What would you do? No garden privacy!

[Sunnydaisy23]

I moved house last year, from a new build to an older house with a bigger garden. One side of my garden and the various neighbours along the road have 4ft fences between them, but with established trees/bushes etc so privacy isn’t too bad. The other has a very short 3ft fence, and only a couple of ground level bushes, so absolutely no privacy at all. It’s the neighbour’s boundary and they obviously like it being that way. They’re very friendly, but it means you cannot step into the garden without a 20 min conversation unless they’re not in. Other people have suggested we just put our own fence in at 6ft - but I feel like that’s a bit rude! I did think pleached trees all the way down, but it would be quite expensive and I worried they might just keel over! What would you do? Any other suggestions for privacy?!

If you’re in no hurry, I’d probably plant some bushes that will eventually grow to provide privacy.

if you want privacy this year, I’d erect my own fence. You don’t have to explain yourself but, if you feel that you should, just say you like to sunbathe and feel a little self conscious.

Put your own 6ft fence in within your boundary. Why on earth would you worry about being rude, everyone needs privacy in their own garden! I couldn't stand neighbours being able to talk to me over the fence and being able to see my every move. Whether the previous owners liked it or not is irrelevant. You can still be polite and say hello to neighbours at the front. As the saying goes, good fences equal good neighbours.

I’d erect a fence ASAP.
Tell them you need it to train plants on, or something.

I’d just put up the fence and say you’re planning on developing the garden and want to use it to grow plants and trees against.

Put a fence up, it’s your garden you don’t need to provide an explanation 🙂

The sooner you do the fence the better, the longer you leave it the more awkward it becomes.

Fence straight up! If they ask about it just say you want to grow some plants or something. Obviously you don't even need to give an explanation.
Life is too short for annoying neighbours. Fence up and enjoy the garden.

We had this and last year we stuck a big fence up and oh my days it’s brilliant not having to chat to the neighbours! Whilst we can hear one another I now don’t have to talk unless I want to!

Yup fence Or even better if you can afford it a (nice) brick wall with capping. That cuts out any issues with maintenance, expectations of them having the paint the bits showing on their side.

I’d put up a fence AND plant some trees. Double privacy.

Who does that fence belong to? If it's yours, you can replace it. Check the deeds.

Wear headphones in the garden. They'll get the message.

Just put up a fence.
If they seem put out just blame it on cheaper home insurance. (It is a thing!)

Put up a fence with a trellis on your side and next time you're having a casual chat with your neighbour say you want to cover it in beautiful climbing plants.

Yes, put up a fence as soon as possible before it really does become "a thing". I can quite understand offering an explanation of sorts so say it's for climbing plants and also to cat proof the garden as you are thinking of rescuing a cat and the rescue centre insists on it.

Ideally line it up with tree and hedge between. You can get mature trees in, instead of waiting for 30 years. Then you won't have an ugly fence in half your garden.

What would I do?
I'd put a fence up. I can understand how it makes it feel a bit rude - like "I don't wanna talk to you anymore", but I think you can avoid this by letting them know in advance - both as a courtesy and that you are happy to be neighbours.

Having privacy in your home is completely normal.

We had this when neighbours removed all the beautiful and established trees to allow more light on their veggie plot
we were gutted.
Everytime we went out I felt watched and they would pop up for a long chats which was usually around whatever the lady had self diagnosed herself with that week !
We put bamboo up and hey presto completely private again.
Lots of nice well established trees our side too and all grew within that one summer last year but we did spend quite a lot at the garden centre .
Worth every penny.
Theyve already asked us to cut them all down ! Ummm no !

For a quick fix some sort of gazebo/sail and then some plants on your side which will form a hedge. Photinia Red Robin grows quickly and is ever'green'.

'Other people have suggested we just put our own fence in at 6ft - but I feel like that’s a bit rude!'

Don't be silly of course you can put a fence in!

If you don't feel that a solid fence is right, put in trellis. You can get different densities. Then grow things like clumping bamboo which will provide screening without totally blocking their light or growing through the trellis. But it is a good idea to tell them you'd like to do that first, to keep a nice relationship with them.

I’m such a people pleaser when it comes to these sort of things! It’s the neighbours boundary and the fence has been put in since we arrived. There was no proper boundary when we moved in, we offered to put one in, thinking we’d go 4ft and add some trellis for some privacy, but then decided to go for 3ft and chopped a load of trees on their side down and now it feels very much like a shared garden!

Exactly this - happy to chat in the front garden! In the back I’d like to be able to hang my washing or garden without feeling like I’m being watched!

I’d go for pleached trees

We have a see through 4ft fence and have planted for privacy. It’s a mixture of bamboo in pots, grasses (both for almost instant cover) and then other shrubs, photinia, verbena, pyracanthia, Portuguese laurel, lavateria which are all quick ish to quick growing.