Them and Us

Hello All

I have a 2ft at best space between 'them' and us, shaded. I have built a decent sized fence, to no avail, even at 8ft and 3 planks thick the chit-chatter from 'them' is annoying..we've had worse neighbours I admit.

Have uploaded a photo. Ignore the plant boxes and bamboo. It all needs re-arranged.

I want to put a longer, still narrow raised bed, with something that will grow tall and thick. Aware..limited..no choices...Ivy? any nice types? Laurel hedging? Surely if I ensure good air supply, sand, drainage, Laurel will grow? Any thoughts on what I can do with this space.

Ideally to block out 'them'. Would love a tree of sorts, height and all...

Thoughts, ideas welcome.

 

Welcome to the forum @garjobo79.
That is a horrible problem you have - for sure, but plants and fences will never subdue the noise of neighbours - if they are loud, earplugs will probably be best for the job.
Big plants will not thrive in small containers, and sickly ones will only add to the misery I`m afraid.
There are lots of different varieties of Ivy you could grow there, and they would be beneficial to birds, but all plants need enough room for their roots to spread, and enough nutrition - even Laurels.
Any chance of moving?

 

Put a speaker and play music to a level you cant here them if its bothering you that much, to me its to be expected i do it next door does it, unless there ranting and raving then nothing will stop you from hearing them, good luck with that one win lotto and move to your own personal island might be the only way out lol.

 

Hi and welcome.
It's a shame when neighbours don't show any consideration.

But that's modern living, you can't choose your neighbours.
It'll be at its worst now with the windows open.

 

Nice one @martin-f We live in a really quiet cul de sac however, we have DJ grandad next door who’s in his 70’s and we think he’s deaf. He’s even got his own man shed for his music. Am convinced he’s got mixing decks in there because as soon as the sun comes out, the music is on 50’s and 60’s music non stop. However, since the football has started, his England football songs are on a loop. There’s only so many times you can listen to Dambusters, 633 Squadron and the National Anthem in one day.

 

My ears are burning.

We live in a small semi, I've these in our front room, as well as all the conventional ways of playing recorded music.



Plus this, Yamaha Tyros 5, with "proper" speakers and a sub-woofer on the floor which would shake the floorboards if I turned it up.




And.... a tenor saxophone.


Then there are two of these in our tea-house at the bottom of the garden. But they are at least 90ft away from any neighbours, they have 45rpm records of 50/60/70/80s Pop, Doo-Wop, Jazz Standards and a hell of a lot of Motown.




Fortunately, the neighbours on the other side of the wall are deaf. Not that it matters I don't play anything loud nor have any windows open at the same time.

You have to have some consideration for other people.

 

Doghouse Riley - in the doghouse for you!!! what have you done to my thread!!!

I posted a topic which concerns me and was hoping for more than the obvious, 'move', win lotto', play music!!! is that really the best advice you can come up with. Are you telling me NO PLANTS, NO IDEAS are available? I see constantly on tv, these small gardens growing beautiful, large, spiky med. plants....in pots! Can NO-ONE actually give me any tips on what I can grow.

I was thinking perhaps of knocking through the cement level ( i partly built it up ) , underneath it is clay..a lot of clay soil we have. Was thinking..perhaps under the raised planter i make this hole so in theory a tree, plants, hedge could access...NO? too much trouble...needs a lot of digging up?

Posts regarding THE ACUTAL TOPIC welcome.
Thank you for your time, appreciated.

 

Err.

You question was answered quite comprehensively by Tetters


That is a horrible problem you have - for sure, but plants and fences will never subdue the noise of neighbours - if they are loud, earplugs will probably be best for the job.

Then Martin digressed a bit as we often do, as I guess he presumed the question had already been addressed seriously and answered, then added,


Put a speaker and play music to a level you cant here them if its bothering you that much, to me its to be expected i do it next door does it, unless there ranting and raving then nothing will stop you from hearing them, good luck with that one win lotto and move to your own personal island might be the only way out lol.



I added, keeping to the topic.

Hi and welcome.
It's a shame when neighbours don't show any consideration.

But that's modern living, you can't choose your neighbours.


It'll be at its worst now with the windows open.

I think we'd covered the fact that no plants are going to reduce the annoying noise level, before I also started to digress.

 

I have to agree with @Doghouse Riley I'm afraid. As you will see from my post, unfortunately you are not on your own as we also have a similar issue. On Sunday 'their' music was so loud, we got the Bose out - there was no competition. We did it to make a point and guess what, 'their music has been on very very low since and at a more acceptable level.

Planting a tree in a 2' gap to grow over your neighbour's property will only add shade to your conservatory/porch.

I would add some lovely flowers and trailers to your planters.

We grew a climbing hydrangea up some trellis on the garage wall in a raised bed, which makes a great backdrop.

 

@garjobo79 you'll have to excuse the tendency to go off topic on this forum. It is usually unintentional

What about those "wall" gardens that people build? They have loads of pockets of dirt and then either perennials or annuals planted in them. The dirt would surely muffle the sound a bit?

 

To be honest i cant see any plants are going to stop you hearing them, it might soften it slightly but i don't think it would stop it,

What about a water feature ?.

Looking for a water feature to drown out the noise of road traffic or neighbours?

We frequently get asked about water features which generate noise from customers looking to drown out the noise of passing traffic or neighbours. Many water features just create a tricking noise which would not be suitable for this. Unsuitable water features are where the water flows down a surface into a reservoir meaning you can only hear the water re-entering the reservoir at the bottom.
Be inspired by water features - Noisy Water Features & Fountains

 

The problem is that sound doesn't travel in straight lines.
What we hear particularly in a garden can come from a variety of directions though from a single source, best demonstrated by the ripples you get by dropping a pebble in still water. It radiates out and will bounce off anything that's in its way. So no amount of planting is going to reduce the noise by any discernible amount.. not in most peoples' lifetime anyway.

 

Also have a look through this link both combined might just do the trick as long as there not that loud.
Planting Noise Blockers: Best Plants For Noise Reduction In Landscapes

 

What a great bunch of replies, positive responses to a degree and informative, have checked out the links, thank you. Aware my 'problem' is still there and really no real fix but I have something to think about when making and filling my containers. Any ideas on those med. spiky plants I see on patios?

Doghouse - aaarrr your one of those posters - right - note to self - avoid in future.