Japanese privet, which I think would look smart. Require a fair amount of trimming, like any hedge, though.

Thank you, we've gone for pleached evergreens (checked with the neighbour that they don't mind!)

Fairygirl

This is a vey interesting thread.
I don't want to be a killjoy @astoncharlotte90yWPB8Hj8, but I bet they complain when the pleached trees block the sunlight into their conservatory/extension 
I'm also interested in when that extension was built. I'm assuming your property and garden were already there?  If so, they've got a nerve complaining about anything. 

The drawbacks of the pleached trees are that they're very expensive, and they take a fair bit of work to get established. The trimming, as already indicated might be a problem as you'll need to have enough access on your side, or you'll need to do it from their property. Have you thought about that? Definitely a consideration.

I was going to suggest a row of vertical/columnar evergreens - Yew springs to mind, but there are others - Junipers for example. They can be quite closely planted, but maintenance is fairly minimal.  Might be worth considering too.   

Joyce Goldenlily

astoncharlotte90yWPB8Hj8 said:

Hoping for advice on best trees to plant along a border fence to provide privacy. I've been looking at pleached hornbeams but our neighbour really hates leaves falling into his garden and I'm concerned the hornbeam will drop a lot of leaves. Are they the best option for providing cost effective privacy or is there something else we should be looking at? Picture of the fence attached.


Edited to add that there were originally big trees there that we have had removed at the neighbors request. Photo of the trees from another angle. Unfortunately didnt think to take a proper one before they were cut down

It looks as if your neighbours climb the ladder to use the roof of their sun lounge as a sundeck, which is a bit much from your privacy point of view. It also looks as if they have extended on the other side of their house right up to the boundary, leaving themselves no garden at ground level.
It is a bit much to try and control what you do with your garden to suit them!
Anything above the top of the fence is going to block light in their extension so you will have to be careful with what you plant.
I think I might look into sail canopies, going from the fence, out over your garden, to block them overlooking your property.
I bet when they applied for planning to extend they didn't tell the council they were going to lounge on the roof of the extension. It must have been strengthened for weight bearing and the ladder can easily be moved should an inspection rear its ugly head. 

Joyce Goldenlily

Joyce Goldenlily said:

astoncharlotte90yWPB8Hj8 said:

Hoping for advice on best trees to plant along a border fence to provide privacy. I've been looking at pleached hornbeams but our neighbour really hates leaves falling into his garden and I'm concerned the hornbeam will drop a lot of leaves. Are they the best option for providing cost effective privacy or is there something else we should be looking at? Picture of the fence attached.


Edited to add that there were originally big trees there that we have had removed at the neighbors request. Photo of the trees from another angle. Unfortunately didnt think to take a proper one before they were cut down

It looks as if your neighbours climb the ladder to use the roof of their sun lounge as a sundeck, which is a bit much from your privacy point of view. It also looks as if they have extended on the other side of their house right up to the boundary, leaving themselves no garden at ground level.
It is a bit much to try and control what you do with your garden to suit them!
Anything above the top of the fence is going to block light in their extension so you will have to be careful with what you plant.
I think I might look into sail canopies, going from the fence, out over your garden, to block them overlooking your property.
I bet when they applied for planning to extend they didn't tell the council they were going to lounge on the roof of the extension. It must have been strengthened for weight bearing and the ladder can easily be moved should an inspection rear its ugly head. 

P.S. Why do they not put a row of containers or trellis around the edge of their sun lounge roof and plant shrubs /trees/climbers in them to block you from seeing them lounging on their sundeck? Bourganvillia would make a good screen for them. Give them one for Christmas!