Anyone else have no privacy?

[Alwaystired4]

Does anyone else have a similar garden layout? And/or how do you make it a little more private!!
I am so grateful that we finally live somewhere with a garden, it's a first for us!
It's small but very happy to have the outdoor space

However our garden sits in such a way that we are open and visible to the whole street and to a nearby carpark under a big block of flats and there is nooooo where to 'hide' 🙈🙈

I have two small children so we use our garden as much as possible but the lack of privacy is starting to drive me a bit bananas!

People walk past every few minutes and peer into the garden and often try to talk my kids (Grrr i dislike that one) and i have even had people walking purposely up to the garden because they think my children are outside alone!!

(They are never outside alone i sit on our front step which i guess is a little low to the ground where I'm assuming I'm not very visible)

I've put bamboo up one side but can't afford to do the rest yet (one side at a time)

Just curious does anyone have a similar layout or any different ideas for a bit of privacy ?

And yes I am a miserable grump who doesn't want to chat with all the strangers wandering past 🙈🙈
(I should also note it isn't the nicest neighbourhood in the world)
Sorry for the vent...it had to be vented!!

You're not a grump. I'd feel really uncomfortable with random passers by being able to peer in all the time. I might be wrong but it sounds like you have a very short fence? Would it be possible to replace it with something taller? Or if the pavement is higher on the other side, adding on a bit of trellis?

I've found that the illusion of privacy is just as good as actual privacy. My garden is overlooked as I'm in a terraced house but it feels private enough because of fences, neighbouring trees and garages. My friends have moved into a new build and their garden feels much more exposed because nobody has planted anything and all you can see are windows surrounding you from every angle.

We live in a new built complex with small gardens also there is a big drop at the end of our garden. We used to see inside the house behind us. When we moved in 7 years ago we planted red robins as hedge in that drop in front of our back fence. Now they are 3/4 meters height . We let them go up to 4 meters in summer and cut back to 3 meters in winter. We are also overlooked by 1st floors of houses behind us. As a solution we planted 3 trees in front of the red robin hedge - 2 crab apples and 1 plum. We planted one of the crab apple several years ago and it is quite high now so blocking the right hand neighbour's view. The other 2 are a bit younger so small yet but they will catch up in a few years. I find hedging and trees are great way to get some privacy also they look great in the garden. Takes several years to grow enough to give privacy though unless you can afford to buy bigger plants.

I've found that the illusion of privacy is just as good as actual privacy. I agree with this. Stone wall with trelllis above to a height of 2m, and shrubs in front made me feel very safe and private, even though I know when I walk past I can see almost every bit of the garden.

Partly, enough of a barrier so people can't just walk through, and an interesting enough barrier that your eye is drawn to that and not to the people beyond.

It can be better to have barrier you (and therefore they) can see you, rather than something completely impenetrable so you don't have a clue who's out there.

We walked past a front / corner garden last May and commented on some of the fabulous plants, not realising the owner of the house was gardening a d heard us. He popped up to tell us about the plants, particularly one that had just finished flowering.

'We'll come back next spring and you can tell us about it then,' I said.

'No offence, ' he said, but I hope I won't see you then. I'm growing all these plants to make a private garden so we are not visible from the street'.

You need hedging of some sort.

Thank you for all the suggestions they sound fantastic and i guess i just needed to hear from some fellow 'open' garden peeps!! Roll on payday and the garden centre!!! I'm not sure if neighbours would grumble about anything too high but the suggestions have definitely given me a needed kick up the booty to get started! X x x x x

We are in a similar position and I struggle between wanting open views and desiring privacy. I like light, airy rooms in the house and worry that too much hedging or fencing will make them dark. They discussed this problem on the last Your Garden Made Perfect programme and tended to opt for trees and shrubs that gave the illusion of privacy but let at least some light through. I have been spending too much time online recently looking at garden designs and I've been surprised how many people have put really high fences and walls in urban gardens. They give privacy but must cut out a lot of light. It is probably a balancing act.

We have a small tree in our garden that i love. I also have my bench situated behind it so when i am sitting people don't tend to stare at me. Another thing we have done is to have fencing/ hedging either side of the garden but not at the front. This means that if people are walking along the street they don't really see what is in the garden until they are level with it. As most people seem to look forward when they are walking it helps to distract the eye and they focus on other gardens they can look in to. That combined with the tree works for us, but I do have days when I would like more privacy. I agree with giving people something of interest in a garden to focus on. If there is something for the eye to rest on they are less likely to look at the people who are there too.

We live in a rented 1 bed house with a nice but small garden. The problem is, we only have a fence on one side. The other side has a small and broken wire fence between our garden and the neighbours. I was against spending money on a fence because we can’t take it with us when we move (we now have a 5 month old). The neighbour is a bit weird, constantly darting out of her house when she sees us in the garden and then we’re stuck having a 30 min long conversation with her. She also stands in her garden and peers into our bedroom and tries to talk to us there while we’re in bed. I’ve decided to take the plunge and get a 6 foot fence haha. It’s annoying because it’s a lot of money to spend on someone else’s property but I want to be able to enjoy the garden this summer with my baby without worrying about the weirdo next door.