The Best Garden Screening Ideas UK
Unless you own acres of land, you probably have a neighbouring house or two overlooking your back garden. Creating privacy in the garden is something many homeowners struggle with; you want to be able to relax without worrying about prying eyes, but you also don’t want a garden that feels dark and enclosed.
From fences and hedges, to garden structures and tropical plants, there are hundreds of ways to create privacy in the garden (without blocking sunlight or making your space feel gloomy!).
Check out these 41 effective garden screening ideas:
1. Use a Decorative Metal Screen
Decorative privacy screens are a contemporary way to enhance privacy while still allowing light into the garden. Freestanding garden screening can be used to create partitions, blocking sightlines where most necessary.
2. Block Out Noisy Neighbours
Sometimes it’s not just prying eyes you need to block out! If you’re struggling to relax in your garden as a result of a noisy neighbour, one of the most effective garden screening ideas is acoustic fencing. This type of garden screening can reduce noise by up to 28dB, bringing a little more tranquillity to your garden.
3. Extend Your Living Space With a Pergola
A wooden or metal pergola creates a private-feeling outdoor room. You can choose styles with louvred roofs for protection from the rain and curtains for more privacy.
4. Consider Sunken Seating
Sunken seating can make the fence of your garden appear taller, forming a private space with no compromise on style, comfort or sunshine. The aim of this garden screening idea is to focus on creating sunken gardens instead of building upwards.
5. Upcycle Wooden Pallets
Create garden privacy while adding some rustic charm to your backyard with upcycled pallet fencing. Pallets are easy to paint and can also be used to bring a pop of colour to your outdoor space. This is one of the most affordable garden screening ideas!
6. Plant a Leyland Cypress Hedge
A Leyland Cypress hedge creates a thick, insulated screen around the garden. It has a fast growth rate (for a hedge) – up to 4 foot per year even in poor soils. Not one of the most immediate garden screening ideas, but very effective once grown.
7. Use Bamboo Reeds
Bamboo reed fencing is inexpensive and can screen areas of your garden while helping to retain natural light. Garden screening rolls, made of bamboo, are easy to buy and use to make fencing. It may look flimsy, but with the right care, bamboo reeds can last for over 20 years!
8. Grow Griselinia Littoralis
Griselinia littoralis is a fast-growing, evergreen hedge with the ability to withstand less-than-perfect weather. For exposed areas or coastal gardens, this hedge is one of the most practical garden privacy ideas. The deep green colour means it remains a popular choice in urban gardens too.
9. Install a Gazebo
This is one of the most successful garden screening ideas for overlooked gardens. Create a cosy and secluded area with a garden gazebo. Gazebos provide shelter and offer garden screening from all angles, preventing neighbours from peering down from first-floor windows.
10. Install Frosted Glass Fencing
Frosted glass is one of the top garden screening ideas if you’re concerned about blocking sunlight. By allowing so much light through, frosted glass can make smaller gardens appear larger. Add panels to the top of a garden fence for instant privacy.
11. Create Your Own Living Wall
Living walls are a 2-in-1 garden screening idea: they purify the air and bring a sense of serenity. Not only do they create garden privacy in overlooked spaces, they can also help block out noise. The best plants for living walls included Maidenhair fern, London pride and Japanese spurge.
12. Separate with a Decorative Archway
A garden archway can screen one part of your garden from the other. Particularly if it is covered in foliage. An archway can create a boundary between your patio area and lawn, helping to make your seating area feel cosy and contained.
13. Use Fast-Growing Climbing Plants
Add more depth and privacy to fencing with fast-growing climbing plants. This is one of the simplest garden privacy ideas. The most popular choices are clematis, jasmine and wisteria.
For more inspiration, check out this list of The Fastest Growing Climbing Plants.
14. Add Contemporary Modular Fencing
Modular fencing is one of the more adaptable garden screening ideas. It’s great for those who use their garden for lots of different activities. This garden screening is semi-permanent – the panels can be removed to open up the space when you’ve got friends over, or used to create privacy during more intimate social occasions.
15. Be Strategic With Outbuildings
A strategically-placed shed or summerhouse can prevent neighbours from overlooking your garden. Position garden buildings that they back onto the boundary which is most overlooked. Remember that when built within 2 m of your property boundary, a garden building can’t exceed 2.5 m high.
16. Install a Large Parasol
One of the quickest and easiest garden screening ideas, using a parasol is also a great option for those who are renting and can’t install a permanent garden screen. If you want a private patch for your garden furniture, why not put up several parasols.
17. Create a Water Feature Wall
Installing a tall water feature will not only add movement and texture to your garden, it’ll also make it hard for nosy neighbours or passers-by to eavesdrop on your conversations! Water features also make a great focal point, adding significantly to the overall garden design.
18. Grow a Cherry Laurel Hedge
Summer or winter, a Cherry laurel hedge will create a secluded and serene feel in your garden. This hedge grows up to 2 feet per year, and can be grown in shady areas as well as those in full sun.
19. Take Advantage of a Sloping Garden
A sloped garden can be used in your favour when it comes to garden screening. Create a sheltered seating area at the bottom, then place taller plants at the top level to give your patio area a more secluded feel.
20. Use Faux Foliage
If you haven’t got the time to maintain a living wall, but you love the thought of a vertical garden, you can’t get much better than faux foliage! Boasting the appearance of real climbing plants, but requiring none of the upkeep, faux foliage will create an instant garden screen. It’s one of the most low-maintenance garden screening ideas.
21. Add a Decorative Trellis
Adding a garden trellis panel to your existing fence adds height while still allowing light through, preventing feeling too closed-in. Just make sure the total height of the fence isn’t over 2 m (the maximum allowed without planning permission).
