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Help with border shrub

catherine.whitecatherine.white Posts: 1
in Problem solving

image

Hi everyone,

I have recently bought my first house and am an absolute beginner at gardening. We are looking to put fence panels to give us some privacy from the neighbours (there is just a wire fence separating our gardens at the moment). 

Please could you advise what we should do with the shrubs that are growing along the fence? Ideally I would like to get rid of everything and create a border for bedding plants but really not sure what would be best. 

Any advice would be most appreciated.

Catherine 

Posts

  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,905

    Hi Catherine. From what I can see of the plants between you and your neighbour, they seem to be hardy geraniums with a lovely Buddleja. Are there small shrubs hidden by the geraniums? The geraniums would be very easy to move out and you could keep some to replant later. If you could post some more pictures of any shrubs among the geraniums then more advice could be given.

    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • CloggieCloggie Posts: 1,457

    I have had the very same dilemma Catherine.  There is a line of fencing up to a point, then next doors garden over a waist-high netting fence, then a mature hedge down to the bottom of the garden.

    The border when I moved in was a line of small knee-high things along the edge in a row.

    My idea was to make sure I could still see next doors' garden so that it looked like it might be part of mine but blur the line so that it didn't feel like we were in the same garden when our friends next door are mowing at the same time as us.

    I therefore moved the small plants to pots, extended the bed so that it was a nice shape (I made it quite deep where the gap is) and planted larger shrubs at the back of the border leading down to smaller plants at the front.

    It has some growing in to do but I'm hopeful that it will achieve what I was after.

    I'll post pictures to show what I mean.

    I wouldn't put up fences, they're more expensive than plants and they block out the light making it difficult to grow plants.  Hope the pictures show you what I mean.

  • CloggieCloggie Posts: 1,457

    image I moved the little round plant from against the fence to in front of the tree

  • CloggieCloggie Posts: 1,457

    image Tried to take it from the same angle and I think it's a lot nicer but there are shrubs at the back that will grow in, in the next few years and take the place of a fence, giving privacy.  Depends how much you need but for me, this will do the job and hope it helps give you some ideas.

  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,905

    Cloggie, your garden looks great and I think you have certainly achieved your 'blurred edges' look. Love the little pooch!

    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • CloggieCloggie Posts: 1,457

    That's Jack, he was my labourer on the build! 

    I forgot to say that I started this this year so it doesn't take long to blur the lines - but I did a lot of moving of mature stuff in spring.

    Don't get rid of anything Catherine, mature roots are very valuable and if you do put in a line of bedding plants against a row of fencing, then you will need to paint said fencing.  

    Jus' saying!

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