How to Increase the Privacy of Your Garden

For most of us, privacy is important. After all, we wouldn’t appreciate having a living room with see-through walls without the ability to cut off the outside world from view (and vice versa).

But why shouldn’t the same broadly apply to our garden space? In the following mini guide, we’ll look at several practical ways of making your garden more private. This is great whether you just enjoy the feeling of privacy or you’re using your garden to work on the world’s next great invention!

Table of Contents

Fencing or Trellises

While you have a new wall or several walls erected, fencing is a cheaper solution as are trellises. Before discussing the various types of fencing and trellises, you should be aware that increasing the height of your boundaries may lead to disputes with your neighbours. Therefore, you should proceed with caution and ideally get their blessing before hiring anyone to construct new fencing or trellises on your property.

Here are some popular fencing ideas:

Wood fencing
Vinyl fencing
Composite fencing

Installing fence panels, like many of the tasks described today, could be done DIY. However, if in any doubt, you should hire a professional.

There are, of course, fencing options on the market that are designed specifically for privacy. This contrasts those that are primarily used for functional or decorative reasons. That’s not to say you can’t have an aesthetically-pleasing and decorative fence that also provides increased privacy.

Moving on to trellises, these are a framework designed to hold vines, shrubs, or creepers. There are a whole host of options to consider, including:

Wooden trellises
Lattice trellises
Wall trellises
Pergolas
Arbour trellises
Bamboo trellises

Using a Parasol

A parasol is basically a giant umbrella that can provide shade, shelter and privacy over the seating area of your garden. It won’t make your garden wholly private on its own but along with other measures, it’s a great way of offering you a greater sense of seclusion in your own garden.

Different types of parasols include:

Traditional upright parasols
Overhanging parasols
Tilting parasols
Offset parasols
Wall-mounted parasols

Most parasols resemble the shape of a traditional umbrella, however, there are other options on the market. For instance, there exist rectangular wall-mounted parasols. Moreover, there are more expensive products which come with additional features. These features may include lighting and the ability to retract.

Create a Sloping Garden

Another way of making your garden more private is to make it slope.

Taller Hedges

A more long-term solution is to allow your hedges to grow taller and taller. Of course, you’ll need to consider factors like how your neighbours might react and whether or not you’ll need planning permission or/and building regs approval before proceeding.

Also, while you could let your hedges grow taller, thus providing more privacy with time, you could instead look into having tall artificial hedging installed if you’d rather have a faster solution.

Other Ways to Use Plant Life to Your Advantage

Hedging is just one way that plants can make your garden more private. There is arguably a non-exhaustive list of ways you can achieve this.

Here are some popular ideas:

Oversized planters – One way of increasing your garden’s privacy is by adding large planter pots. Aside from using up space in their own right, they will generally be more suitable to hold larger and taller plants.
Layering container plants – Another solution is to add layers of container plants, with various aesthetics. A dense combination of plant life can help better conceal your garden from others, offering you increased privacy.
Climbers – We’ve touched on these plants a little already. Climber plants are a notable alternative to hedging. Climber plants can often grow on trellises, stakes, arches, and obelisks. Popular climber plants for the UK include Passion Flower, Honeysuckle, Ivy, Star Jasmine, and Hops.

Arbours and Arches

An arbour is a vertical garden structure which features seating and shelter. There are, as you might imagine, a ton of design options out there, so if an arbour is for you, we recommend shopping around a good bit before making a decision.

Obviously, you’ll want to find an arbour that can significantly increase privacy and thankfully many of those can be found on the market. An aesthetically pleasing arbour can not only offer privacy but act as a beautiful focal point for your garden (or at least one of the focal points).

Similarly, arching can provide some shelter and, ultimately, increased privacy. Small garden arches can better conceal your garden albeit arbours arguably do a better job at increasing privacy since you can actually use them. Aviara Pavers suggests that integrating such features into your outdoor space, whether through arches or arbours, offers an ideal addition to any garden, patio, or entranceway.

DIY Privacy Screens

For those on a tight budget, you’ll be glad to know that it’s possible to create privacy screens DIY. Aside from simply undertaking the above tasks by yourself, you might want to use old materials you have access to save money, potentially mixed in with some new purchases.

You should only create a DIY privacy screen if you have the right skills and knowledge. As with all DIY projects, you should proceed with caution and take any necessary safety steps. If in doubt, hire a professional.

Here are some DIY privacy screen ideas:

Cinder block planter wall *
DIY custom fence using wooden materials from a DIY/home improvement retailer
Rustic panels with patterns
Decorative wall panel made from an old wooden crate
DIY planter block and trellis

*Painting the cinder blocks in a uniform colour can make them surprisingly attractive.

Have you considered these ideas to improve the privacy of your garden before? Do you have any of your own tips for increasing the privacy of your garden?

*Disclosure: Collaborative Post

Thanks for stopping by,

Love you all ❤️

Franca 💋

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