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Preventing climbers annoying neighbours - mesh?

boragejohnsonboragejohnson Posts: 50
in Problem solving
Good evening peeps

My first post on the forum so please be gentle.... :)

I'm in the process of turning my blank canvas (new build) into a wildlife garden of sorts.   Unfortunately, unlike the plots you see on Garden Rescue eg. developers north of the border almost always use open-fencing, though I have had one side of it double slatted (hit and miss style).  Tbh, we are only several hundred metres from the Ayrshire Coast, and so solid fencing would probably get a really rough time with our winter storms...

I'm hoping to get the benefit of your experience here - along 2 sides of the garden, I intend to follow the example in The Butterfly Brother's book of placing heavy-duty trellis against the fence, with approx. 10 cm void between the two.   I then intend to plant climbers such as clematis, pyracantha. jasmine etc. to grow up the trellis.

What I'm trying to avoid is the climbers running amok into next doors garden - I have experienced this before I got the gardening bug and I'm ashamed to say it really annoyed me at the time.   The idea I have is to fasten green plastic greenhouse shading (the heavier duty stuff), that I've found in Dobbies, to the fence - I've used it before in a small patch on a fence in a previous garden, and know that it can withstand UV and strong winds if stapled appropriately to the fence.   At a guess I'd say the holes in the mesh are 1-2mm at most, and I appreciate that some tendrils will force their way through, but I'm hoping that the mesh will stop the bulk of the invading shoots.

I'm almost at the point of buying the mesh, but at several hundred quid, it's not a particularly light undertaking...   Can you advise if my plan seems sound, or is there another way?  (note replacing existing fencing with solid panels is not an option).  All opinions welcome.

thanks
borage
  
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  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I expect it would be fine @boragejohnson , but I'd forget jasmine. Unlikely to do well. 

    Double sided [hit and miss] fences are certainly the best solution for wind filtering [solid fences are a total waste of time and money]  but your other option to the mesh is to put another support to the inside of the fence. Trellis, or a home made screen of some kind,  for climbers to grow on. There's various options, posts with wire, or battens, or even the solid iron mesh used for reinforcing concrete for building foundations. All would probably be cheaper, depending on the length.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited May 2022
    Welcome Borage. Good to see you.

    How big is the area of fence and trellis in question? Have you spoken to the neighbour it backs on to?


  • boragejohnsonboragejohnson Posts: 50
    Fairygirl said:
    I expect it would be fine @boragejohnson , but I'd forget jasmine. Unlikely to do well. 

    Double sided [hit and miss] fences are certainly the best solution for wind filtering [solid fences are a total waste of time and money]  but your other option to the mesh is to put another support to the inside of the fence. Trellis, or a home made screen of some kind,  for climbers to grow on. There's various options, posts with wire, or battens, or even the solid iron mesh used for reinforcing concrete for building foundations. All would probably be cheaper, depending on the length.  :)

    Hi - I probably didn't explain it well enough - the mesh is solely a mechanical barrier preventing climbers going through the fence into next doors garden.

    Can I ask about Jasmine (star jasmine was on my list) - is the issue salt, wind or both?  
  • boragejohnsonboragejohnson Posts: 50
    Fire said:
    Welcome Borage. Good to see you.

    How big is the area of fence and trellis in question? Have you spoken to the neighbour it backs on to?



    Each side is 17 metres long, 1.8 tall.  I've spoken with the neighbours re my intentions - they're much younger and perfectly pleasant but have no interest in plants whatsoever, and through delicate probing - particularly as I intend to use some viciously thorny specimens and they have young childen, I get the impression any green invaders would not be welcome..
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I used woven metal mosquito netting, stiffer, stronger and more attractive (it disappears visually) than the green plastic mesh. The latter might degrade too quickly or get shredded in your fierce storms. I only used it at the top of the fence though, I made the fence posts taller than the fence then used heavy duty staples to staple the mesh onto the back of the posts at the top. Do you really need mesh backing for the whole fence, top to bottom, or is it just the top bit where the climbers might invade over the fence? If you plan on doing the whole lot I can see that will be expensive!
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • boragejohnsonboragejohnson Posts: 50
    Nollie said:
    I used woven metal mosquito netting, stiffer, stronger and more attractive (it disappears visually) than the green plastic mesh. The latter might degrade too quickly or get shredded in your fierce storms. I only used it at the top of the fence though, I made the fence posts taller than the fence then used heavy duty staples to staple the mesh onto the back of the posts at the top. Do you really need mesh backing for the whole fence, top to bottom, or is it just the top bit where the climbers might invade over the fence? If you plan on doing the whole lot I can see that will be expensive!

    From experience with a former neighbour, I'm pretty sure it would be necessary to mesh from top to bottom - unfortunately as you suggest, that's gonna cost..
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited May 2022
    If I understand the plan rightly, the mix of both a 10cm gap from the fence and green mesh might stop the climbers going next door. I should think some chunky plant like pyracantha or a rose would be easier to keep in than a tendrilly clematis which can also reproduce by layering, so might pop up next door.  It might be tricky to see what's going on behind the trellis and to check.

     I don't suppose most neighbours would mind a bit of a viticella coming through. I think with a shared fence there is usually some give and take and 'live and let live'.

    You might well be able to get some cheap/free old scaffolding netting or the like on Ebay/freecycle. Worth keeping an eye out.

     If you do get high winds and brutal storms coming through your garden, then climbers might not be the way forward. Even with a 'hit and miss' fence, a wall of climbers might bring it down. Dense mesh might make the problem more acute. Is your garden very narrow? Is it possible to put in shrubbery or hedging instead? A line of mixed native whips is cheap and terrific for wildlife - offering food and cover - hawthorn, hazel, crab apple, rose etc.

  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    Hmm, yes that’s going to be very painful for your wallet! I think I would be tempted to plant a selection of hardy small trees and shrubs in front of the fence instead, that you could get to easily to prune if necessary. That would provide excellent cover for birds, plus food if they had berries. Then grow some climbers like clematis up obelisks, arches, over the shed etc.

    Or forget the mesh and just choose non-invasive climbers for your trellis - ones you tie in rather than garden-eating tendril clinging neighbour invaders 😃 
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I agree.
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    Star jasmine (Trachelospermum) is only hardy to minus 5 Celsius so I guess it might not do too well in Ayrshire, especially in a very windy spot...
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
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