Last time I wrote about the bigger picture and how we need to first step back and look at our surroundings. This week I move on to the next step in planning your new garden which is to look at the issue of the boundaries. The point at which your land stops being your land and belongs to your neighbour, the council or another party.
I've often heard it said that the English have a bit of an obsession with this, we like an obvious divide, often securing our land from intruders or even neighbours who might otherwise steal that extra 20cm and increase their share. Throughout the country fencing often dominates the landscape with ugly concrete posts (yes I know they last longer) and cheap timber panels. I can't count how many times I've turned up at a prospective clients house to be greeted by a brand new fence and the proud client assuming they're ahead of the game and have some how done me a favour by getting this sorted out prior to my visit. It seems that a wooden 'full stop' to both sides and the rear of a garden is the only way? Yet as far as security goes its often a pretty poor solution; fence panels lift out easily, flimsy panels are easily broken down and after 10 years most will have weathered to be as effective as cardboard in keeping people out.
You probably think by this point that I'm not a fan of fencing, however its not the idea of a fence that I dislike it's that for a lot of people this is somehow detached from the rest of the garden. I spend a significant amount of time thinking about how I can break up the mass of timber in a garden and disguise where the garden finishes. Planting is often the only solution however if this is considered from the outset a good hedge might have been better in some places? Holly, Berberis, hawthorne... the list of hedging that will keep out any intruder is huge. Spikey, dense and often very attractive these plants are the perfect solution for a boundary that needs to be secure and there are a number of companies that can provide these at a mature height if you can't wait for plants to grow. Softer options can also be equally secure in time, for example I'd like to see someone get through a well kept, mature cherry laurel or Privet hedge as the mass of thick branches and leaves make these impenetrable. Not only that but a hedge is so much better for nature giving pollenating insects, birds and other small creatures a home, a way of moving around and providing winter food.
Yet the right fence in the right place can be a feature in its own right, Japanese gardens are a great example of screening and breaking up spaces with trellis and fencing and can provide the perfect backdrop to grow a climber or two. The standard post & panel is not my first choice but fencing can be so much more than that anyway if designed and built well. Cedar, painted softwood, larch the material choice is also varied and can make a big difference. Needless to say Concrete posts & gravel boards just make life harder for the designer!
There are many more options.....
A solid wall might be considered an eyesore but can often be rendered, clad or built on to create the perfect boundary for a modern or traditional garden. White rendered walls are very popular in contemporary gardens and are a much more permanent fixture, which when done correctly can require very little maintenance. Brick walling is expensive but a Victorian garden wouldn't be without one. And stone can add a feeling of permanence and quality little else can rival. I've also seen a rise in outdoor tiling and expect this to increase in time.
Yet as with all things in the garden the main thing is to get the right material for the right situation.
The message this week is to hold back on your boundaries until you know how the rest of the garden is going to go, whilst its tempting to rush into yet another new fence to keep the neighbours out, hold back, look at the options, finalise in your mind the style that is right in the rest of the garden, the effect you want to achieve and only then consider the boundary. Or if you're getting a garden designer in wait for them!!
If, like me, you find an unwanted boundary is already in place you often have only three choices....cover it up, distract the eye or get it out!
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