Think in terms of filtering the wind rather than blocking it out. Solid fences and walls create downdraught where they are built in wind tunnels. One of the first things I had put in my very windy exposed garden was an 8ft fence with vertical slats which are fixed on alternate sides of the horizontal rails, along the North side of my plot. I was amazed at the difference it made, it was like walking into a pool of stillness during a wind storm. A trellis along the top of the fencing would be good, but as above, check who owns which fences. Some neighbours might be quite happy with the idea. Others might feel it would create more shade in their plots. Also allow for outwards spread of shrubs and trees against a fence. They will try to grow up to the light, away from the fence and always grow much bushier than expected. If your planned beds are narrow you may not have much room for shrubs and trees.
@Fairygirl a lot of the wind is coming from the fence side, our house is on the edge of the building estate so we have no houses in front of us, just a footpath and then woodland. As a result, the wind really whips through this passage and across the face of the line of houses we're in.
I don't think the fence trellis will be viable as it belongs to our neighbours. It would be possible along the back wall though as this is part of our property. Thanks for the suggestions on trees - we'll have a 1 meter wide border along the length of the fence and along the back wall, plus a few smaller beds surrounding the patio areas we're planning. (Ignore the markings in the picture, that's not we've gone for in the end!) Do you think this is wide enough for a couple of small trees? I'm big on colour so would love to incorporate one or two trees that have berries and autumn colour if possible.
Hopefully a few of theses changes will help to filter the wind as you say @Joyce Goldenlily I know it'll never be a fully wind-free site but it would be good to take a bit of the edge off!
So often people come on here asking what can I plant, and the border will be about a metre wide or sometimes much less, and up against the fence or wall. Most of that will be in rain shadow so it's not really enough to plant more than a single row of small-ish shrubs or perennials..
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
How you plant and the plants you choose can also help. My garden is at around 400m in the Pennines, surrounded by open grassland. It is open to every wind that blows in spite of many trees. All day yesterday I watched the plants waving in the wind, taking a real battering. I've just had a quick walk round and the only damage I found was a tiny sprig of Philadelphus that had broken off! The borders looked fine though the roses had lost some petals.
All my plants are battle hardened, I'm very bad at staking and feeding, but that means they are grown hard, not lush and vulnerable. I pack them in tightly and use tougher plants like daylilies, phlox, leucanthemum, crocosmia and so on to protect smaller or more easily damaged ones such as dahlias. Small decorative shrubs can also help to filter the wind or even some grasses. As my garden is on a hillside I use the lie of the land to find protected spots but you could perhaps build a mini version of a hillside to add more interest to your site. It would be a good partner if you chose to have a pond
Thank you both. I'll revisit our plan, even if we're able to make just one of the borders half a metre or a metre wider.
@Buttercupdays that is so helpful, thank you. The main reason I'm looking to make the garden more sheltered is because I am hoping to grow lots of plants and flowers in the space that we do have (I already have lots of pots too), so I'm reassured to hear that it is possible with a bit of planning and consideration for what to grow, and where.
Northampton is a very windy county , I know this because my son and family live in a new village there . Their fences blow down frequently etc . I think the only thing to do ,as had been said is to break the wind with trees and shrubs ,strategically placed . It’s what many people in my son’s village have done and it seems to work .
It can be quite difficult to fully filter wind out, but hopefully you have a few ideas to work with. The narrow hedge already suggested is a good option, and beech and hornbeam would both be fine for that, but if the main angle of the prevailing wind is from the fence side, then you have the problem of maintenance, and hedge height limits, so individual plants/trees there will be a better idea, with some evergreens to disguise the fence. The wall is lovely, but breaking it up with a few nice specimens will set it off better, and also enhance it. A useful plant for that is Cotoneaster. There are lots of types, but some of the evergreen ones are particularly good as they can be kept quite tight, and are virtually free standing. Very easy and don't need a lot of maintenance. Flowers and berries for wildlife too. There's a house not far from me which has a high, internal, rendered wall with one growing against it. It's very sculptural as they keep the bulk of the greenery higher up, which also allows for other planting at ground level. I can't get a photo of it because of where it is, but I often admire it. I have one along a fence which does the same sort of job, and provides a green backdrop for other plants. Easy to snip off any stems which get above their station. Another plant that can be used in that way is Pyracantha, but it's rather jaggy, so might not be so ideal for you I'm not at as high an altitude as @Buttercupdays, and I'm not rural, but even so, my garden gets a lot of wind because of the site being exposed to the prevailing weather, so breaking up the boundary with various shrubs/trees and planting helps enormously. I also grow my plants 'hard' and I pick ones which suit my climate. That's the most important thing to consider.
Whatever you decide, prep the ground well and take your time with decisions. It can seem a bit daunting with a blank canvas, but it's also very satisfying when you change it
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Just adding to @Fairygirl’s comment to prep the ground well — I have a new build garden too, landscaped in 2017, similar size and on heavy clay with lots of rubble.
