Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Original poster

Screening attached to neighbours fence

25 replies

EezyOozy · 02/03/2022 12:32

Hi all,

I've attached a pic of the bottom of my garden . The neighbours garden is hight than ours and overlooks us on two sides.

I would like to staple (to the existing fence posts) some cane/willow screening (the stuff that comes in rolls), slightly taller than the existing fence (1.5m height maybe).

We didn't put the fence in and haven't lived here very long , but I'm pretty sure it's there fence. But it is the boundary.

Am I allowed to staple to the fence posts? These people aren't very friendly sadly, they don't answer the door . We don't have a phone number for them. I did take an email address from the lady once (when some of their guttering fell in our garden). I asked if we could put it back up or if they want to. She wouldn't come and look and insisted I email photos - I emailed two sets of photos and no reply. Knocked at door a few times when car there, no answer. In the end my husband just put the guttering back up to prevent the small lake forming in our garden...

So, they don't generally seem to want to engage.

Does anyone know the rules please?

Thanks :)

Screening attached to neighbours fence
OP posts:
Original poster
EezyOozy · 02/03/2022 12:33

*the neighbours garden is HIGHER than ours

OP posts:
LIZS · 02/03/2022 12:36

You would need to erect posts etc within your boundary.

Original poster
EezyOozy · 02/03/2022 12:52

Thank you, we've just had a big bill for replacing the fence elsewhere in the garden. I'm wondering if metal spike/stake things might suffice on our side (Rather than full on fence posts in post-Crete)… Otherwise I will look into some kind of hedging screening plants

OP posts:
Original poster
EezyOozy · 02/03/2022 13:01

My little brother has just looked at a picture and commented that it looks like it could be our fence because the poster on our side…… So I think I need to try and find out, although it will be like pulling teeth teeth

OP posts:
HandlebarLadyTash · 02/03/2022 13:04

If you have big budget pleached evergreen large shrubs (photina etc) if smaller budget just get the trees. If you use shrubs they are easy to chop & wont grow too huge. Dont plant too close to the fence & around a meter apart if you want the screening to be in place quickly - worth noting a bit of chopping will encourage growth so if you want it to be dense you will have to make it less to get more.
Mail order trees has photina in tree form for around £60 a tree, the will fill out relatively quickly.

Obira · 02/03/2022 13:04

If it’s their fence then no you cannot attach anything without their permission. Check your deeds, it usually says who owns which boundary. If they won’t give permission then you can erect your own fence just inside theirs.

Original poster
EezyOozy · 02/03/2022 13:08

Thank you, I'm going to try asking them if they know whose fence it is, although I will probably waste weeks doing that. I don't know how to check the deeds, I don't have them! If it's ours then all good, I will staple stuff on. If not then I will try and put some spikes in our side or look at the plants PP has suggested, thank you

OP posts:
LIZS · 02/03/2022 13:10

Deeds will be among your purchase documents or download from land registry. What is the raised area constructed from? How exposed is that fence to wind etc?

Original poster
EezyOozy · 02/03/2022 13:17

Argh just spoke to our semi detached neighbour on the other side , he says it's not our fence.

Re wind - There is a woodland further back that you can't see, so probably not terribly exposed.

OP posts:
EventuallyDelighted · 02/03/2022 13:18

Don't plant too close to the fence or your shrubs will push against the panels as they grow and eventually damage them. Our neighbours have done this, it's their fence but the panels end up bulging and eventually falling into our garden.

Original poster
EezyOozy · 02/03/2022 13:18

Re-the raised area, you can see the sleeper bowl on our side. Behind that (e.g. under the fence posts that I have been talking about) I don't know, I don't know if there is a wall or something retaining their side of the land

OP posts:
Original poster
EezyOozy · 02/03/2022 13:21

Bowl = wall.
Sorry I have a toddler on my lap!

OP posts:
SpiderVersed · 02/03/2022 13:21

Yes, you must have permission before affixing anything to their fence.

Original poster
EezyOozy · 02/03/2022 13:26

I should say, the ground is very firm. It's clay soil and fairly rocky! It's not water logged in the least so I'm wondering if I could (assuming I could get them in) get some fence posts spikes / metposts and just do that on our side

OP posts:
chesirecat99 · 02/03/2022 13:40

How about a willow fedge? You weave willow whips into a fence that then take root and put out shoots. It's very easy and you can make them up to 2m high (although the shoots may grow higher) In the winter, they look like a trellis or whatever design you have woven them in:

www.thewillowbank.com/living-willow-structure-kits-for-sale/willow-fedge-screens/

LIZS · 02/03/2022 13:45

Investigate what is in the bank. Poor soil may require specific planting and deeper posts if you go the fencing root. Unfortunately you are right at the end of the bareroot season but may still get some shrubs/hedging in bulk in time to plant this year.

Original poster
EezyOozy · 02/03/2022 13:50

Thank you, both really good ideas

OP posts:
Tontostitis · 02/03/2022 13:52

Invest in pleached trees like a previous poster said it'll be expensive but they will look glorious and do the job.

AwkwardPaws27 · 02/03/2022 13:56

We stapled bamboo screening to our own shoddy old fence (temporary fix while saving for replacement). It looked good for about 3 months, once winter came it looked weathered very quickly, and fell down after about 6 months.
I wouldn't bother again, unless it's a very sheltered area it seems to weather v quickly.

Original poster
EezyOozy · 02/03/2022 14:11

Thank you,
Screening Probably a bit of a crappy option

OP posts:
Original poster
EezyOozy · 02/03/2022 14:22

Pleached trees look wonderful, if expensive. They seem to have very long bare trunks though, I wonder if you can get shorter ones/varieties . Will keep looking

OP posts:
Original poster
EezyOozy · 04/03/2022 17:24

Hello again. I hope you don't mind me asking for further advice, helpful gardening crowd! I definitely can't afford the peach trees. I was thinking of buying maybe some wild cherry into litre pots and trying to shape it as it grows? This will be cost-effective. My other thought was to get some Panicum / switch grass (heavy metal or cloud nine). It's a very tall column/vase shaped grass that is not invasive, it does spread out but extremely slowly , could be divided. Can I ask others thoughts on these two options please as you probably will think of caveats that I don't? Thank you

OP posts:
Original poster
EezyOozy · 04/03/2022 17:26

Pic of the "cloud nine" variety. I would probably need to keep it in check at the size I wanted.

Screening attached to neighbours fence
OP posts:
OP posts:
Harrysmummy246 · 06/03/2022 16:37

@hassletassle

Pleached trees look wonderful, if expensive. They seem to have very long bare trunks though, I wonder if you can get shorter ones/varieties . Will keep looking
Some standards of something like photinia then, less expensive but will screen.
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread