Six ways to do it
Building storage
1 Front gardens are often home to rubbish bins, recycling boxes and wheelie bins in various colours. Although necessary, they can ruin the kerb appeal of our properties. Fortunately, there are some clever ways to disguise them. Most DIY stores sell purpose-built wheelie bin wooden storage units with doors and sometimes planting space on top. Alternatively, construct your own with low-level garden screening or trellis – use the structures to support climbers. Avoid floral wheelie bin panel stickers – you’ll only draw attention to them!
Apply some paint
2 Give a tatty fence a new lease of life by splashing on some paint. Apart from hiding damaged or weathered wood, a coat of coloured paint makes an impressive backdrop to planting schemes and will make a smaller space seem larger. Even if your garden lacks flowers over winter, a painted fence will brighten up the scene. Elsewhere, if a shed has seen better days, or you simply don’t want it to hog the limelight, paint it black and it will simply recede into the background.
Blocking a view
3 Many gardens in towns and cities look onto the backs of neighbouring houses. A tall hedge will block out the view, but should be avoided when there isn’t enough room to swing a cat, as it would take up valuable space, and leave you feeling a little claustrophobic. Instead, plant a ‘hedge on stilts’, where the head of branches are carried on clear 2m (6½ft) tall stems. If you’re lucky enough to enjoy an attractive vista, enhance it by framing with plants or a garden structure.
Using climbers and wall shrubs
4 Panels of slatted screening and trellis are popular boundary materials, but their open design means everything from your neighbour’s rotary clothes dryer to their compost bin is on display. A tapestry of climbers and wall shrubs will leave you feeling hemmed in, so place some individual plants in key spots. Sit in the most used parts of your garden, and arrange plants to block out the worst offending sights.
Running water features
5 A carefully positioned water feature has the ability to draw attention away from an eyesore. For example, if your garden faces the back windows of other houses, place a pond with a fountain, water spout or a pebble water feature in an attractive part of your garden. The eyes of anyone entering will automatically seek out the source of the running water, avoiding the unwanted views of the walls and windows opposite.
Using focal points
6 Prevent the eye from concentrating on something unsightly by using focal points. A vertical plant, sculpture or container, such as an urn mounted on a pedestal, will all work perfectly. Place them at the bottom of a narrow plot or at the end of a path in smaller gardens, or within the space in larger ones. The eye will be directed towards them, ignoring anything horrible to the sides or beyond. Remember to keep focal points in scale with the size of your garden.