It can be tricky to figure out how to create privacy in the garden. If you live in an urban area, you'll likely be overlooked on at least one side by neighbours, and may share fences or borders. However well you get along with the people next door, you might not want them overhearing your conversations as you enjoy a peaceful post-work sundowner on the patio, nor do you always want them popping their head over the fence for a ‘quick chat’ while you're peacefully weeding your borders. But obvious solutions, such as trellis and brickwork, can look dated and make you feel a little boxed in. Thankfully there are plenty of more subtle and stylish ways to create privacy and enhance your garden aesthetic. I've spoken to landscape and garden designers to discover their favourite garden privacy ideas to get a little peace and quiet without turning your garden into Fort Knox.
Grow a living canopy
A living canopy can be one of the most effective solutions. Not only will it provide a visual barrier from the sides and overhead but it will create a gorgeous dappled shaded area under which to lounge in privacy or create an outdoor dining area.
Sean Walter, co-founder of The Plant Specialist, explains: ‘Providing a living roof to an outdoor seating area gives instant intimacy and also provides natural shade which is becoming ever necessary in our warming climate.’ He recommends growing a flowering climber such as wisteria as one of the best garden pergola ideas. ‘In almost in all situations I use wisteria for pergolas as they are quick-growing and easy to train. They are also available in large sizes so quicker to cover.’
As for the structure itself: ‘I mostly use metal structures with stainless steel wires,’ shares Sean. ‘These are considerably smaller in dimension than alternatives, and disappear, giving the impression that the wisteria is self supporting and not growing over a larger structure.’
If being overlooked from above is your issue, designer Tabi Jackson-Gee suggests ‘a mature magnolia grandiflora’. ‘It’s a great tree for near a house, and something that casts shade.’
Opt for layered, all-season planting
Planting a hedge may provide optimal privacy that stays green year-round, but to soften the effect of a solid wall of hedge Mark Latchford, Director of Landscape Design at HollandGreen, recommends creating a softer and more naturalistic look: ‘Plant structural evergreen trees as a backdrop for year-round coverage, such as Holly or Yew, but instead of relying on a single, dense hedge along a boundary, we often incorporate a layered approach that creates a more natural screen that blends into the garden.
‘In front of this, introduce mid-level shrubs or small trees to add form and texture, and complete the effect with a lower layer of perennials and ornamental grasses,’ Mark adds. ‘This approach blurs the garden’s boundaries, making the space feel more secluded and purposeful compared to the traditional hedge along a boundary.’
It's all very well planting for privacy in the summer months, but don't forget that trees and shrubs often change colour or lose their foliage in the autumn and winter. While evergreens are a failsafe, Tabi says you can consider alternatives to evergreens, too. ‘You can create a lot of privacy with a beautiful fagus (beech) or carpinus (hornbeam); they generally hold their rusty coloured leaves well all winter. Or if we're putting in a mature evergreen hedge like Taxus (yew), we'd look at how to lighten that with planting and trees, so its almost a hidden feature or a blank canvas on which to build.’
Avoid solid barriers
Even when privacy is a priority, it doesn't have to mean completely blocking off your garden, or an area of your garden. Garden designer Tom Massey employed a multi-layered approach in this Richmond garden (pictured below). ‘We used a combination of louvered timber screens and planting to create privacy while still feeling open and connected to the garden. The screens provide enclosure without creating a solid visual barrier, and also define a productive kitchen garden.’ Being able to see light and shadow through the gaps brings an extra level of interest (or distraction, if that is your goal), so you're less focused on what is going on beyond.
‘We also used pleached mature orchard pear trees, which provide instant character, seasonal interest and fruit, together with Parrotia persica ‘Vanessa’ – a narrow, upright tree that works particularly well in tighter urban gardens where space is limited,’ adds Tom. ‘To increase privacy further, we added timber close-board fencing above the existing brick boundary walls, helping to screen neighbouring views while retaining the garden’s original character.’ This additional fencing above the brick wall feels like a visual extension to the louvered panels, rather than an intentional barrier, helping to bring a cohesive look and feel to the space.
Make screening an architectural feature
If you're looking to install a privacy screen ‘consider materials that complement your home,’ advises Mark, ‘such as a slatted timber fence, Corten steel panels with laser-cut patterns, or a traditional dry-stone wall’.
Consider, too, what else they can bring to your outdoor space, outside of functionality. ‘Privacy screens can create architectural elements within a garden in their own right,’ he explains. ‘A well-placed screen can do more than obscure a line of sight; it can frame a particular part of the garden, create an elegant backdrop for a seating area, or cast intricate shadows throughout the day. By treating screening as a considered design feature, it becomes an integral part of the garden’s identity as well as providing privacy.’
Create outdoor ‘rooms’
While enforced enclosure created by high walls or fencing can simply block out light and feel a little oppressive, if done in the right way, a self-contained garden ‘room’ can be a really cosy and intentional idea that will be worth the investment. Interior designer, Ebba Thott, who created the cosy, wood-panelled seating area pictured below, says: ‘Creating privacy isn’t about simply blocking a view; it can be about creating a sense of enclosure and drawing attention inward, so an outdoor space begins to feel more like a room.’
She explains the design process for this city garden in London: ‘We allowed the timber decking to extend upwards to form the bench and continue up the wall, blurring the boundaries and making the terrace feel more generous.’ In turn, this does a good job of visually breaking up the solid brick wall behind, while the tone of the wood adds warmth.
‘The living wall adds lushness and texture, creating a sense of being immersed in greenery even within its city setting,’ adds Ebba. ‘Above, the large rectangular parasol acts almost like a floating ceiling, screening views from neighbouring buildings, while also helping to soften sound, which sometimes is an overlooked aspect of privacy.’ All of these well-thought-out elements ‘keeps the space feeling light, layered and very much like a garden rather than an enclosed terrace’.
Introduce level changes
There's another way to create garden privacy that doesn't involve extending your borders upwards, and that's bringing your seating area down. ‘A sunken terrace or seating area immediately feels more intimate and shielded from view without the need for taller features, as the existing boundaries will seem higher,’ explains Mark.
But introducing different levels around your garden doesn't just have to mean sinking the seating area. ‘Subtly reshaping the topography by bringing some of the ground higher is another effective solution,’ says Mark. ‘Creating gentle earthworks or ‘bunds’ planted with shrubs or trees can screen views effectively while adding soft, natural contours to the landscape. It’s an approach that makes the garden feel more established and intentionally designed, as well as providing an opportunity to reuse soil that might have otherwise been taken off site.’
Amp up the atmosphere
Feeling a sense of privacy in your garden isn't purely about protecting sight lines. Sound, scent and a feeling of wellbeing and relaxation can play a part too. ‘It's important to think about all of your senses,’ says Tabi. From the sound of garden water features which can muffle chatter from over the fence, to scented planting which fills the space with fragrance, masking smells like garden waste fires or neighbours' barbecues.
Tabi elaborates: ‘Water bubbling in a pond can make a space feel more private and feelings of enclosure can be created in pockets with lovely planting. You always want to be immersed in plants in a garden, not sitting in the middle of an expanse of paving or lawn, so think about how to dial up the atmosphere in each area, to make it feel really special. Scent, materials, texture all matter here.’
When it comes to garden privacy ideas that feel subtle and stylish, it's clear that you need to think about it from a number of different angles, both literally and metaphorically. But, through a combination of textural planting, architectural details and clever landscaping there are plenty of ways to ensure that your garden feels like a wonderfully private sanctuary to spend time in.
