This small west-facing garden in Bolton, Greater Manchester, had frustrated its owner due to its lack of privacy and clay soil. She had tried her best but ended up with a bit of a tangle of odd shapes, dying plants and patchy borders. She called Lee Burkhil, the Garden Ninja, to help sort it out and add some privacy to a very overlooked garden.
After a detailed consultation, it was clear that the owner wanted a neat and tidy garden that also gave privacy to the terrace. She wanted to get into gardening but had failed so many times to buy plants to watch them die that she had given up. The coffin-shaped lawn was depressing. The plants looked like they were growing to try and escape the garden rather than take up home in it. Then there were the low fences, windows and viewpoints from every which way with prying eyes. No wonder she called me in!
Privacy is essential in any residential garden, but achieving it can be difficult. I've written extensively about my designs to increase privacy in the garden. Whilst it would be lovely to move your house to an open field, the practicalities often mean you have to work with rather than against neighbours. It's about achieving the 'feeling' of privacy rather than the 'absolute' privacy of 8ft high walls.
Trying to increase privacy in the garden by building up walls or fences can:
A better method is to use planting and structures to block or restrict certain viewpoints. It's about breaking the line of sight rather than blocking it out completely. In this garden, we have used standard trees suited to the soil type and slight shade to help diffuse the views from neighbouring gardens. They also give a real structure to the small space, drawing your eyes inwards rather than outwards over the low fences. The key to great overlooked back garden design is subtlety, blurring boundaries and viewpoints.
The first thing was to ensure that the garden felt much more private and nested. By using standards around a circular lawn I created the feeling of being enclosed but not boxed in. It helped to break up the views from neighbouring properties and add a feeling of relaxation to the terrace garden.
The garden was west facing and had heavy clay soil, which had proved a nightmare for the client. By using plants that will thrive in nutrient-rich and wet clay soil I build up a plant portfolio to help fill the borders with clean green plants like Alchemilla mollis, Astrantia and Astilbes. Photina standards, Skimmia and Weigela bushes brought evergreen structure to the garden and order.
The circular lawn and pathway gave it a real design style drawing your focus in and making the borders feel really deep and exciting. It forces you to walk around the perimeter which allows you to get up close to the planting. It also means in the wet winter months the client can keep her feet mud free whilst accessing the shed where she can store her tools.
The client was really impressed with this garden. I managed to keep the light levels high, given its west-facing and already has enough shadows cast throughout the day. By using careful planting and proportions I gave the feeling of intimacy without walls and heavy structures.
As we have discussed, walls and higher fence panels are not the solution when it comes to privacy in a back garden. Those neighbourly second-floor windows will still be peering down on you. Instead, why not try the following design ideas to increase privacy in the garden and avoid being overlooked:
Using specimen trees or focal points to create broken views, you can help give the feeling of privacy without turning your garden into a prison. See the example below of how pleached trees can be used to help screen off a view and add some privacy. A broken view is where you place something in between you and the offending view, i.e. a pergola, tree, structure or some sculpture that 'break the view'.
See how the pleached trees provide more screening thats is soft on the eye?
Carefully planting standard shaped specimen trees can also be a great way to provide a feeling of privacy without too much effort. It's also a much more sympathetic way to get on with your neighbours. By creating a rich planting palette you can also help distract visitors to the garden from the neighbouring views.
See how the windows in the distance are now partially obscured by the standard trees without blocking out a lot of sunlight? Using trees and plant specimens is a far more considerate and sensitive way to provide privacy in the garden rather than higher fence panels or trellis.
Focal points can be a brilliant way of distracting your eye away from awkward views. Especially if you can't place something to break the view you to a neighbour's window or lounge, you can draw your eye away from it with focal points. In some garden configurations, you're not able to create complete privacy. However, a focal point such as a statue or specimen tree can be just as effective to draw your eye towards it.
See how the Gravel garden and white raised beds to distract from the neighbouring views in the distance? These focal points draw you to parts of the garden away from the views.
Gazebos and pergolas can offer even the smallest garden with increased privacy. The great thing about them is that they don't cast too much shade in the garden but do give the owner much-needed privacy from prying eyes. In the garden design below, I used a pergola in the most overlooked area to offer some retreat from any neighbours.
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Designing a garden with privacy in mind requires consideration to make sure that you achieve the privacy required but also don't offend your neighbours! Given that more and more new build houses are overlooked it is becoming a common problem for most gardeners. Hopefully, with the design example and tips, I've shown you how you can achieve privacy in harmony with neighbouring gardens!
f you have any questions, please drop a comment below or add one to my YouTube channel, where I'm happy to help. You can also check out my Tweet, Facebook or Instagram for more guides and tips.
Check back soon for more garden guides and happy gardening!
Lee knows his stuff and is very professional, reliable and friendly. He really is the ideal person to help you make that start with any garden re-design whether that be big or small. I only wish I knew he could help years ago before wasting time and money buying the wrong plants and coming up with silly ideas that just didn’t work in the long run. He is very passionate about what he does. We can’t recommend him highly enough. Professional inspiration and advice make all the difference.
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