Adding loads of organic matter has helped improve the soil dramatically and brought in lots of worms that I think help aerate the soil better than adding grit or sand. As in 20 bags of manure compost (bought in bulk online) added every year. I don’t dig it in, just chuck on a layer of several inches to the borders each spring. The lawn also gets dressed in it.
Also agree with @JennyJ that at least 1.5m border depth is better than 1m, maybe 2m especially to have room for trees or large shrubs (plus other plants), which need to be planted some distance from a wall — otherwise they struggle being in a rain shadow as she mentioned.
It may seem 1m is generous on the plans, so here’s a photo of my small garden with 1.5m deep borders — you can play around more with plants in terms of grouping and combining them. It’s difficult to see, but there’s a foot or more of space between the plants at the very back of the border and the wall.
Btw the bamboo is quite happy being whipped around by wind, but require a root barrier to prevent them spreading (a so-called clumper has run on me), and the dried leaves fall everywhere throughout the year…
I’d be tempted to put a really well contained bamboo in a couple of spots along that back wall, to give some instant height. Also that nice sound in the breeze.
Please don't use bamboo unless you can build a very very solid concrete/brick container for it. The number of problems they create are getting ridiculous now, and the amount of threads and complaints on this forum is getting more and more common. Far better plants to use than that.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Posts
One of the first things I had put in my very windy exposed garden was an 8ft fence with vertical slats which are fixed on alternate sides of the horizontal rails, along the North side of my plot. I was amazed at the difference it made, it was like walking into a pool of stillness during a wind storm.
A trellis along the top of the fencing would be good, but as above, check who owns which fences. Some neighbours might be quite happy with the idea. Others might feel it would create more shade in their plots.
Also allow for outwards spread of shrubs and trees against a fence. They will try to grow up to the light, away from the fence and always grow much bushier than expected. If your planned beds are narrow you may not have much room for shrubs and trees.
I don't think the fence trellis will be viable as it belongs to our neighbours. It would be possible along the back wall though as this is part of our property. Thanks for the suggestions on trees - we'll have a 1 meter wide border along the length of the fence and along the back wall, plus a few smaller beds surrounding the patio areas we're planning. (Ignore the markings in the picture, that's not we've gone for in the end!) Do you think this is wide enough for a couple of small trees? I'm big on colour so would love to incorporate one or two trees that have berries and autumn colour if possible.
Hopefully a few of theses changes will help to filter the wind as you say @Joyce Goldenlily I know it'll never be a fully wind-free site but it would be good to take a bit of the edge off!
@Buttercupdays that is so helpful, thank you. The main reason I'm looking to make the garden more sheltered is because I am hoping to grow lots of plants and flowers in the space that we do have (I already have lots of pots too), so I'm reassured to hear that it is possible with a bit of planning and consideration for what to grow, and where.
The narrow hedge already suggested is a good option, and beech and hornbeam would both be fine for that, but if the main angle of the prevailing wind is from the fence side, then you have the problem of maintenance, and hedge height limits, so individual plants/trees there will be a better idea, with some evergreens to disguise the fence.
The wall is lovely, but breaking it up with a few nice specimens will set it off better, and also enhance it. A useful plant for that is Cotoneaster. There are lots of types, but some of the evergreen ones are particularly good as they can be kept quite tight, and are virtually free standing. Very easy and don't need a lot of maintenance. Flowers and berries for wildlife too.
There's a house not far from me which has a high, internal, rendered wall with one growing against it. It's very sculptural as they keep the bulk of the greenery higher up, which also allows for other planting at ground level. I can't get a photo of it because of where it is, but I often admire it. I have one along a fence which does the same sort of job, and provides a green backdrop for other plants. Easy to snip off any stems which get above their station. Another plant that can be used in that way is Pyracantha, but it's rather jaggy, so might not be so ideal for you
I'm not at as high an altitude as @Buttercupdays, and I'm not rural, but even so, my garden gets a lot of wind because of the site being exposed to the prevailing weather, so breaking up the boundary with various shrubs/trees and planting helps enormously. I also grow my plants 'hard' and I pick ones which suit my climate. That's the most important thing to consider.
Whatever you decide, prep the ground well and take your time with decisions. It can seem a bit daunting with a blank canvas, but it's also very satisfying when you change it
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Also agree with @JennyJ that at least 1.5m border depth is better than 1m, maybe 2m especially to have room for trees or large shrubs (plus other plants), which need to be planted some distance from a wall — otherwise they struggle being in a rain shadow as she mentioned.
It may seem 1m is generous on the plans, so here’s a photo of my small garden with 1.5m deep borders — you can play around more with plants in terms of grouping and combining them. It’s difficult to see, but there’s a foot or more of space between the plants at the very back of the border and the wall.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...