Well that’s my privacy gone

[frostedviolets]

I know I am probably going to be told IBU but I am so so upset.

Neighbour behind has rows of mature massive trees.
Mostly planted right against my fence so they lean in and left unpruned they cover almost half of my garden.

I constantly have to prune them back to the boundary which is a real pain in the arse but I love the privacy they provide, without them i can see straight into their house and garden and they mine.

Every year they get some bodger with a chainsaw to behead them all about half way down in a straight line so they look utterly ridiculous now they appear to be chainsawing them down completely.

All my privacy gone.
I’ll no longer be able to go into my living room or bedroom or garden without being clearly seen now.

I have an espalier tree growing in front of the fence that I am very careful to keep in a single flat layer so it doesn’t fall onto neighbours to have to keep pruning it but it’s small, it’ll be fucking years before it gets anywhere big enough to provide me with some screening.

WIBU to plant bamboo or even the devils work, leylandii or something?!
What grows mega fast and mega big..?

I’ll keep the side trimmed back so it doesn’t cross their boundary.

I need privacy!

Net curtains have an image problem but if you say 'voiles' it sounds so much better! We have them and I can see out quite well but looking back in from the garden, no. Just plain, no flowery patterns.

@toomuchtooold, my heart breaks for you. Horrible, horrible plants that are a bloody nightmare to remove from native woodland where people have either dumped the rubbish or it's thrown runners up from gardens. At least with Holly, you can raise its skirts to have some light reaching the ground and the tree itself is actually useful to wildlife.

OK, what about starting a native hedgerow? That involves trees, Silver Birch, Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Beech, Holly, Hazel, for example, plus Roses, Ivy, Honeysuckle and various native bulbs and plants at the bottom.

Hello OP, you are not being unreasonable!

For a solution can you provide a scale? It sounds lie your garden isn't very big, but the level drops down to your rear 6 foot fence. Then does the back neighbours land also drop away, or is it flat.

I guess the point is: how tall a thing planted inside your back boundary do you need to regain privacy. 6 foot isn't enough, so 12? 24? That will affect what to buy, and how long until it gets high enough to screen you.

Alternately if your garden is big enough you might be able to plant something smaller closer to the house to get privacy sooner.

I have (inherited) leylandi which makes an excellent 7 foot high hedge. I trim it twice a year or it'd get too high and suck the life out of my garden. It was much higher but I trimmed it brutally back to the trunk and it has recovered excellently.

I also have a clump of bamboo that went in the ground nearly 2 years ago,(was about 4 foot high then ) but still isn't 6 foot so nowhere near screening yet. it seemed to take a year to settle in its new home.

I was going to buy and apple tree and a cherry tree for deciduous privacy, partly because I like the blossom, partly because I like the fruit. Depending on the rootstock used it would be different heights. I reckoned that I don't use the garden as much in the winter so privacy was less of an issue then.

You can buy massive trees to get almost instant privacy. But they are expensive.

Net curtains have an image problem but if you say 'voiles' it sounds so much better!

We have them too, upstairs. DH calls them 'vile' curtains.

But adding trellis to the fence to make it 8’ and growing clematis or honeysuckle or whatever along it.
If you’re desperate NOW then even runner beans will help this summer.
Then strategic placing of trees (pretty ones that don’t cast too much shade-amalanchier, birch, betula serrula, Rowan, crab apple, whatever appeals) to block lives of sight from their windows to yours.

I would hate to feel overlooked too!

They sound like Leylandii, we had a long row of those in our garden, about 25 feet high - every year it cost hundreds to maintain them and they put the garden in shade. We took them all down but put a 2 metre fence up then planted a new slow growing hedge that's now reached the height of the top of the fence. It took a while but at least with the fence there was immediate privacy and now it looks lovely with the hedge in front. Could you do something like that?

Get pleached hornbeam trees

Very attractive and won't cost the earth.

It sounds like you have the wrong house never mind garden. Realistically no one cares what you get up to in your garden or have any interest in spying on you to see you walk past a window. But obviously you're paranoid maybe an isolated house in the middle of nowhere would suit you better

Did you honestly think this is a useful post? Anyone who doesn't totally love where they live should just move should they?

Why be a dick for the sake of it?

Eucalyptus, light, very quick growth, evergreen. You can be savage eventually about pruning to keep it at a reasonable height.Two at the end of your garden will do the job.
A friend of mine ruled out gardens that were overlooked when she was house hunting. Take control now.

There are websites that specialise in instant screening and can advise you on the best thing to buy and in some cases even plant it. Now you won't have to rely on other peoples' trees to feel comfortable in your own home.

I have the same issue when my neighbour built a patio that completely overlooks my house, into my living room and garden. I've planted a laurel hedge, but it'll be years before it gives me any decent privacy. I don't understand how people can't think about other people and their privacy! I feel your pain

Have you considered privacy window film? Not very expensive, might be a bit of a faff to put up but gives you complete privacy without affecting your view?