22. Enhance Garden Boundaries With Honeysuckle
Climbing honeysuckle thrives in almost any soil type and prefers a lightly shaded area. It produces a sweet scent in the summer and is very easy to grow and maintain. Using honeysuckle climbers on a garden wall, hedge or arbour is a great garden screening idea: it will create privacy without blocking sunlight.
23. Relax in an Egg Chair
Cocoon yourself in a swinging egg chair to feel concealed from the outside world. In overlooked gardens, egg chairs can provide you with a secluded spot, particularly if positioned in a corner. They’re also a contemporary piece of garden design that can modernise outdoor spaces.
24. Add Texture by Varying Planters
Varying the size of planters in your garden will build layers and help fill in gaps. Try to also vary the maturity-levels of your plants. Mixing different shapes and sizes of leaves can add depth which is ideal for garden screening and will make your garden feel more secluded.
25. Screen Balconies With Hanging Planters
Decorating your balcony with hanging plants and large planters can help make the space feel more private without disrupting your view.
26. Upcycle Old Shutters
Old shutters can replace your existing fence or be used as a privacy screen. If you’re lucky, you might find some cheaply in a junkyard. Give old shutters a lick of paint to liven them up, or leave them as they are for some rustic charm.
27. Create Areas of Dappled Sunlight
Create dappled shade with light and airy trees, this will make you less visible to neighbours! If you’ve got the space, oak trees and magnolias are optimal for garden screening. Set up your seating area near the trees so you can dine in a shady spot on sunny days.
READ NEXT: The Fastest Growing Evergreen Trees For Privacy Screening
28. Shelter Under Exotic Plants
Exotic plants can create a natural parasol effect and are a joy to look at! A few large-leafed plants surrounding your patio area will create cover from prying eyes. Canna Musifolia, Colocasia and Fatsia Polycarpa are great garden screening ideas for the summer months.
29. Use Leftover Wood for Screening
Old room dividers, leftover wood or unwanted doors can all be upcycled to create charming garden screening. Position the dividers to block the neighbour’s view.
30. Create an Outdoor Cinema
You can use a projector screen to create a shielded, secluded garden area. This will also give you a more private film-viewing experience compared to your local cinema. Just be aware of the noise level later on in the evening!
31. Plant Tall Perennials
Tall plants such as foxgloves and lupins can be used as natural screening to section off areas of your garden. Foxglove flower stalks can reach up to 5 feet. When planted against the fence as pictured above, they will add an extra layer to your garden boundary.
32. Welcome Sunlight With Slatted Fence Panels
This is one of the simplest garden screening ideas if you want privacy without blocking out sunlight. Slatted fence panels allow sunlight to pass through while simultaneously preventing your garden from being overlooked.
33. Install a Secluded Arbour
Take refuge from the outside world with a gorgeous arbour, providing the perfect spot to read or sip on a coffee. Tuck your arbour at the far end of your garden to prevent neighbours from being able to see in.
34. Combine Natural and Manmade Screening
The combination of natural materials and manmade décor cannot be beaten, both inside and out. This is one of the most stylish and contemporary garden screening ideas. The living wall combines exceptionally well with the statement metal privacy screens.
35. Opt for a Luxurious Daybed
Soak up the sun in a garden daybed. Much more private than traditional sunbeds, a daybed allows you to enjoy the sunshine while the canopy offers privacy.
36. Add Billowing Curtains
Billowing curtains bring both privacy and comfort. Pergolas, gazebos and daybeds can all be made more secluded by the addition of curtains. Plus, there’s the added benefit of blocking out bugs and allergens from your patio area.
37. Grow a Vertical Herb Garden
A vertical herb garden will double up as a clever privacy screen. The planters can block gaps in boundary fences and insulate against neighbouring noise. Recycled fabric, or even an upcycled chest of drawers, can be used as a planter for fragrant herbs.
38. Shelter Under a Willow
If you’ve got the space, there’s nothing more tranquil than relaxing under the curtain of a weeping willow tree. They grow 6 – 10 ft per year. It’s not the quickest fix, but certainly an attractive one!
39. Install a Retractable Awning
Extending and retracting as needed, a garden awning is one of the best temporary garden screening ideas. It offers a great way to keep your patio area concealed and sheltered on hot days. An awning creates plenty of garden privacy, making your seating area feel far more secluded.
40. Plant Bamboo for Instant Screening
Cheap to buy, fast growing and easy to maintain, bamboo is one of the simplest but most functional garden screening ideas. It can be used along borders and fences to create organic garden screening.
41. Install a Wildlife Wall
An excellent 2-in-1 garden screening idea: a wildlife boundary wall will attract hedgehogs, bees and birds while offering you more privacy. This is the best garden screening for those who want to share their garden space with the local wildlife (but not the neighbours!).
Garden Screening Ideas FAQs
What are the cheapest garden screening ideas?
Upcycling is the cheapest way to create garden screening: old pallets, wooden screening panels and decking planks can all be brought back to life when used in imaginative ways. Alternatively, adding an outdoor curtain around your patio is another inexpensive way to create more garden privacy.
What are the quickest garden screening ideas?
Using several parasols or a pop-up gazebo will be the fastest way to achieve privacy in the garden. Another quick garden screening idea is adding a garden trellis to the tops of existing fences.
What’s the legal height limit for garden screens?
Any fence, screen or garden building under 2 m tall doesn’t require planning permission. This includes trellis added to the top of a fence. Any screening ideas over 2 m will require more careful consideration.
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