Since houses these days are usually not far from each other, the desire for some privacy in the garden results in the need for a sufficiently high level of privacy protection. To avoid the restrictive aesthetic of a stone wall or other solid privacy fence, hedge plants and other living privacy options can offer a natural alternative with versatile added value.
Which plants are suitable for a living fence as a privacy screen?
A living fence as a privacy screen can be designed with fast-growing hedge plants such as thuja, privet, beech, cherry laurel or spruce, hardy types of bamboo or climbing plants such as knotweed, trumpet flower and wild vine. These provide privacy, sound insulation and habitat for animals.
Fast-growing shrubs for a dense hedge
In order to obtain a relatively dense privacy screen as quickly as possible after planting, plant varieties that grow as quickly and strongly as possible should be selected for a living fence. In this regard, the following hedge plants have proven themselves:
- Thuja occidentalis ‘Brabant’
- various varieties of privet
- young beeches
- Cherry Laurel
- young spruce trees
However, always consider the two sides of the coin: Fast-growing hedge plants quickly achieve the stated goal of a dense privacy wall with a natural character. However, they also require a certain amount of care in order to keep the growth rate, which increases steadily with age, in check in accordance with local conditions and the regulations of neighboring law. Before planting, you should ask yourself whether you can prune vigorously up to twice a year so that these hedge plants don't grow over your head.
Plant a dense privacy screen made of bamboo and other ornamental grasses
There are also alternatives to the classic hedge trees if you want to create a living privacy fence in the garden. Even some winter-hardy bamboo varieties grow quickly and vigorously after a few years in one location. However, the maxim of thorough planning applies all the more to these: Unless it is a clump-forming bamboo variety without runners, precautions must be taken when planting in the form of a suitable rhizome barrier (€78.00 at Amazon). This way you can be sure that the bamboo actually keeps prying eyes out along the property line and doesn't overgrow the entire garden within a few years. Ornamental grasses that sprout every year are also suitable as privacy screens more or less all year round, as the dry shoots are simply tied together over the winter and then finally cut off the following spring before the new shoots appear.
Let climbing plants grow up a trellis
A particularly space-saving variant of the living fence can be realized with fast-growing climbing plants. As climbing plants on the garden fence and next to the terrace, knotweed, trumpet flower and wild vine have the advantage that they only require a small amount of floor space on a slender trellis and their flowers also provide a lot of food for insects and other garden inhabitants.
Tip
A living fence not only provides a sound-dampening effect on annoying street noise and improved protection against pollutants, but it also offers many species of birds and insects valuable nesting opportunities and feeding places.
