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I don’t care how nice my neighbors are (or aren’t)…I just don’t want to see you!
Err let me explain.
I’m big on privacy and relaxation, especially when it comes to my backyard. My #1 dream was/is to have a wooded lot and that didn’t happen. So my second dream is to have a secret garden and feel surrounded by nature, while also blocking out people.
Trying to figure out backyard privacy landscaping in this home has been a little tricky. In our first home, our backyard butted up to a farm and man, we saw the most gorgeous sunsets. I didn’t have to worry about backyard neighbors either!
This home is quite different. Not only are we practically sitting on top of our neighbors directly behind, but so many more people have eyes to our property now from the surrounding streets. Yippee! *insert eye roll*
My mom is a pro at landscaping and helped me come up with a plan to get privacy…beautifully. The answer? Beautiful trellises that also double as privacy panels mixed in with beautiful landscaping!
Here’s what I mean:
Much better, right?
Right now we have 4 but plan to add 1 more. The angle might be hard to tell in the photos, but they aren’t in a straight line and we alternated/zig-zagged them for interest!
Just the panels alone add instant privacy. Though things might look a little bare right now because we’re in that dreaded waiting period. Why can’t you just plant something and have it get to full height the next day?? 😉
The posts in the ground are 4x4s and the wood strips are a 5/8ths inch 4×8 plywood siding cut into 4-inch strips placed two inches apart. They are 6 feet high and 8 feet wide.
On two of the trellises, we have clematises and on the other two, and a mix of climbing roses and ivy. We’re on the lookout for a climbing annual to add coverage faster, but the hope is that the trellises will be completely covered by flowers!
In the spaces between the trellises, we have arborvitae planted. If you’re not aware, it’s an evergreen tree generally used for privacy that can grow to 14 feet tall!
We have a couple of trees (dogwood and one other I can’t remember) planted behind the trellises that will hopefully get tall and tower over everything.
We also have a mixture of bushes and shrubs (lilac, dogwood) that should get to be a good size as well.
We added a bird feeder and I get a great view from my basement window watching tons of birds (and squirrels) gather! They use the trellises to perch on top off too which is fun to see.
Our neighbor directly behind us told us she really liked it and we minimized extra support beams so it would look good from behind as well.
To me, it looks like art! I stained it a dark brown (Minwax Provincial) so it would blend in and seem more “earthy”. I like how it looks like an earth sculpture and that it will look good all year, whether it’s covered with plants or not.
I’m including the picture that my mom drew for me so you can see the eventual vision. It won’t look like that completely or right away, of course, but we’ve been roughly going off this plan!
We’ll add to it as time goes on and even though it’s in the very early stages, I thought it was worth sharing so you could get an idea for some backyard privacy landscaping too! And when it comes to planting, you want to get things started now so you can enjoy it sooner!
Once everything reaches maturity, I shouldn’t be able to see the neighbors behind us or on the other side of the street and vice versa! Not only that, but instead of just a straight line of wood, there will be layers of beautiful plants, flowers, trees, and bushes to look at!
Interested in more home DIY projects? Make sure to check out the post where we limewashed our entire house for under $30 orrr see the big final reveal!
