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Help!

Lizzie58Lizzie58 Posts: 6
in Problem solving
Please could anyone advise on the best evergreen screening options to provide privacy from the prying eyes of a new nosy neighbour and her many nosy visitors!!! Unfortunately we are overlooked on the one side by a kitchen window. This hasn't been a problem in the past as the previous occupant was considerate and didn't spend hours on end socialising in the kitchen as this new nuisance neighbour does.

I need something fairly fast growing if possible and can erect supporting structures if necessary. I did consider black bamboo but have been scared off by reports that it can be very invasive. Any ideas would be gratefully received. Thanks.
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Posts

  • Butterfly66Butterfly66 Posts: 970
    It would help to know how close the window is to your garden and also a sense of the size, aspect and position. 
    Does the window look directly into an area of the garden you use a lot or sit in?
     If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero
    East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
  • gjautosgjautos Posts: 429
    edited March 2021
    I'm surprised anyone is socialising indoors at the moment given as its illegal. What sort of space do you have? Is it south or north facing? A photo of the area will help people advise you best. You will have to be careful though, if you block all your neighbours light you could end up falling out. 

    Edit; also where you are geographically as some plants are fussy.
  • WonkyWombleWonkyWomble Posts: 4,541
    I have the same issue and have contained my bamboo by planting it in a waterbutt to restrict the roots,  you can also get clump forming types of bamboo which is more well behaved. 
  • Lizzie58Lizzie58 Posts: 6
    Hi Butterfly66 and gjautos. She has been totally disregarding of all restrictions throughout the past year!
    The window is in a first floor flat in a 2 storey block situated about 15 meters from my west-facing boundary  which is at the rear of my property. My back garden is near enough north-facing but does get sun all day in different areas of the garden as the sun moves. The boundary in question gets sun from late morning at the bottom and by early afternoon is in full sun at the top   till mid evening. 
  • gjautosgjautos Posts: 429
    A first floor flat makes it more tricky. How about growing a deciduous tree? That would block the neighbour but also allow some light through to your garden.
  • Lizzie58Lizzie58 Posts: 6
    Yes gjautos, its not an easy one for sure. Whatever I do will involve reorganising the current planting which is mainly climbers up the 6ft boundary fence and  then perenials. I do need to have screening the full length of the boundary as she views it all.... nightmare! So yes perhaps several smallish trees might do the trick. Any recommendations?
  • Lizzie58Lizzie58 Posts: 6
    Hi Wonky Womble. Which variety of bamboo do you have? I have done a bit of research and it seems most can be problematic and even escape being contained.
  • WonkyWombleWonkyWomble Posts: 4,541
    To be honest @Lizzie58 I'm not totally sure due to it being rescued from a friends garden.  I can only assume its the problem variety as it had spread in her garden and i bent an 8ft crowbar getting it out! Which is why just to be safe i put the clump i rescued in the water butt. I needed instant screening and was on a budget so it was the perfect answer.  It's been in there 5 years now.  :)
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Any bamboo that grows tall enough to screen you from a window that high is going to be a nightmare and not cheap to buy and plant in suitable containers to prevent its bid for world domination.

    I suggest instead you consider erecting a pergola or some sort over which you can scramble some good climbers which will provide you with colour, perfume and privacy without blocking all your light.  It could be made from wooden uprights and cross bars and then the climbers supported on tensioned wires - cheaper and easier to maintain than trellis panels - or that rusty iron mesh that builders use for reinforcing concrete.  It's also cheap, discreet and the perfect gauge for easy tying and training of roses, clematis, honeysuckle. 

    As stated above, photos would help a great deal.  Use the postcard icon on the top of the reply box and make sure your photo is under 2mb.

    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Lizzie58Lizzie58 Posts: 6
    Like you Wonky Womble I am on a budget and need something instant after a miserable summer last year feeling watched all the time. I will investigate further. We have an excellent garden centre nearby with very knowledgeable staff so I may pick their brains. Sturdy containers placed on concrete slabs may be a potential answer. Thank you
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