Boundary Ideas.
JacobG
Posts: 5
Hello Gardeners.
Please bare with me on this, I'm new.
Ok so I have an issue with privacy. My neighbours immediate part of the garden, after the fencing is around a foot higher than mine. Many places of their garden after that are much higher too so I'm very overlooked.
We are currently separated by fencing which in some places has been pushed out slightly due too neighbours higher ground. This 5ft high fencing does not provide much of a screen.
Now I would like some privacy. The issue is how I go about getting that?
I could Build a much higher fence which would need planning permission, would cost a lot and be very hard to maintain due to not being able to paint both sides. Would also more than likely be pushed out by higher ground again. This making it look scruffy like the current fence.
I could also grow a hedge but I'm not sure if I have enough space for this. It would have to be a very narrow hedge and around 7-8 foot tall.
Is there a hedge I can grow that I can keep at this height and keep trimmed narrow? Also how much space around planting a hedge is recommended as I have small shrubs an trees around this area?
I cant for the life of me think of any of other ways too accomplish what I desire but i'm determined to get my privacy. Does anyone have any more suggestions as to what I could do?
Many Thanks in advance, Jacob.
Posts
Thats a very complicated scenario to understand without seeing it so I'll help you out as best I can. fences on domestic property are to be no higher than 6.6 ft from the respective property even if one side has higher ground. You can build your own fence allongside theirs. You can make no alterations to the neighbours property even painting it without permission is criminal damage, no trellis or the like. In regards to your hedging idea there is a much better alternative than planting thngs that will be hard to control, size wise so just put up some posts and suitable support for some climbers you can use wires or even better slatted panels. I can't really think of any shrubs that would do for narrow hedging except for espalier trained plants like garrya and the like, make sure its evergreen. the narrowest hedge I have ever seen is about two feet and that was a fern. You could even just make posts eight ft high connected by a trellis at the top and jusr run a climber over the top parrallel with the posts without filling in the middle.
Hope it helps.
Have you talked to your neighbour about it ? If they gave you permssion you could forget about the worry of planning permission.
A row of Eucalyptus would be 20ft in less than 7 years and are evergreen and very cheap to buy....
Thank you very much for the replies.
Its a complicated situation even when you can see it Jeffrey. Basically the neighbours garden has so many different levels on it that sometimes you can see most of their body. Its a very unusual garden.
The fence is mine. An I have spoken to the neighbours It was apparently put up despite the neighbours not wanting a fence but obviously on my land. The earth on their side covers the concrete base slabs and some parts they have doubled up the concrete slabs because of this.
I knew the rules on fence heights and a bigger fence would make a slight difference. The neighbours are not so supportive of that. Im also reluctant as their land has pushed against it and moved parts. So probably be a waste of money in the end. The fencing is looking a bit misshaped so it could maybe do with ripping out but then what am I left with?
I've actually just been thinking about a similar trellis idea. That's a good solution to the privacy issue.
I may try something like that and just and make the fence look more respectable until its really falling a part and go from there.
I don't want something so big blairs as I don't want too block loads of light from the neighbours. Just want it high enough for privacy. Can you cut most evergreen hedges at the top and keep them at the required height or will they respond badly too that.
Ive just thought of potted bamboo in front of the existing fence in the really exposed areas. This could work for me. Grows quite tall and is quite dense.
Are you saying that the neighbours have built up the level of the land on their side of the fence, and in so doing have damaged your fence?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Sorry no. The garden is on a slope so im guessing whoever erected the fence dug a small part of the soil out to make the ground where the actual fence is, more level with the rest of my garden. Hope that makes sense.
I'd go with the trellis idea, Jacob. I had a similar problem with overlooking a tennis court as my garden is 18" higher than the courts, so I could see them playing which really removed any relaxation when I was in the garden (not to mention the loud grunts and shouting that tennis players seem to think is normal behaviour, but that's another story!) I put in 10 foot posts (2 feet concreted in the ground) in the middle of every fence panel (so the trellis was completely self-supported) and made 6' long x 2' high trellis panels which fitted between the posts. Even before they were covered in climbing plants they provided a significant increase in privacy.
Thanks Bob, it sounds like the best option. It should provide a nice feature to the garden too.
I feel your pain with loud grunts, my neighbour does that, removing flem from the back of the throat sound before they spit. Its just lovely.