As part of your home, you should feel entitled to privacy in your backyard. Trouble is, not all yards provide the natural separation you need from the neighbors. Through well-planned additions and landscaping maneuvers, however, you can create a yard with the visual and aural seclusion you desire, all while improving the overall look and feel of your property. Here are seven great strategies to consider.
Traditional Fences
A good solution when you need privacy in a hurry, solid board fences are usually quick to install and account have a minimal carbon footprint. Consider balancing a large expanse of fencing with visual accents such as flowers, greenery, and even lattice panels.
Bet on Hedges
Enjoy the hard separation of wood fences but prefer something a little more organic? Consider a hedge at your property line, or even just for cover near ground-level windows. Keep in mind that regular shearing is needed for crisp, orderly hedges.
Stone and Stucco
Masonry walls can make a great long-term solution for a larger backyard. A wall that rises about five feet high affords plenty of privacy while still allowing for windows to be cut out for balance and open airiness.
Layers of Green
Another approach for larger spaces is planting multiple layers of foliage, including shrubs, perennial plants, and evergreen trees. This not only creates lush, natural surroundings, it’s a great way to achieve privacy from higher-up vantage points such as neighboring second-story decks or windows.
Sectioned-Off Settings
If you have a larger yard, sometimes the solution is making one smaller area more private—a deck, for example. Consider walling off a cozy little entertaining space using lattice panels or even a wooden pergola spruced up with climbing foliage.
Surround Your Seating
Walls and panels not your thing? Another way to enjoy private time outdoors is to enclose a specific seating area with greenery such as bamboo or arborvitae. This affords you separation with the flexibility to rearrange your yard in the future.
Bring Home the Babbling Brook
In addition to creating a visual break, you might also desire an auditory layer between your yard and the neighbors’. Enjoy private conversations and drown out the sounds of lawnmowers and barking dogs by installing a new fountain on your property—just make sure the water’s not so loud that it becomes part of the problem.
Limitless Possibilities
The beauty of backyard work is that your options are nearly endless. No single approach is the be-all-end-all solution—you can mix elements from each approach to create the perfect entertaining space for your family. Get creative and you’re sure to end up with a backyard that’s private, peaceful, and all your own.