5+ Practical Tips on How to Shield Yourself from Nosy Neighbors on the Country Plot

We tell how to protect your rights to privacy and at the same time not violate the rules of good manners.

How to Hide from Neighbors? Fences and Green Plantings

Construction or renovation of a house, as well as planning a garden plot, is the best time to consider all details. You need to think ahead.

You must take into account not only the wind rose and the sun's position above the horizon in different seasons. There are requirements for fence height and transparency. Especially where they pass along the boundaries of adjacent plots. Discuss all fencing issues with your neighbors right away. Don't neglect the three rules of good neighborliness: negotiations, compromises, and acceptance of another point of view.

Who said you can't plant a protective green belt right next to a low and permeable fence for light? Just don’t plant fruit trees or spreading shrubs there, no matter how compact the plot is — it's just an excuse and temptation to come closer or reach over the fence.

Windows, Terraces, Porches

The first line of defense: the outer perimeter, gates and gates. The second: approaches to the house and openings through which light and air enter.

Moving the porch or entrance to a terrace is too expensive and costly. But it can be disguised with trellises covered in climbing plants, thus obtaining shade where needed. They are suitable even if the windows you spend a lot of time in face the street. And less dust.

For terraces and balconies, as well as window framing, louver screens or foldable blinds can hide you from prying eyes. Don’t forget about awnings and gazebos, decorative supports above windows for fast-growing climbing vines.

Those who love a green lifestyle will surely appreciate the idea of using solar panel panels as canopy supports.

Garden Paths

When a path leads directly to the house, a stranger’s gaze follows it. But if you soften the paths and hide their turns behind trees, shrubs, and flower beds of varying levels, you can avoid curious looks. If you still prefer straight lines, consider diagonals.

Arbors, Gazebos, Tents

If you have the opportunity, move open relaxation spaces under a roof. Planters with trees and aromatic herbs in combination with other vertical greening techniques there will be very appropriate and protect you from outsiders’ gazes.

At ground level, you can place barbecue zones, post-lunch siestas, and evening gatherings. Rain protection (awnings, tents) will also help you hide from neighbors.

If you don’t want to build a roof or canopy, a useful approach is the "fence within a fence" method. The shape of the fence depends only on your imagination.

Evergreen trees planted closely to form a living wall with trimming. Vertical planters or mesh walls topped with flower boxes. Gabions, fences. Even textile screens: removable, easy to wash, and air-permeable. They don’t have to be rectangular: choose a sail shape and imagine you're at a seaside resort.

Winter Garden

Where it's fresh and damp, a standalone or attached structure with ventilation solves several problems at once.

Firstly, to block sounds: glass does this well. Secondly, to maintain a comfortable microclimate: some people not only have lunch or drink coffee but also sleep under a glass roof, gazing at the stars. Thirdly, to delight yourself with plants that don’t survive in open ground and use them as a natural curtain from unwanted glances.

Two More Quick Solutions

When the season is about to start, there's no time for radical changes. Recall mobility.

• A four-sloped garden umbrella-tent can be framed with foldable trellises-blinds. To make them stable, they are attached to plant boxes but arranged so that the structure can be disassembled in minutes. Add removable curtains or mesh screens, and a summer pavilion is ready.
  
• A frame with weaving or slats can be mounted on wheels and moved as desired, following the sun or your whims.
  
• Foldable woven or perforated screens can be instantly moved from one place to another and arranged as needed.
  
• Another solution, albeit not so fast — build a space divider, which can serve as a wood storage for firewood and kindling, solving additional storage tasks. Both decoratively and utilitarian.
  
• An opening for an open shower-fountain with a transparent water wall behind which you can hide. A good idea where water is not being economized.
  
• Even slats of the right size, inserted into the cells of a simple mesh screen, can add privacy.
  

What about sound insulation?

Capital external fences and auxiliary buildings on the perimeter of the plot work even better than green plantings. But ideal results they will give in combination: add a layer of soil and a solid carpet of plants to the supporting structure using vertical greening, and you’ll get a sound-absorbing construction with an additional bonus of thermal regulation.

With latticed, mesh fences it's more complicated. When country houses are located too close to each other, even the sound of a powerful air conditioner can cause a migraine. For such cases, special sound-absorbing coverings made of multi-layer materials with various fillers have been invented. Visually they resemble a quilted blanket.

+ Three More Tips

• It's not advisable to keep uninvited guests at a distance using thorny wire or broken glass. However, opuntia, which requires only a small amount of soil in a container above the fence, is both decorative and an excellent guard.
  
• In the stone outer wall or the base of a lighter fence, experienced gardeners recommend creating something like a shelter for beneficial insects — for example, bees. Hollow dried stems, cones, and wooden planks with drilled holes will do. Bees not only pollinate plants on your plot but also drive away curious neighbors.
  
• If passive protection doesn't help, fight the disturbers of peace within the law: tips can be found here.
  

Photo on the cover: Design by Olga Sobko.