The garden is more than just the area outside the interior. It’s more than a tool for adding curb appeal or growing a pretty display. It is as much a part of the home as the rest of it, and the ability to be comfortable in your home is one of the most important aspects of living there. But few people concentrate on giving their garden they privacy they need to really ease back, relax, and let loose. Here, we’re going to look at a few ways of turning the garden into a peaceful, quiet zone that you can spend many an afternoon in.
Set your boundaries
The idea of having a garden open to the world, where you can survey the view in peace, might sound like a great notion. But the truth is that it doesn’t work in many homes. If you’re in the countryside or somewhat secluded from others, it might be the right move. If you’re surrounded by other homes or establishments, however, you’re opening your garden to view often without getting much in return. That’s when it might be better to turn to a fencing installer. Set a clear divide and create a barrier between your garden and the surrounding area. Just make sure you check any local codes regarding fence heights.
Grow some peace
Never doubt the masking power of a good shrub in the garden, either. Strategic placements of vegetation can supplement a fence, covering any gaps, or they can work to shield a specific area of the garden, such as the decking or outdoor dining area. If you do have a more open garden, then hedging can be a perfect answer for protecting the visibility of the home’s interior, too. If you’re concerned that people passing the home have a direct line of sight into the house, then a shrub, hedge, or garden can provide enough cover to obscure the inside without entirely blocking it off and closing off a light source.
Grow up
If you want to make the best use of plant life’s privacy boosting properties, then consider growing a vertical wall in your garden. Add a line of hedges in place of a fence or attach a trellis to the fence that you start using as a new gardening space. Again, it can cover the gaps that your fencing might otherwise have. But one more property that makes vertical gardening particularly effective is the noise-masking properties that plant-life can have. So long as they’re thick enough, they can stop noise from the outside infiltrating in. It won’t be enough to cover the noise of a busy road just on the other side of a fence, but it can dampen it to a degree that it doesn’t become a major bother.
Turn on the waterworks
When you’re looking at the potential of reducing noise pollution in the garden, however, there are few better tools to use than the sound of running water. Rather than just blocking noise, it creates your own soundscape. The white noise of a fountain running in the background, or the gentle trickle of a pond circulating with fresh water, is much more calming than the noises that might filter in from the background. As far as garden improvements go, there are few that are better at increasing the value of the home and that adding that much-wanted curb appeal, too. But if you’re not considering the investment potential, the feeling of calm associated with water is well-documented. If you’re looking for a place to relax, it can be the perfect addition.
Create a space just for you
If you have some decking or an outdoor living space that’s designed to host you, your family, and your friends, then you might want to focus your privacy-building efforts right there. After all, you want your social situations to have a sense of ease about them and you certainly don’t want nosy passersby watching you eat. You can use some plant-life around your decking or seating area, as mentioned, but there are a few more décor-centric, stylish options to make use of, too. You can erect screens around that living space, or work from the top down and put up some railings to hang fabric curtains, as well. You can maintain your privacy while still keeping a flair of color and a sense of style about it.
Bring it back down
A little depth can add a lot of cover for your outdoor areas, as well. Instead of building up around yourself, you can sink things to a new low. For instance, if you’re willing to take on a lot of landscape work and you’re making changes to create new social or dining spaces in the garden, think about digging yourself out a pit. You can brick it up, fasten furniture around the sides and even add a fire pit in the middle. From outside the garden, people are likely not going to have the vantage point to look down into the sunken area and the sound of a fire is just as effective as water when it comes to masking both the sound that comes in and the sound that goes out.
Get a roof over your head
If you want the ultimate private spot, then you need to have a little space for it. A pergola offers the most cover around a seating, social, or dining area, but it’s immediately clear that not everyone is going to be able to build on in their own garden. It offers a roof to cover it from the elements, vertical structure to further decorate with plant-life, drapes, or whatever else you please, and fencing of its own. However, you don’t want a pergola installation if it’s going to mean you have very little space outside it so make sure you know the dimensions of your garden and what you can fit in there.
Without finding the tranquillity in your garden and the peace to enjoy it in, it will never truly feel like a space all your own. You can enjoy your own slice of outdoor heaven while forgetting the outside if you just give your garden a little space.
