ADVICE NEEDED!! Fence panel between me and my neighbours garden is too low!!

[BLOOMF]

Okay so me and my partner moved house recently and we love it... The street is great, everybody is really welcoming and our neighbours are lovely!! With the warm weather we have been using the garden an awful lot and one thing we have noticed is that the fence that separates our garden and our neighbours garden is incredibly low.

So much so that I don’t need to go on my tip toes to see what they’re up to (I’m 5ft 5) I can just see directly in at all times.

The house is semi detached and the fences are party fences which means we have joint responsibility. We are more than happy to absorb the costs for the fences as we know our neighbours have been there since 1999 so they must be happy with the height (or lack of!). The only problem is we have no idea how to approach them to bring the subject up...

We don’t want to appear rude and like I say they really are lovely! We just would like a little privacy when we are our in the garden.

Any ideas on how best to tackle this?

I'd just put trellis along the top and some quick growing plants. By the end of the summer you'll have privacy. Replacing the fence would seem like overkill.

Or plant some laurels? Or bamboo?

You can buy trellis panels that go on top of the fence to make it higher. I’d buy sturdy ones, paint the whole thing a nice colour and grow climbers up it. It will be pretty and give more privacy.

Before you spend money think about if they will still be able to see you easily from their house. If so, is it worth the money?

A line of bamboo plants along the fence would provide a good screen without seeming like you were putting up an unfriendly wall.

www.themiddlesizedgarden.co.uk/fences-for-privacy-great-ideas-garden-screening/

Great thanks everybody! Didn’t even consider any of those options and you’re right the fence would probably be a little overkill hha!

I would still.say something ifnits a.shared fence. Just be breezy and say "I hope.you dont mind if I put some trellis on the fence, I was really wanting to buy a lovely clematis "other climbing plant" I really miss the one from our last house"

Be very careful about bamboo, much of it is extremely invasive and will be a nightmare for both you and your neighbour to get rid of.

Don't put in bamboo it's invasive and much more likely to upset your neighbours then adding a trellis.

Talk to your neighbours. I'd want a higher fence for privacy, but also to keep children in, and their toys! Even with our 6 foot fence stuff makes it over....

If a joint fence you shouldn't touch it without agreement.

A hedge planted your side to grow higher than the fence might be a good option. I have that on one boundary and it adds green, some nature habitat, and a bit more sound and distance privacy.

My gran used to say the breakdown of society came when 6ft fences became the norm. When I was a child, a waist high garden fence was entirely usual. We would play badminton or have water fights over it with the neighbours' children and both my mother and grandmother spent many happy hours chatting with neighbours over the fence. Now we all barely see or speak to our neighbours, which may or may not be a good thing.

Either way, you just have to say you'd like to replace the fence and see how it goes.

Our fence is about 4 ft on one side so I've just grown some tall ish shrubs along it. It's taken a few years but we now have complete privacy which we both prefer (I get on really well with our neighbours but everyone likes their own space in the garden!)

The other option apart from adding trellis is to lift up the panels (unless fixed to the posts) and put a gravel board at the bottom. This would raise up the height of the fence and also helps your panels last longer too!

We have a 5ft tall wall and next door attached a mini trellis along the top the full length. It’s their wall. They didn’t mention it to us beforehand but I was delighted as also wanted more privacy. They then grew an ivy up their side which has now taken over the trellis and gone even higher with the bulk of it than the top of the trellis. So now more than 6ft high.

We have climbers growing on our 6ft fence and as PP says, it adds about 8-12” depending on the season. Here it is hiding our neighbours washing line.