Easy Ways to Create a Privacy Screen for Your Garden

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Add privacy to your garden with these simple, but effective ideas.

How to add privacy to your garden

We all want our homes and gardens to feel like a sanctuary, where we can relax and escape from the world. However, escaping from the world can be difficult to do when your neighbors have a direct view into your backyard. A privacy screen is a simple way to add seclusion. With the right plants and a plan, you can create a beautiful view and shield your property from your neighbors’ eyes. This post will give you the ideas and tips you need to design a beautiful and effective privacy screen for your garden.

What can you use to create a privacy screen?

You have several options when it comes to constructing a privacy screen. Popular choices to add privacy to your yard include fences, trellises covered with vines, hedgerows, and mixed plantings.

The best plants to use for a hedge

Hedges are typically created with a single variety of evergreen shrub that is planted closely together. As the plants grow together, they create a wall. Traditional hedges require regular pruning to keep them looking their best.

Yew is a popular shrub for creating hedgerows because its growth habit allows it to form a tall, dense hedge. Boxwoods are a classic choice for hedges that can be pruned into a variety of shapes. However, boxwoods are susceptible to a condition called boxwood blight. Hollies are a great alternative to boxwoods because they aren’t as susceptible to disease and have a similar look.

How to create a layered privacy screen

A layered privacy screen is a great way to add depth and dimension to your garden. Include a mix of evergreens for year-round coverage and deciduous plants for seasonal interest. You will want to place taller plants at the back and shorter plants at the front to create a layered effect.

What not to do

Avoid planting a straight line of the same type of tree. This will actually make your garden look smaller because it will lack depth. Additionally, if one tree dies, it will ruin the aesthetic.

Evergreen plants

• Southern magnolia
• Norway spruce
• Italian cypress
• Camellia
• Juniper
• Boxwood
• Holly

Deciduous plants

• Snowball viburnum
• Hydrangea
• Lilac
• Forsythia
• Beautyberry

Create a living wall for small spaces

Climbing plants like clematis, jasmine, wisteria, and certain roses can be trained to grow on trellises, creating a vertical privacy screen. This method is particularly useful for smaller gardens or patios where space is limited so planting large trees is not an option.

Grow an edible privacy fence

Add privacy to your garden and grow something delicious at the same time! Fruit trees are a popular option to espalier. Espaliering is a method of pruning that allows you to reduce the space required to grow certain trees.

Creating privacy for balconies

You can use plants to create privacy for small balconies and other outdoor living spaces. Lining up planters with small trees will look aesthetically pleasing and help block your neighbors’ view of your space. Alternatively, add climbing plants to your deck planters and allow them to climb up a small trellis.

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