Privet Hedge, Privacy Garden, Old Neighbour

x-lauren-ann-x

Hi, Well were to start....

We have a very long garden which is split into four sections.
The bottom section is a patio area with a fence on our side of the fence line and a privet hedge on the neighbours side. I want more privacy from the privet hedge side as the hedge is only 3.5 foot high. The annoying thing is, we would love a fence to grow plants up that make that section more private as it is near the house. The neighbour will not replace the hedge with a fence due to her being old and the costs involved. She also said a fence would block sunlight to her plants on her side of the privet hedge.

We brought the property last year and have redone the garden from the dump it originally was.

The privet hedge on her side has been cut back so much that she has about 1 inch on her side, We had 1 foot on our side when we moved in so we cut it right back, The roots are just about in our boundary line.

Does anyone have any suggestions how to make some height to the side? We've spoke about free standing trellis on our side, but my partner isn't to sure on the idea.

Please help

stator

Why did you cut it back if you want it to grow tall?
Privet hedges can grow really high if you let them.
If you want taller than the hedge quickly you can install a 2m fence without planning permission.
If you want a quick grower then plant the dreaded lleylandi

x-lauren-ann-x

We cut it back because the lady next door has cut her side back for years and has had it shaped to not grow any taller. The people who owned the house before were lazy and never did anything to the garden so our side was really overgrown, wasting floor space on the patio. The area isn't big enough to plant Lleyandi and like you said dreaded

Ruski

Nothing stopping you putting a 6' fence on your side - it's not very friendly thing to do, but that's your decision.

HTH

Russ

Grenage

If you really want to join the 6-foot brigade, tell your neighbour that you're going to put up a 6-foot fence on your side. Given the choice, she'd probably prefer a 6-foot hedge.

I know I would!

-taff

There's nothing stopping you putting a fence up on your own land.

27col

x-lauren-ann-x wrote: »

We cut it back because the lady next door has cut her side back for years and has had it shaped to not grow any taller. The people who owned the house before were lazy and never did anything to the garden so our side was really overgrown, wasting floor space on the patio. The area isn't big enough to plant Lleyandi and like you said dreaded

Just because they did not do any gardening does not mean that they were lazy. All it means is that they preferred to spend their time doing something other than gardening.

Ozzuk

Good fences make good neighbours, or if it doesn't then at least you can't see them.

Normally the first thing I do is make sure garden as private as possible, though I admit the thought of a sweet old lady sat in her now darkened garden would make me think twice. I can't see a fence cutting out that much sun though.

Davesnave

Ozzuk wrote: »

I admit the thought of a sweet old lady sat in her now darkened garden would make me think twice. I can't see a fence cutting out that much sun though.

I agree that a garden is unlikely to become unbearably dark because of a 6' fence, but if cutting light is a consideration, then a heavy duty trellis in place of the fence, clothed with a vine, will work with the seasons.

The vine only grows leaves from April to the frosts, so in winter, when the sun's lowest, the trellis is more transparent to light. No one is going to be sitting on the patio then, so that won't matter.

wrightk

Quizzical_Squirrel wrote: »

If the fence is her main worry, I would pay for it.

If the plants are her concern, I wonder if she'd be amenable to your relocating the sun-needing plants to another part of the garden and buying shade loving plants to replace them. If she'd be up for that, a trip to the garden centre and a weekend digging could be a good solution.

Plants are adaptable. The sun is 150 million miles away from earth. A 6ft fence is going to make minimal difference toThelight. Worse case scenario it may alter the time the plant receives its most direct sunlight, which may actually benefit the plants.

I replaced a rotten old 6ft closeboard 3 years ago, with a like for like fence. The neighbour (elderly lady) who lives 7 doors down, moaned that it was affecting the light, despite that being impossible due to where the sun rises and sets. 3 years later, ive seen her many times and haven't heard a word about it since,we get on fine. Think she was just having a bad day


I would suggest as others have, to declare your intent on a fence and the neighbour may then be more amenable to the idea of a taller hedge.

no1catman

Rather than feather edge fencing, which will block out light, put in trellis, either grow a climber on it or you can get netting that has artificial ivy incorporated in to it.


Otherwise, as has been mentioned - let the privet hedge grow. My next door neighbours have one at the end of their garden - it hasn't been pruned for about ten years - now between twelve and fifteen feet high.