Hi, I'm a 1st time buyer - a ground floor flat with a garden. I have zero gardening experience!

My main task is to make the garden more secluded as at the moment there is just a slotted fence, and the many people who walk by can see in. Ideally I'd like to get this sorted for the Summer.

Can anyone offer some cheap(ish) and little effort solutions? Is ivy a possibility, and would I need to stick a climbing mesh up first? Or Simply plant a load of hedgerows - what types should I look out for?

No matter what I do, it won't stop the trampoline kids next door and the guy from upstairs who stands smoking at my gate every 30 mins looking in! But hey, it would be better than it is now.

Also, any other tips on how to pretty up the garden? I'd really like to start growing herbs/vegetables somehow/somewhere too. The photos attached show the garden before it was turfed a few months ago.

Thanks for reading.

try planting laurel bushes, about three feet apart and cut the tops out to the height you wish them to grow. once mature, they grow very dense and are easy to maintain with a decent hedge cutter.. good luck..

Though remember that a hedge grows sideways as well as upwards, and will take a 2-3 ft slice off each of your garden edges. I'd consider either a higher fence/trellis with climbing plants or a mixed hedge of plants that you actually like.

Think hard about what you mean by privacy. I find that the illusion of privacy is adequate - I know people can see me (if they try hard enough) through my mixture of honeysuckle, clematis, roses and mock orange, but I can't see them, and that, I find, is all that matters.

Reserve somewhere in good light for your veggies and herbs - you'll struggle to grow them well if they're shaded. Consider growing fruit - tends to be more forgiving than veg. But also longer term, so it depends too on how long you expect to be in the flat.

I'd add extra boards to the fence on the inside so that they are placed over the gaps and have their own gaps not in line with the gaps between the outside boards. In this way you will still have a fence that has reduced wind resistance but will achieve privacy.

This will also be instant, unlike ivy which sits for a couple of years and then goes ballistic. If you get the timber from a builders merchant and ask for a price first it shouldn't be too expensive either. There's an art to buying from builders merchants but it's the way to go!

On Sat, 19 Feb 2011 22:18:40 -0000, 'Mike' wrote:

My daughter at one of her houses wanted some screening so bought reed
screening and fixed it on the inside of her fence

I assume she didn't need it at any of her other houses ?
--
Regards,

Hugh Jampton

"Hugh Jampton" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 19 Feb 2011 22:18:40 -0000, 'Mike' wrote:

My daughter at one of her houses wanted some screening so bought reed
screening and fixed it on the inside of her fence

I assume she didn't need it at any of her other houses ?
--
Regards,

Hugh Jampton


No, the other house had a mature garden with hedges.

Mike


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....................................
Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive
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On 19/02/2011 16:34, Greggo wrote:
Hi, I'm a 1st time buyer - a ground floor flat with a garden. I have
zero gardening experience!

My main task is to make the garden more secluded as at the moment there
is just a slotted fence, and the many people who walk by can see in.
Ideally I'd like to get this sorted for the Summer.

Can anyone offer some cheap(ish) and little effort solutions? Is ivy a
possibility, and would I need to stick a climbing mesh up first? Or
Simply plant a load of hedgerows - what types should I look out for?


You won't be able to balance your requirements if you are looking for
plants. If you want something up by summer, you are looking for
well-grown (probably evergreen) shrubs, which will already be at least a
metre high. Those will not be cheap - or even cheapish. If you can
wait a while, you could get something smaller which grows fairly
quickly, Even then, you might be better looking at a climber rather
than a shrub. Maybe an evergreen honeysuckle, clematis montana, and/or
ivy. Use a temporary screen (as mentioned in the other posts) for
privacy while the climbers get going.

For temporary screening, although it won't look very nice, I doubt that
you could find anything cheaper than rolls of greenhouse shading stapled
to the fence posts. It may suffice for a quick fix.

One final point - be very careful when any supplier describes a hedging
conifer as "maximum height 2 metres in 10 years". You know what will
happen...

--

Jeff

Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated. I'm in Douglas, Isle of Man by the way. The garden is south facing :-)

First time buyer dealio with the local government means I'll lose a big chunk of change if I leave the flat within first ten years - so guess I'll be here a while!

Think I'm leaning towards the climber option...

So would I need to staple a mesh or something to the fence first, or would a climber just scale the fence regardless?

Which is the best climber? Don't like the sound of ivy getting out of hand, and I guess it would be good to have something that actually looks nice. Although the suggestion of just stapling temporary shading sounds like a quick fix that's within my limited capabilities!

While the fence thing is a necessary chore I have to deal with, growing vegetables/fruit in the garden, on the other hand, sounds like fun - something I've always wanted to do. Not too sure I want to dig up my new turf though so might invest in a veg box thingy :-)

Apologies if my garden banter is below par, as mentioned, I'm a complete novice.

LOL! I was thinking when I read your post that it would have been better to have thought about the veg *before* laying the turf! But most gardeners find that they've done things that they later need to undo.

Remember that your veg box thingy will kill the turf if you put it on the lawn.

Because of the gaps in your fence, most climbers wont need much support. Use 6ft by 6ft trellis (good quality) and you can raise the height of the fence by 3 foot. Because of the top beam on your fence you would have to attach the trellis on the other side of your fence, so you better cheack this doesnt upset any neighbours etc. Trellis will also offer excellent security.

Then plant evergreen clematis for screening (flowering feb/march) Its fast growing but will still take 3 to 4 years to screen well.
You can mix these with deciduous clematis (they wont add much screening and leaves will fall in winter) but will add extra summer flowering interest in summer.

many thanks

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[quote=williammwill;913537]Because of the gaps in your fence, most climbers wont need much support. Use 6ft by 6ft trellis (good quality) and you can raise the height of the fence by 3 foot. Because of the top beam on your fence you would have to attach the trellis on the other side of your fence, so you better cheack this doesnt upset any neighbours etc. Trellis will also offer excellent security.

Then plant evergreen clematis for screening (flowering feb/march) Its fast growing but will still take 3 to 4 years to screen well.
You can mix these with deciduous clematis (they wont add much screening and leaves will fall in winter) but will add extra summer flowering interest in summer.

many thanks

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