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Solar panels 😬 disguising with trees or plants?

#1 · 15th April 2023, 8:25 pm

Hi there,

I was looking for advice please. Our (lovely!) neighbour at the back has decided to put solar panels on his double garage roof which overlooks our garden!

Legally we know that there’s nothing we can do about the solar panels so we would like to try and screen them as much as possible and as quick as possible!

We have been advised to take some of our patio up and grow bamboo or maybe put in a few Laurel trees for all year round screening.
(We did think about building a pagoda but it would mean losing quite abit of the garden and we live in a new build so it isn’t the biggest garden. Also we need the space for our sons to play football.

I don’t want a complete band of trees as i think it could appear to block the light and I still want a feeling of space hence why we thought about bamboo but then I’m not overly keen on the look of bamboo 😬

HELP!

Can anyone advise on a fast growing, evergreen, that doesn’t take lots of preening and which won’t appear to look ‘block looking’? We did think about preach trees but again we’re at abit of loss which type would be most suitable.

Our garden is south west facing.

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#2 · 17th April 2023, 11:02 am

Hi @sarahm1

Thanks for your question about how to hide solar panels with garden plants and design.

First I would say that this really falls into Garden Design services - see the above disclaimer. You can book a consultation if you want a full design offering to rectify this issue you're facing.

If you're looking for trees to help disguise the view of your neighbour's garage solar panels, my advice would be to avoid big evergreen trees. That is because they will block out too much light and probably draw attention to that area. Also, a pergola may look a bit awkward, given how open the garden and lawn is. It would need plenty of herbaceous plants to soften it, or you're just adding more structures to hide a structure - if that makes sense! This never works it just draws the eye further towards the problem.

3 Trees to try:

Betula pendula - This tall silver birch will add some height without blocking out too much light.

Acer campestre - the field maple provides a lovely broad canopy without being too dominating.

Pleached trees - Fagus Sylvatica Pleached Beech - this could work well for you in providing screening and would work with your modern layout. Again you'd really need to reconfigure the garden so they didn't just look like lego trees, they need other plantings to help connect them with your lawn. Read my guide on pleached trees here or watch the video below.