What could be done to make this garden more private and less awful?

[KievLoverTwo]

One of the reasons I dislike new builds is that you often have people able to see into your garden from three sides. This secondhand NB is not quite that bad, but I would dislike sitting out there and looking at a bunch of tall houses. What could you grow to be higher than that wall to make it less awful, and how quickly might that happen? If we chuck a bunch of money at it, can we buy something that’s already quite tall (but won’t grow massive)?

The rest looks pretty bland, but I am sure with creativity it could be nice(r).

(unusually it doesn’t have a terrible teeny kitchen and it has quite a lot of floor space, maybe suspiciously cheap, if a bit dated, and the location is good)

tyvmia.

@Seaitoverthere there is no mention of gas anywhere on the advert so it might be that it and the surrounding houses are fully electric. It would explain the asking price, the only other reasonably priced one I saw in the area was fully electric and that was also about 15 years old. It was on for about 50k less than I expected.

I could probs cope with induction hob.

In which case the only choice will be ASHP. I wonder when the government grant changing from 5k to 7.5k becomes effective.

I shall have to look into it.

I will look at the garden direction on the pc later. I believe south is best for non boggy gardens, which direction is the worst?

The lack of trees and tall houses surrounding probably helps.

I quite fancy having a go with a jackhammer to get astro footings up :)

It is sounding like there might not be gas then. Not sure when the grant changes.

North facing will be worse for drainage.

We have an apple tree that we've trained along a fence... it grows fairly flat against the fence and up. I believe its an espalier tree.

How about some trellis and a few different climbers? Is the wall yours? Are there any restrictions on fixing trellis to the top of the wall?

@Toomanylosthours on the other side of the wall is a road, then those houses. I guess so?

I had no idea restrictions on putting things on walls was even a thing!!

Preached trees are what you need. Growth is at the top. Like this: https://www.hedgesdirect.co.uk/acatalog/Pleached-Trees-Information.html

Pleached trees are gorgeous. They look amazing IMO. They don't need to be evergreen IMO because you only usually sit out in the months where trees have leaves. The branches provide some screening anyway.

Then a pergola to sit under, grow climbers over it.

Bamboo and leylandii are both unappealing IMO, yes they are cheaper but they don't have the appeal.

What direction is that wall facing? A walled garden is brilliant, you get such a sheltered space so can grow fruit really easily.

Agree with PP that a walled garden is great. Can’t say much about the garden as I’m no gardener but fruit trees sounds a good idea. I’m sure a garden centre could provide advice. I do know that south or west facing gardens are considered best if you like plenty of sunlight and for drainage. Also certain plants will grow better in South/West facing gardens. North is considered worst and you have to be a bit more careful what plants you buy if you have a North facing garden.

Re having to use an induction hob - that’s no problem and you would soon get used to it. Induction hobs are actually really good to cook on and easier to clean than other types.

Having read your other thread about your rental, I’m honestly relieved you are considering buying somewhere earlier than 2025. I want you to find somewhere nicer to live as soon as you can, whether than turns out to be this place or somewhere else.

I would position your seating on the left hand side so that it’s not overlooked by the neighbours

If I knew which way the garden was facing, I could be really excited about it. Does it get sun for at least half of the day?
South facing ideal. West or east- can work with that. North I would not want.

I would immediately get rid of astroturf. Grow things up the walls and the garage. Pergola with creepers and fairy lights for a sheltered private bit. Hanging baskets, pots around with different things in. In my garden that's smaller than that we also have a pond and a thriving frog population.

That fabulous wall! Pleached trees will be fab. I would thread solar lights into the branches and pretty them up for nighttime.

However only contemplate if you will actually enjoy all the fiddling around with plants, don't mind the expense and will enjoy the project. Otherwise it will be a chore or you'll always be thinking UUGH I should get round to the garden.

I have Prunus Caucasica growing into a raised hedge down one boundary, to block an eyesore — it’s evergreen and pretty tough.

Its easy to tell if its got gas or not , there will be one or two meter boxes on the outside wall.

Another vote for pleached evergreen trees if you have the money. Something like this.

However you would ideally want to take up a strip of the astro by the wall (and the aggregate that gets laid under astro) so they can have a proper bed to grow in. Failing that you would need to build a very large raised bed so they have a fair amount of soil.

