Privacy & border
evans.tracey1973
Posts: 2
Hello,
I am new to gardening and have enjoyed designing the garden of my new home over the last 14 months.
My neighbours have installed raised decking and plan to put more at the bottom of the garden turning our garden and home into a "gold fish bowl". I would like to re-capture some of the original privacy that the garden afforded us but I can't add trellis, as on the side in question is their fence,
The fences are 6ft tall but the decking comes up at least half a metre on my side. I would like to put some plants along the fence - they will mostly have to be in pots as we have a patio path up to a trampoline. I am ordering some tree lilys for height but I wondered whether you have any other recommendations. I want the plants/trees to grow up but not take up too much width low down.
Any ideas please would be very welcome.
Thank you,
Tracey
Last edited: 31 March 2017 11:02:48
Posts
I would never recommend planting bamboo in the ground in case it became invasive - but if you can put some in nice big pots that might be one plant to consider - quite a few different types if you want some variety.
Perhaps an apple tree on a dwarfing rootstock?
Viburnum bodnantense "Dawn" can also make a nice tall shrub with a good vertical growth and very limited spread. It needs to be in the ground though. It's a bit of a dull plant in the summer but is covered in lovely sweet scented flowers in winter and early spring.
Others will come up with some more suggestions
Last edited: 31 March 2017 11:13:56
If you've got £££ you could look at pleached hedging. Otherwise trees are the obvious choice, small fastigiate trees like Prunus 'Amanogawa' or various columnar types of Malus (crab apple). In containers, golden bamboo would be quite effective (big containers though, e.g. 50 x 50 x 100cm). It spreads and grows pretty fast so would screen up quickly, but better contained in planters than invading your garden.
Thank you Topbird and WilDB, I will look at your suggestions. I need to make sure it is not invasive as my neighbour doesn't like plants and will complain if they enter her garden.
:-)
Bamboo will be fine in containers Tracey - there is only a risk of it becoming invasive if you plant it directly into the ground. As WilDB says it does want a big container.
Don't forget that if there is a particular part of your garden you want to screen you can use other tricks such as tall shrubs / free standing trellis / arbours etc around the bits you want to screen - the screening doesn't necessarily have to be just along the boundary.
Depends how big your garden is and how you use it
Last edited: 31 March 2017 11:37:44
From experience I found tall fast growing plants keep on growing, you need to be on top of the pruning or they escape, slow growing tall plants are exactly what it says on the tin slow growing and can take a long time to do what you wish which is privacy, Is anything stopping you from putting in your own posts and then adding trellis or even a free standing trellis with climbers of different kinds on it.
Most Garden shops do make trellis arches some make the side supports and trellis backs standing your pots with Roses Clematis or even espalier fruit trees in between the side supports and fastening them in seems to me the quickest and also the least invasive way. We all think we can do what we wish in our own spaces and as a rule can, anything else takes litigation where only the Lawyers win. You could quietly ask if you could add trellis to their fence saying you will maintain it. My Neighbours have become friends that is the best way so have you approached them at all.
Frank.