by Paula M. Bodah
Feel like you’re getting away from it all right in your own backyard
YOUR NEIGHBORS ARE WONDERFUL FOLKS, no doubt, but you don’t necessarily want to have a conversation with them every time you both happen to be out in your yards. You could erect a nice, tall fence to create privacy, but that doesn’t seem very, well … neighborly.
Fortunately, there’s no need to go to extreme lengths to foster a sense of seclusion in your yard. Robert Bernacki, owner of WaterQuest Landscaping in Albuquerque, suggests using a handful of pretty plantings to create a visual barrier. “A few strategically placed trees can do a great job of blocking someone’s view,” he says.
Perhaps the neighbor’s kitchen window gives them a view of your firepit. Bernacki says a pretty tree, such as an ornamental pear or plum, would be pleasing to them while keeping their focus off the firepit. “Really what you’re trying to do is keep the focal point from being you,” he points out.
If your backyard deck or patio needs screening, Bernacki cautions against installing tall plants around it. “Creating a hedge around your patio will give you privacy, but it will also block your view of the rest of the yard.” A better idea, he says, would be to plant shorter, more delicate things around the patio, then as you move farther away, stagger a few larger plantings such as small trees or tall bushes.
Freestanding potted plants can also be a simple—and flexible—way to create a sense of privacy, Bernacki adds. Simply move them around to act as a screen for a sitting or dining area.
Michael Erickson, owner of Plant World is a fan of using trellises as a way to create privacy. “One of the nice things about trellises is that you have a lot of leeway in what sort of plant you can put on it,” he says. Among his favorites is bignonia capreolata—tangerine beauty crossvine, a vigorous vine that offers vivid orange flowers all season long and retains its green leaves to continue the screening effect through the off-season. Trellises come in all shapes, sizes and materials, including the hand-crafted, pre-rusted decorative trellises Erickson sells in his Albuquerque shop. To make things extra easy for homeowners, he sells espaliered plants—plants that are already trellised and formed. These might be fruit trees, grapevines or something evergreen such as a euonymus. A planted trellis makes the perfect screen for a hot tub, he notes.
For an easy-care option, consider a decorative element that doesn’t require a green thumb. Decorative metal panels are a good choice for creating privacy, says Erickson. “The laser-cut perforated screens are very versatile,” he says.
Shade structures such as a pergola, arbor or gazebo have the bonus of offering a bit of privacy, says Jeff Gonzalez, whose Bernalillo-based Wholesale Timber & Viga sells gazebo kits and other custom shade structures. He also suggests fencing at various heights. “I’ve done a lot with varying heights of privacy fence to define areas—even a small fence about twoor three-feet high,” he says. This allows you to create breaks in sightlines without wrapping the entire yard in an 8-foot tall privacy fence—cutting off all opportunities for being neighborly.
Whether you go with plants or fencing, a freestanding gazebo or a pergola that attaches to the house or pool house, creating a sense of privacy should make both you and your neighbors happy.
resources
Plant World
WaterQuest Landscaping
Wholesale Timber & Viga
wholesaletimber.net
