AIBU: garden fence/ privacy

[civilfawlty]

So. Recently moved house. Fence on either side of the garden is lower than normal, with trellis (but no plants growing up it on either side) so that EVERY SINGLE TIME I'm in the garden I get eye contact with neighbours and they start a conversation.

I know some people love this, but I want some privacy. I don't want a chat every time I'm outside. I also don't want to be rude, which is how it feels if I avoid eye contact.

I'd love to put up something higher, but a) it would cost loads and b) would seem really pointed I think.

What can I grow which will get me some coverage by summer. Are there other options? Could I add something to the top of the fence?

Thick trellis with green mesh added (to encourage the plants to grip )
Bamboo in pots
clematis?
My neighbours grapes and runner beans grow into my garden every year

Clematis, Jasmine or a thornless blackberry.

Oh, fennel. Grows very fast.

My garden was the same. I planted as much as I bloody could.

You can grow bamboo on your side of the fence, they work well in pots and grow quickly.
Although the quickest solution would be to buy some screening like this www.diy.com/departments/blooma-fern-screening-h2m-w4m/258180_BQ.prd

Put up long canes and use them as something for the plants to cling to.

Sunflowers, sweetcorn and green beans!

My neighbours told me that if we are in the garden they would prefer me to pretend I hadn't seen them and refrain from saying hello. I think they would prefer to be living in a castle rather than an inner-city terrace

All excellent suggestions. Thank you very much!

Ps - Can'tchange - I would prefer to live I a castle than an inner city terrace. Is that bad??

How tall is the fence + trellis currently?

I've had success with Home Bargains reed fencing wired onto trellis. You can order online here if you don't have a store locally:
www.homebargains.co.uk/products/4219-garden-reed-fencing-1-x-4m.aspx

I prefer the 1.5m tall roll as it covers more of the fence but it's currently out of stock online. Try instore?
If you have shrubs at ground level the uncovered lower section should be concealed pretty well.

It's probably not the best but at £4 for 4m it's rather bargainous. Because it's wired against trellis it withstands the elements. And it doesn't deteriorate at the base due to it being fixed away from the soil.

I have various climbers which I planted two years ago and they're still at 3-4ft height - disappointing This will be their third summer so I'm hoping they may enter 4-5ft territory!

Passionflower is good, as is jasmine

PS Don't plant bamboo unless you know what you're doing. Or keep it in pots!

I've had most success with buddleia (total thug, needs pruning/ tying in, good for bees and butterflies), ivy (the variegated ones are prettier, good for wildlife) and ceonothus (buy as big as you can afford for faster growth/ impact, attracts bees/ butterflies).

I also intend to plant numerous giant sunflowers against the sunny fence this year and protect well from slugs (a lot got eaten last year, the ones that survived were glorious)

My sweetpeas also did very well last year, I trained them up canes against the sunny fence.

I planted lots of clematis, honeysuckle and passionflower last autumn, looking forward to seeing how well they do this year.

Come across to the gardening topic for more greenfingered advice. I'm by no means an expert Lots will depend on your aspect, soil type/ condition etc.

Just say you are putting in trellis as you want to grow some pretty climbers- if they ask that is.

I second the poster that said be careful with bamboo- I have actually cried because of uncontrollable bamboo growth. Several times.

Was going to suggest pampas grass or bamboo, but in pots!

Yes, we realised we had planted the wrong type of bamboo before it was too late. Grows like weeds. Research the different types, we planted two types, one became engulfed by the other. Although it makes a fantastic natural screen and I do quite like it.

morning glory will come back every year. Very prolific and lovely colors.

Bamboo left unchecked is the devil's own weed. Please keep it in pots. (Conversely, it's only of the better renewable woods you can use as it grows fast and survives almost every sort of hacking).

I bought fan trellis from Amazon. It was really good because it made a barrier before the plants covered it.
I bought Philadelphus, weigela, lilac, Jasmine.,and Boston Ivy. ,all fast at covering a fence and very pretty.

Yes my bloody neighbour planted bamboo in her border. We now have it
we have it in pots too

This is it, will be covered in another month. I am very anti social.

I had this problem and tried everything to stop neighbour staring in kitchen window. I tried growing plants but they were too slow and bamboo didn't sheild enough.

Eventually we resorted to a 6 foot fence and it was the best money we have spent to date!

You can get some fake ivy net which you could attach to the trellis while you wait for the plants to grow. Sounds really naff, but I saw some in situ on some railings earlier today and it actually looked okay and gave privacy.

Russian Vine also known as Mile a Minutes would give you privacy by summer

They don't call it Mile a Minute for nothing. I measured a six inch growth on one stem in a day. Which means you do have to keep an eye on it to stop it swamping you. But I found it quite pretty.

Would proceed with caution re russian vine, yes it grows quickly but gets into surrounding plants and is really hard to chop down, I only know because neighbours have it and it has climbed right up into the surrounding hedges on both sides, is a huge tangle of stems which are almost impossible to remove.
We had exactly this in our first house, with an old dear on one side who used to sunbathe topless! I kid you not. Awkward much. We got the biggest pots we could find, shoved them in the gap and planted ivy up a piece of trellis. Did the trick!

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