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'Moveable fencing' - what to use?

4 replies

Solo2 · 15/03/2010 18:29

Our garden backs onto a field - private land, where, once a year only, sheep graze. We have a wire fence here as our boundary that allows lovely views of the field and hills beyond and the view was one of the main reasons for buying the house.

Unfortunately, local people use the field more and more as their general recreation ground and in spring/ summer/autumn and sometimes winter too, it's like living adjacent to a public park, with people peering in to our garden, back windows of the house, children trying to 'climb' our wire fence (and pulling it down) and no privacy at all.

Whilst the field owner recently decreed that no one should trespass on their land and this has reduced the influx in winter months, there's no guarantee that we won't be inundated again over the summer. The owner doesn't live nearby and the field boundaries are wire fences easily accessible to people and dogs.

I am torn between wanting to preserve our lovely view and yet needing more privacy for the family. I came up with the idea of a 'temporary fence' that could go up on 'busy' days in the field and come down at other times and when the weather's too bad for people to be out.

I've heard of birch or willow screening but am not sure how feasible it would be to have several panels of this stored in the garden and how easy or not it would be to erect it on a temporary basis.

Also, I don't know if it's a silly idea and we should just give up our view and erect a proper fence to preserve privacy at all times. The thought of dragging out the fence ona 'busy field day' makes me that those watching would sneer and snigger and of course we never know in advance when people will decide to go into the field.

Planting a hedge is an option too, I suppose but this would neither provide full privacy nor allow our view.

What do you think?

OP posts:
lincstash · 15/03/2010 19:11

Id make fence panels on hinged bases.........

Solo2 · 15/03/2010 19:33

Thanks lincstash. Can you explain more about what you mean? Would the panels be normla fencing and concertina open IYSWIM?

Anyone else got any ideas too?

Another possibility could be to create a private garden within the open plan garden - but that would change the whole garden lay-out.

Has anyone else ever had a similar situation?

OP posts:
Pannacotta · 15/03/2010 21:31

I think I would either put up permanent fencing on the boundary or I would create a division elsewhere in the garden so that you had privacy within the plot if not at the boundary.
You could use deciduous planting, so that you'd have privacy in the summer without planting blocking out the light in the winter.
Amelanchiers are good for screening and can be grown as shrubs or small trees, they have more or less year-round interest
www.gardeningexpress.co.uk/ProductDetails.asp?ProductID=58

Solo2 · 17/03/2010 14:15

Thanks for the ideas. Has anyone come across willow or birch panels BTW and are these easy to put up when wanted and remove when not?

Also, I've never thought before about garden design but how might it work to have a private part of the garden within the opne plan one? Would I use archways/ trellis or what?

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