Choose Your Views
Preserve a Garden Haven by Planting for Privacy
As the leaves began to change colors and fall from the trees, our yards
begin to open up. Views of our neighbors, once blocked by summer
foliage, are now expanding. And theirs of us.
Gardens are often described as places of refuge. Although you may like
your neighbors, you may not want them seeing your business whenever you
step outside. If you desire this enclosure and privacy, below are a few
suggestions to help you achieve it.
Remember to use evergreens where you want year-round privacy and
deciduous material where enclosure in the summer is more important. The
result is a garden that does not shut you out of the neighborhood but at
the same time offers places to go when you want privacy.
To fence or not to fence
Balancing the demands of privacy and of neighborliness can be a
challenge. Building a tall fence may isolate you from your neighbors
entirely. Conversely, building a short fence invites the neighbors to
peer over it, or to even walk up and lean over it for a chat.
Your neighborhood may also have restrictions regarding the permissible
height of the fence. If you want a truly private area on a raised
platform or deck, consider a trellis. Trellises are usually exempt
from the fence restrictions and therefore can be much taller.
Grow clematis, passion flower, grape, kiwi or other vines on the
trellises for additional beauty and privacy. Another benefit of all the
aforementioned vines, except for clematis, is that they will bear you
delicious fruit every fall, right about this time.
Along the side of your house, you can intersperse freestanding trellis
panels 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide with columnar evergreens to partially
screen the view. When you look out your windows your eyes will be drawn
to the trees and flowers (or empty trellises in winter), rather than
your neighbor’s house and yard, but the view isn’t totally obstructed.
Create windows
Choose columnar trees along the edge of your property. They stay
relatively narrow as they grow taller, providing a strong vertical
element in the landscape. Plant low shrubs between the trees, creating
windows between your property and whatever lies on the other side. There
is ample space between each tree for you to catch glimpses of your
neighbors without the feeling that you are intruding on each other.
Make the most of elevation
Small changes in elevation create the feeling of a more private area.
Enhance the difference in grade in the lowest part of your yard by
creating a sunken garden. This will refocus the view to the center of
the yard. As soon as you take the first step down into the sunken
garden, your focus is on the patio or garden, and the sensation of
privacy.
Stagger plantings
The best way to think about how to create privacy between your backyard
and a neighbor’s is to sit in each of the possible seating areas in your
porch and garden and look toward theirs.
Often three trees or shrubs planted in a staggered, or triangular,
pattern, will limit your view. At least one of them, preferably two,
should be evergreen. A grouping such as this is much more pleasing
aesthetically than using an obvious barrier like a solid hedge.
By using this combination of strategies to block, divert or steal views,
your yard can be a haven without imparting the feeling of being walled
in. Although it is possible to see your neighbors and say hello, you
won’t feel that it is required with each coming and going.
For More Information
For all garden-related questions, the Virginia Cooperative Extension
Service at ext.vt.edu has a wide-ranging website that is free to browse,
with multiple downloadable fact sheets.