You can then put pretty plants around the base of the pleached trees.

Honestly that’s really difficult to make private. Simply as it’s so narrow and the houses overlooking so tall,

a trellis won’t make any difference, it’s going to give you about 3 feet, and it’s the top floor of all the houses that are overlooking you.

a hedge also will be problematic as the garden is so narrow you will loose a lot of the width.

you can do pleached trees but to get enough height to block those windows you’re looking at thousands and thousands, or years of wait.

really you need trees with a high canopy, but then your issue is the proximity to the house and roots.

i suspect that’s the reason it’s cheaper, the overlooked garden is the compromise.

Whatever you do do not plant bamboo in the ground, whatever the label says, and only plant leylandii if you have the budget for regular (annual at least) trimming by a professional and are prepared for complaints from neighbours if they get higher than 8’.

Id go for wispy stuff like silver birch or amalanchier to break up the walls/view. Also very low maintenance.

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I am another one who really likes it. Such a pretty wall and a quirky space, could be really interesting

a mixture of small garden trees like amalancia , silver birch, small cherry or crab apple should soften the wall and give some height. They aren’t ever green but I doubt you would be sitting out in winter and would still give some cover. Buy cheaper varieties so you can buy them taller.

When you say it has electric heating and under floor heating, does it have an air source heat pump? If so I would be very reluctant to change.

If it has electric heating are you sure there is gas to the property that could be used ? Because usually lack of gas is behind electric heating

I would definitely not do leylandii or bamboo as they get too big/overgrown and could just be starting to look horrific by the time you want to sell (5 years).

I wouldn’t change the heating either as in five years time it’s only going to be going more towards electric so potential buyers might have to look at budgeting to convert back.

Instead I would spend some of that budget on getting a proper landscaper to do you a clever plan of small trees and infrastructure to distract from the other houses, give you somewhere lovely to sit and be beautiful and low maintenance. I wouldn’t bother with any lawn, just beds that might need maintenance once or twice a year and some replacement of plants every few years. Look at lucy bellamy’s book brilliant and wild (a garden meant to be planted in a day then tidied up once a year, with tons of pretty pollinator attracting plants), piet oudolf style planting (look at his border in wisley). Pinterest and Instagram are your friends - if you tag a few things on Pinterest then the algorithm will soon suggest 8 billion garden ideas to choose from.

crabapple, silver birch, rowan and amelanchier are all good.

also with those brick walls you could have a gorgeous climbing repeat flowering David Austin rose (Ghislaine de feligonde is pretty and reliable and flowers until December) or a lovely espaliered apple tree which would be very pretty and fun.

There are non invasive bamboos. We have a very pretty black stemmed variety in part of the garden - tall but not invasive spread. I can't remember the name just now but if you ask a specialist supplier they can suggest based on your needs.

Which way does that wall face? Espaliers as in a walled garden might be an option depending on direction and any restrictions.

I quite like the curved wall, look up walled gardens or go visit local ones for inspiration, pleached trees are gorgeous and can have a bed underneath for softer plants . I'd put a pergola by the garage where the table is, can grow clematis Montana really quickly up that and lovely to sit under

Does the garage belong yo you? If so, I would open it up with patio doors either side and maybe a velux window to provide plenty of light for a nice sitting space. This would make the usable area a better shape. Clematis or honeysuckle grown over the garage would make it feel more private and less clinical. The wall I like as you could have a couple of tall thin trees - a couple of thin raised beds and a bench.

I think the garden looks worse because its so stark. A few plants would soften it.

Having had experience of both...

• absolutely do NOT plant leylandii in such a small space unless you plan to trim very regularly. It's not just their height, it's also their girth. My garden felt like it had doubled in width when I had mine removed

• I do have fargesia bamboo, it's lovely. It's a clumping one, I have it in raised beds alternated with portugese laurel, it hasn't spread, and is easy to trim. It sounds lovely in a breeze.

For privacy in the garden, you might want to read this: https://www.themiddlesizedgarden.co.uk/how-increase-garden-privacy/#:~:text=A%20parasol%2C%20arbour%2C%20pergola%20or,a%20screen%20near%20to%20you.

I’d love a walled garden.