So, you’re ready to enjoy a summer of fun in the sun, backyard barbecues and outdoor enjoyment… but surrounded by eagle eyed neighbors who can’t stop invading your privacy.
There’s absolutely nothing worse than making awkward eye contact with a Peeping Tom, especially when they’re shameless and just keep on staring! You deserve peace, quiet and security on your property, whether that’s inside of it, out front or in the back!
It can be super expensive and cost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars to arrange for gardeners, landscapers – even builders if necessary – to come and help you out with your privacy problem. However, the following tips should cut down on costs and have you sunbathing with no hidden observers in no time.
Top 10 Ways To Make Your Backyard More Private
Corrugated Fencing
Cheap, cheerful and nowadays, not as ugly as it used to be, you can actually erect fences of corrugated metal just by hitting up your local hardware store.
You’ll need a few extras for the project, like concrete to make solid bases and a couple of wooden beams for mounting the metal, but it still shouldn’t come to more than half of what you’d pay a professional.
Requiring little DIY experience or skills, not only does making yourself a corrugated metal fence look cool and modern, it’s also easily painted with whatever color you’d like, which has the handy double effect of keeping rust and corrosion at bay.
Another perk is that it’s fantastic at blocking wind in open spaces, making your backyard into a beautiful, private sun spot!
Clever Landscaping
Alright, so this one requires a little more time and effort, and the cash investment might be slightly larger, but if you’re thrifty and clever you might be able to source all of the materials for free or as good as.
Setting up multi-levelled, cascading landscape areas – almost like “steps” – with rocks and soil are a great way to block the wandering eyes of neighbors, without creating an ugly eyesore in the process.
If you’re not particularly strong and active, you might want to consider asking some fitter, more energetic friends or family members to set aside an a afternoon to come and help you with thi
Not only that, but you’ll be able to show off any plants and flowers you have – or see it as an opportunity to go and get some new greenery for the garden. Here is a handy Youtube tutorial for landscaping tips on a budget that should help you out.
Well Placed Bushes
Trees and shrubs that grow thick and quick – for instance Holly, Arborvitae, Boxwood or Cypress – are a great way to create a “natural” fence that offers plenty of privacy, all for the cost of a few bulbs or pre grown plants. All it involves is digging holes for planting, then waiting for them to grow!
Depending on the greens you go for, there may be a waiting period before the wall of leaves are fully covering your yard, but it’s worth it for the stunning end result that won’t detract from the peaceful nature of your garden.
Put Up Trellises
Also known as Lawn Lattices, these lovely outdoor walls pair perfectly with climbing plants and beautiful blossoms, creating a gorgeous barrier and also a beautiful backdrop for your garden all at once.
This can turn your problem with nosy neighbors into a project for creating a lovely outside space that not only solves your issue with privacy but also makes the environment even more enjoyable to be in.
Make Outdoor “Curtains”
Perhaps the cheapest, most ingenious way to have some privacy outside is to hang yourself some outdoor curtains, easily picked up at your local garden store or interior design shop – if you’re handy with a sewing machine you could even whip up your own, just for the cost of some waterproof fabric.
Putting up these bad boys is simpler than most ideas on this list, and you’ll be done in under a half hour – simply erect some sturdy rods around the area you’d like to be covered, in pairs of course, and then hang some rails for the curtains to be hung from.
You might also wish to add some additional beams or bars over the top for extra support in windier conditions, which also gives you a place to flip the curtains out of the way for a while if you don’t want to have them closed for whatever reason.
Hanging Plants
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to magic up a garden shield out of thin air, but what you can do is utilize that empty space in the sky to hang planters and cover your exposed yard up with views of beautiful blooms and gorgeous greenery.
Creating a makeshift “wall” to hang boxes, baskets and other plant-holders from is as simple as evenly placing some wooden posts and then using tension rods to create racks from which you can display your favorite plants and flowers.
Sure, this is a bit of a strange, hodge-podge choice, but it sure is cheaper than paying for the cost of labor, materials and time that erecting a full on fence would require!
Very conveniently, it has actually become trendy to utilize giant, oversized plant pots, planters and vases in your garden, to showcase even bigger and bushier shrubs, flowers or plants. As long as you pick out some that grow quickly, you’ll have a whole shield’s worth of green privacy screens to line up all in a row.
Giant Plantpots (With Even Bigger Plants!)
You’ll probably spend more than you would normally expect to on the plants and their containers, but so long as you make sure to prune them regularly, they’ll be a long-lasting and low maintenance solution to achieving outdoor privacy whenever you need it.
Let Bamboo Run Wild
You might not know this, but bamboo is an invasive species of plants – this sounds negative, but it actually means that once you plant a little bit, you’ll suddenly find yourself with a lot of natural green shielding, in no time at all.
Growing quickly and lasting for years to come, even in adverse weather conditions, you can get a permanent fix to your privacy problem just by inviting this determined plant to spring up in your yard. Bear in mind that bamboo is particularly strong and requires sturdy planters that are capable of standing up to their fast, fierce growing habits!
Outdoor Screens
If you’ve already got plenty of plants on the go or you don’t really fancy some of the projects with more DIY involved, the easiest way to get instant privacy is to opt for outdoor screens, which typically consist of panels made from waterproof, weather-resistant materials that are then mounted onto stands.
Easily obtained from DIY stores and furniture shops, they are erected in minutes and can also be relocated whenever you’d like, making them one of the most versatile and least permanent privacy solutions. This is great if you’re renting your property and therefore unable to make more permanent installations in the garden.
Likewise, if you would occasionally like to be able to talk to your neighbors over a low wall, for instance, or just access some extra sunlight when you don’t need as much privacy, this can be a good compromise for having the best of both worlds.
Grow Tall Hedges
Free of the height restrictions that city councils often impose on other structures in your garden, growing hedges that are tall and offer shielding from unwanted glances are ideal if you’ve not got much space and don’t want any eyesores from ugly fencing but still require a bit more privacy.
It’s super easy to plant privets in your garden, even if you’ve never done any gardening before, and provided that you use shears to trim them back when things start getting a little bushy, you should find they offer decades of blocking out the most determined of nosy neighbors.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are lots of ways to manage a lack of privacy in your outdoor spaces, whether large or small, no matter if you want something that looks incredibly natural or cool and contemporary.
Whatever your aesthetic, regardless of how tight the budget or little your DIY skills may be, there’s a way to get some extra shielding from the gazes of nosy neighbors.
When it comes to utilizing plants for this purpose, remember you want to get greenery and flowers that are capable of thriving in the environment you live in – so if your garden naturally gets lots of light or very little, make sure you’ve chosen suitable plants which will survive there.
Synthetic plants are also another excellent choice if you’re not particularly passionate about plants or don’t have enough spare time to maintain them. Opt for those that will stand up to heavy rain, harsh sun and lots of wind, so they last for years rather than months!
