A garden screen is becoming an essential item for many home gardens as population density increases and it seems your neighbours are getting closer than ever.

So, to make our gardens a little more private and reclusive gardeners are creatively adding garden screens. It's not that we don't like the neighbours - we just like plants more. We would rather walk out the back door and be transfixed by a collage of colours, smells and textures than confronted by the neighbours washing line or sea of car bodies and parts.

Call us hermits if you like, but most gardeners enjoy a sense of tranquility around their homes. I would even venture that most home owners seek the same thing - a place where they can escape the busyness of daily life and relax without focusing on the neighbours lack of gardening imagination.

So, how do you create a garden screen? Well, there are many options available and they can each be assessed by your desired level of ongoing management. For some, a garden screen needs to be a living thing such as plants while for others it may just be a thing of beauty such as a mosaicked wall or a textured fence.

Here's a list of options;

• Hedges - certainly not an option for the person looking for a low-maintenance idea. Hedges can be created from a multitude of plants including, but not limited to, conifers, gardenias, murrayas and even agonis. They can be shaped either formally or in contemporary designs to reflect your garden style.
• Screening Plants - while hedges are created from plants using screening plants usually requires little pruning or maintenance. Provided the shrubs are planted close enough and can grow well together they can form an informal hedge or a just a random planting of more than one species.

  Options as screening plants may be hibiscus, hop bushes, grevilleas and pittosporum.



• Bamboo - is a great option for creating a garden screen. I've talked about bamboo before and the great alternatives to using non-invasive species. In the right setting, bamboo can easily create an idyllic hideaway and mesh with your garden design.

  Bamboo are screening plants that can quite densely, and quickly, fulfill your garden screen needs.



• Fences - now plants have one downside - they take time to grow. And if you can't wait two or three seasons before that hideous view is blocked out then erecting a new wall or fence may be the only option. You may even find that extending the current fence is also an achievable possibility.


• Climbers and Creepers - if you do go down the Fence or Wall path then covering them with a creeping plant or a climber can hide the harshness of constructed materials. You may also find that rather than building a fence or a wall you could erect some trellising that will allow a creeper to cover it.

  Here's a couple of options for some different creepers and climbers.



• Trees - if you have enough space, the canopy of a small-medium sized tree may even be a possible garden screen option. Growing trees will usually be the slowest method of screening out unwanted views but they can be very effective. When selecting trees as an option choose evergreens rather than deciduous or you will find that for half of the year that unwanted view will continue to reappear.

It certainly isn't hard to create a garden screen and depending on your design, time availability and climate conditions, you should be able to find an easy answer to enjoy your privacy.