When you want to be alone, you don’t have to retreat indoors. You can create a relaxing and private landscape at home. Many homeowners keep it simple by installing privacy fencing. In fact, you have many options that add beauty and value to your property. First, take stock of your landscape and your family’s needs and budget.
A pergola offers one way to create backyard privacy.
With a larger yard, perhaps a naturalistic look will deliver the privacy you crave. This involves layering plant material by height and shape. Deciduous trees and evergreens can form a background that steps down in height, placing shrubs and perennials in the foreground. Shade trees take a few years to grow high enough to obscure a neighbor’s view from a second-story window or terrace. If you’re patient, they’re well worth the wait, as their canopy provides privacy and shade in the summer when positioned over a deck or patio. In the winter, the trees’ bare branches allow sun to warm the house. Living walls If your lot is small, side yard plantings of fast-growing columnar evergreens such as arborvitae might give you the buffer you want between you and your next-door neighbor.
Advantage of living walls over hardscapes include:
- Lower cost - Beauty - in color, texture and form - Shape of some shrubs can be controlled to create hedges - Seasonal variation - Zoning restrictions often don't apply to plant material For a defined area such as a small patio or an outdoor kitchen, you might build an enclosure to create the feeling of an outdoor room. A wooden pergola covered with climbing vines placed next to potted vines and hanging baskets can create walls and doors to your outdoor space.
The sound of flowing water can create a sense of privacy by blocking out sounds you don't want to hear.
Got too much sound?
Even if you don’t see eye-to-eye with your neighbors – literally, that is – you might still be close enough to hear their conversations.
“Water features help drown out unwanted sounds, including the hum of air conditioners in the summer,” says Daryl Hennessy, president and CEO of Hennessy Landscaping. “We install all kinds of water features, and we can help you find the right one, with the right sound and qualities to meet your needs.”
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