The Privacy Factor for Your Outdoor Living Space
You have purchased a new fire pit table for your outdoor living space. However; the perfect area where you want to place it is also a perfect place to be observed by neighbors, and who wants to be watched, even by nice neighbors. What can you do about the privacy issue without causing hard feelings?
Using Trees for a Privacy Factor
There are several solutions to this problem depending upon where you are setting up your outdoor space. Now to create a beautiful outdoor space, you actually have different options. You can plant a natural barrier as in a screen of Italian cypresses, arborvitaes or even a privet hedge for this. Evergreens don’t usually have a height restriction like a fence does too unless they grow into an electrical wire. You can also plant trees which have dense foliage to help block the views you don’t want to see. Trees will take some time to grow in height though to be soon useful, but there are faster options as well.
Using Shrubs, Bushes and Vines
For these options you can plant shrubs or bushes to create a screen of natural beauty. These can be planted around the edge of your yard, around your patio or the perimeter of your fire pit table. If the shrubs and bushes you choose are of the flowering variety, they will also add color and variety to your yard. This type of natural screen will require pruning to keep it looking nice. If you don’t have a lot of time for yard work though, you may want to look into some low maintenance options. Installing a trellis or a fence and planting vines to cover it is also another viable option. Vines are fast growing, affordable, and cover a large area quickly. Vines such as clematis, ivy, wisteria, or hyacinth bean are good choices. The vines can be trained to grow where you need them to give privacy too or even to hide an unsightly spot in your yard.
Bamboo, Good Idea or Bad?
An interesting plant to use as a privacy fence is bamboo if the climate is right. It grows very quickly and forms a dense fence so fast you can use it alone. It can give a very exotic look to your outdoor living space. There are many types with variations in thickness, color and spreading risk. The downside is that bamboo can be very invasive and is hard to get rid on once it’s established. Some species will take over all available ground, even pushing aside previously planted plants.
Perennial tall ornamental grasses are a graceful way to make a natural privacy barrier also. These can also be used to outline your outdoor garden area. Some lovely species of these grasses are: Feather Reed grass which grows to 6 feet, Fountain Grass which grows to 5 feet or Maiden grass which can get up to 8 feet tall. There are many more varieties to choose from too, and the grasses will turn to tan and last through fall and into the winter.
Now if the area that you are planning to make private is small, like a porch or a patio, you may want to consider hanging plants. Hanging plants come in all sizes, colors and hanging length. They are inexpensive and can create instant privacy in the space needed. All you do is put up a few hooks, make a trip to your local garden center, choose what you think will work and hang them up. Keep in mind hanging plants do need to be watered more frequently because they dry out faster. But a plus is climate is not a problem here.
As you can see, creating a natural privacy barrier isn't difficult, and it will give you privacy for all your outdoor living space activities.
Clematis vine on trellis:
