Arch spanning entire width of narrow garden

[ImpossibleDecisions]

Has anyone done or seen this? Can’t see any examples of this online.

We have a narrow terraced garden (5m wide). We are very overlooked at the back by windows.

Short of planting lots of trees and waiting for them to grow, I thought that a huge high arch (or pentagon shape) spanning the whole width of the garden, with leafy climbers on it, would blot out the windows.

Rather than do it on the patio as a lean-to on the house, I was thinking of erecting it stand-alone in the middle of the garden.

The shade would probably fall onto the patio which would be a good thing in summer. We could keep it quite thin so the strip of shade would hopefully not be too oppressive. It is a south-west facing garden and a bit too sunny in the kitchen at times.

I know it would need to be quite strong, maybe with steel rather than wood. I want to avoid multiple pillars in order to keep the garden open. Maybe an A shape either end to stop it falling over. It would need to be about 4m high in the middle I think to block the overlooking windows.

Does anyone want to critique this idea or share any examples of it being done?

I don’t see anything for sale more than 3m wide.

Nothings a thug if you keep on top of it, you can keep it the size you want, the issue is very few fast growing things are not “thugs” so if you want fast growing you need to factor in the maintenance.

I agree ☝🏼

Quick isn’t a good solution though. I think there are not too many good gardeners on this thread! Quick fixes are not great gardening solutions in small gardens.

Bit rude @PresentingPercy, would you insult everyone in the room if you were in a real-world scenario rather than on the internet?
Your premise is also a massive generalisation and subjective.

I’ve seen Alan Titchmarsh , plant laurels and bamboo in his gardens but he’s probably not as good a gardener as you. ?

How about a polytunnel?

I have a large wide garden with laurels and even in my large garden I have to keep on top of them. They need cutting back by around half a metre each year to keep their shape and not get out of hand. In a small narrow garden they would be a nightmare. Laurels are for large spaces and people who either love gardening so willing to maintain them themselves or have the money to pay someone else to do it.
Bamboos I am not a lover of. I just don’t think they look good even when we’ll maintained and quite frankly if not we’ll maintained they just look scruffy. Plus i would be worried if I had young children that they could injure themselves on it.

If I wanted to screen an area from upstairs windows I would look at a pergola planted with clematis for each season so continuous cover. Add in some Passion flower for faster growth and coverage but be aware Passion flower can be a thug if not kept under control.

I would avoid trees in a small garden unless peached trees but again they will require maintaining and can be expensive to buy especially if you are looking at already formed ones.

@Proudboomer

I have a large wide garden with laurels and even in my large garden I have to keep on top of them. They need cutting back by around half a metre each year to keep their shape and not get out of hand. In a small narrow garden they would be a nightmare. Laurels are for large spaces and people who either love gardening so willing to maintain them themselves or have the money to pay someone else to do it. Bamboos I am not a lover of. I just don’t think they look good even when we’ll maintained and quite frankly if not we’ll maintained they just look scruffy. Plus i would be worried if I had young children that they could injure themselves on it.

If I wanted to screen an area from upstairs windows I would look at a pergola planted with clematis for each season so continuous cover. Add in some Passion flower for faster growth and coverage but be aware Passion flower can be a thug if not kept under control.

I would avoid trees in a small garden unless peached trees but again they will require maintaining and can be expensive to buy especially if you are looking at already formed ones.

I just don’t understand this. Why is it more cumbersome to trim a hedge in a small garden than a large one? And there are many types of Laurel. Portuguese Laurel for example is much slower growing with smaller leaves.

As to Alan titchmarch his garden is 4 acres. He has 10 mini waterfals and a wild meadow. What he can achieve and what the rest of us can do in our smaller residential gardens are miles apart.

A large plant in a large garden doesn’t take over as their is more space for it to grow as nature intended it to. In a smaller garden you have to make the plant fit into the space available so more mainatance. Then in a smaller garden you might not have the access to remove the debris or even the space around the plant to be able to maintain it properly. When I maintain my laurels it is not just a case of going out with looper and giving it a trim. I have to set up ladders and boards around it and use power tools to cut it back and reshape it. I then have a couple of hippo bags of waste to get rid of.

@PresentingPercy

Don’t plant laurel. If grows very wide! You won’t have a garden left. It’s a thug. Some pergolas work well if you have plants that build up on each other for increased height. Slim cherry trees are pretty good on a boundary too. Maybe don’t buy an overlooked house!

@PresentingPercy your last comment was unnecessary, unhelpful and judgemental. Exactly how was that helpful for the OP? Not everyone can be afford to be 100% discriminating when buying a house. Perhaps the overlook was a necessary compromise at the time and now the OP is looking for a solution? Or whatever. It doesn't actually matter why, does it?

@Proudboomer

A large plant in a large garden doesn’t take over as their is more space for it to grow as nature intended it to. In a smaller garden you have to make the plant fit into the space available so more mainatance. Then in a smaller garden you might not have the access to remove the debris or even the space around the plant to be able to maintain it properly. When I maintain my laurels it is not just a case of going out with looper and giving it a trim. I have to set up ladders and boards around it and use power tools to cut it back and reshape it. I then have a couple of hippo bags of waste to get rid of.

Oh we just have someone come in once a year and do it. Doesn’t cost that much.

A plant / tree will only get large if the owner lets it , regular trimming/ pruning is all that’s needed to keep them under control. If you want a 4ft Laurel you just prune it to that Simple.