Similar happened to me well trees were cut down and I'm still upset about it!

Across the road there was massive trees which when I looked outside my bedroom window it appeared I live in the country side , well the council come round and chopped them all down so now all I can see are the houses opposite and rusty old garages eugh.

I'd suggest blinds but it's not the same as people can still see you in the garden.

There are many types of bamboo and each is categorised as either a runner or a clumper. You just need to know which it is you're buying. I have a perfectly well behaved clumper and a thug in a pot. In your situation for speed I'd have a trellis and grow climbers up it.

Net / lace curtains / voiles are all disgusting! I don't blame you for not wanting those! And it wouldn't solve your garden issue. Bamboo and a trellis sounds like a good idea.

You could plant some Fallopia baldschuanica as a temporary barrier, with trellis, or just strings between tall posts for it to climb up. The flowers are stunning, it grows 12 foot a year, and is much more easily cut down than trees if you only want it for a year or two. It's deciduous but if you like it, you can get evergreen honeysuckles to mix with it.

I do feel for you. Always remember a poster on MN who had before and after photos of her garden when this happened. She went from having a lovely green shady garden with lots of tree-interest to look at, to seeing right into her neighbour's house, which was very, very close. Some people don't mind that, but if it's not what you are used to . . . .

A strange suggestion and might not work for you, but while I was waiting for laurel to grow enough to prevent overlook (it has taken about 6 years), I also installed a trampoline for the kids.

Added bonus was that it provides a screen.

Could something like that work for you - while you're waiting for adequate growth?

If they were really big trees then they might have had TPO orders on them and this means that they shouldnt have been cut down. I would certainly try and check with your local council if this is the case or not. you can sometimes check on line on their planning portal or e mail in. people are still working so you should get a reply.

What's the point in that. They've been chopped down now. The tree surgeons can hardly stick them back together. Yes, you may get a warm glow if the other householder/tree surgeons get fined, but it doesn't give you back your privacy. Anyway, whether trees are protected or not depends on the type of tree and whether there was ever a need to protect them - it's very random which trees are protected and which aren't. Often they're protected when new housing developments are proposed following complaints from nearby residents who don't want the housing estate built and try to find ways of making the development more difficult. If the trees are very old and in housing which is very old, and the trees aren't some rare species, highly unlikely they're be protected.

What about Italian cypress- they are very narrow but you’ll could plant them along the fence and every couple of years trim the top to the required height. As they are narrow trees they won‘t have overhang to either garden or cost a lot to cut

My black bamboo is clump forming, I’ve had it about 16 year and it hasn’t gone mad, it’s very tall and forms a great privacy screen, and hasn’t sent up shoots in anyone else’s garden. I love it and would recommend.

www.pyracantha.co.uk/fast-growing-climbers/ - a list of fast climbers

We had Clematis armandii - that was very pretty, russian vine which I liked and evergreen honey suckle - made a lovely screen.

It so fucking annoys me to see all these recent threads about trees being chopped down, right when birds are nesting. If they were big trees it's almost certain there would have been some nests in there

Me too. If I hadn't been on the phone supporting a client to complete a PIP form earlier, I'd have marched round the corner and had serious words with the old lady who was cutting her hedge.

The hedges (lonicera nitida) are really old and were planted when the houses were built in the 1930s. The birds love them, we have 2 lots of robins nesting in ours and sparrows and other small birds flit in and out of the hedges all day long. I've definitely seen small birds coming and going from her hedge, too, so I'd be surprised if she didn't have a nest of some sort.

You've been very lucky then, @CrystalMaisie. Phyllostachys Nigra is invasive.

I'd be gutted too OP (as I was when the rented house next door to me changed hands and became an HMO, and the moneygrabbing landlord was allowed to put in a window immediately opposite my bedroom window, also with a view straight into my kitchen and dining room).

I completely get that there is a big difference between having something green outside the house that gives privacy and having to cover your windows. Window film isn't great (although it was my solution for the kitchen) because although it gives total privacy it does also cut out so much light, giving a gloomy cast to everything.

A really tall trellis does sound best, for speed. The fastest-growing things I can think of that aren't ugly are ivy or Virginia creeper (sorry if I've missed seeing these suggested). Virginia creeper is very pretty, especially in the autumn. (Although it's just occurred to me that it's deciduous so might not help in winter .)

www.blinds-2go.co.uk/enjoy-roller-blinds/20441/enjoy-vision-luxe-glimmer.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwwMn1BRAUEiwAZ_jnEg6ic6TcN4JjceOocTCIBSTEVUPXAterNWTyM3Ywd-zMHZtwXXikABoCoWYQAvD_BwE

I have these day and night blinds in my living room as I’m overlooked too, they work really well