Ways to Block Neighbors View Without Building an Ugly Wall

Dark screens look heavier than they are. Here the cut out pattern lets light through, so the fence feels more like lace than a wall.

• The tall panels hide most of the view toward the neighbors, with only a hint of the rooftop showing through the top holes
• Three small trees with bright green leaves pop against the near black color
• Dark mulch under the trees keeps the bed calm and simple
• A strip of lawn in front keeps the whole corner open

Keep the trees a small step away from the panels so the leaves have room and you can still reach behind them.

Not every screen has to be black. These tall panels have a warm, clay like color that catches the evening sun, and the star shaped pattern throws moving shadows across the paving.

Through the pattern you can spot pink flowers and green leaves beyond, so the screen frames the garden instead of closing it off. Two panels stand on slim posts with flat base plates fixed to the paving, which keeps the look light.

The shadows are the bonus, and they change all day.

Sit down on this deck and the windows next door mostly disappear. The boards run sideways with thin, even gaps, so the screen blocks the direct view and still lets air through.

Black posts frame the wood and match the railing on the right, which makes the screen look planned, not tacked on. It covers just one corner of the deck, so the rest stays open.

How to plan yours

Fence too low to hide the yard next door? You may not need a new one.

Here the wood fence stays as the bottom layer, and four dark panels with a crisscross line pattern rise above it on tall black posts. A slanted top with slots adds cover overhead, and the slots still let daylight in. The black frame, warm wood, and stone base read as one plan.

One warning. A structure this tall may need approval, so check your local height rules before you order anything.

Three panels set in an L shape can wrap a small seating corner and hide two sides of it from the street. The pattern is dense enough to soften the view, though you can still make out colors and shapes beyond, like the parked car. That is fine. Soft is the goal.

A round metal tub of tulips with tall bamboo canes sits in front, and a climber on the left adds more green, so the plants do as much work as the panels.

Plan the corner first and the panels second.

Grasses do something a fence cannot. They move, so the view behind them blurs instead of just stopping.

Line up two or three long troughs along the patio edge and fill each with one kind of tall grass. Two easy picks:

• Feather reed grass stays narrow and upright, which suits tight spots
• Miscanthus forms a wider, arching clump with soft plumes

Troughs dry out fast, so water often in summer. Cut the old stems back in late winter, and know the screen thins out in the cold months.

A trellis does not have to sit on a fence. Stand a wide one on its own, a few steps from your seating, and let a climber cover it. You screen only the line of sight that bothers you, so the rest of the garden stays open.

Fix it firmly. A leafy trellis catches wind like a sail, so sink the posts deep or bolt a base to solid ground.

The big choice is which kind of climber to grow.