How to Screen an Ugly View

An unattractive view can dominate a garden.

It might be:

• A neighbouring building

• A garage wall

• A large extension

• A shed

• A commercial building

• A road

• A fence

• A utility area

• An unattractive boundary.

The instinctive response is often:

“How can we hide it completely?”

But complete concealment is not always necessary.

A stronger design may combine:

• Screening

• Planting

• Trees

• Focal points

• Better garden layout

• Selective structures.

The objective is to make the unwanted view less visually important and give the eye something better to focus on.

Kirman Design creates bespoke garden screening schemes throughout North West England, using planting, trees, structures and landscape design to soften or conceal unwanted views while preserving light, depth and garden character.

Start by Identifying What Actually Needs to Disappear

Before building a screen or planting a hedge, ask:

• What exactly is unattractive?

• Which part of the view bothers you most?

• From where is it visible?

• Is it seen from inside the house?

• Is it mainly visible from the patio?

• Is it seasonal?

• Is the problem close or distant?

This helps determine the most efficient solution.

Our Garden Screening Ideas page explores the wider principles of garden screening.

Screening and Privacy Are Different Problems

An ugly view is not necessarily a privacy problem.

You may have complete privacy but still dislike seeing:

• A roofline

• A brick wall

• A large commercial building

• A neighbour's extension.

Our Garden Privacy Ideas page explores the broader issue of privacy.

The strategy for hiding an unwanted view can be different.

Do Not Assume You Need a Solid Screen

A solid barrier may block the view.

But it may also create:

• Shade

• Enclosure

• A dominant new feature.

Sometimes a lighter solution works better.

This might include:

• One tree

• A group of shrubs

• A pergola

• A focal point.

Think About the Viewing Angle

The most important question is often:

Where are you looking from?

A screen positioned close to the viewpoint can sometimes block a distant building at a much lower height.

This can be far more effective than building a large boundary screen.

Screen From the Main Viewing Position

Identify the places where the view matters most.

These may include:

• Kitchen

• Living room

• Main patio

• Dining area

• Favourite seat.

Design screening around these viewpoints first.

Create a Better Foreground

One of the strongest ways to reduce an ugly view is to create something attractive closer to the viewer.

For example:

• Multi-stem tree

• Deep planting border

• Water feature

• Sculpture

• Pergola.

The eye naturally focuses on the foreground.

Garden Focal Points

A focal point can dramatically reduce the visual dominance of an unwanted building.

Our Garden Design Ideas page explores broader ways to create structure and focal interest.

A focal point may include:

• Specimen tree

• Water feature

• Sculpture

• Feature wall

• Fire feature.

Screening With Trees

Trees are one of the most effective screening tools.

They can provide:

• Height

• Softness

• Seasonal interest

• Shade

• Habitat.

They are particularly useful where the unwanted view sits above a fence or hedge.

Trees for High-Level Views

A tree canopy can interrupt:

• Rooflines

• Upper-storey walls

• Commercial buildings

• Distant structures.

This can be far more natural than a high structural screen.

Multi-Stem Trees

Multi-stem trees can create:

• Broad canopies

• Filtered views

• Strong foreground structure.

They are particularly useful around:

• Patios

• Seating

• Outdoor dining.

Standard Trees

Standard-form trees can provide screening above an existing fence while preserving lower-level space.

This can be useful in:

• Narrow gardens

• Urban gardens

• Areas where light matters.

Pleached Trees

Pleached trees can create a formal upper-level screen.

They can be useful where:

• Planting space is limited

• A structured look is preferred.

Evergreen Trees

Evergreen trees provide year-round screening.

They may be appropriate where the unwanted view is:

• Constant

• Particularly intrusive in winter.

However, extensive evergreen planting can make a garden feel darker.

Use it selectively.

Deciduous Trees

Deciduous trees can still be extremely effective.

They may screen the view during the main garden-use season while allowing more winter light.

This can create a better balance.

Screening With Hedging

Hedges can soften lower-level unwanted views.

They may also improve:

• Boundary character

• Wildlife value

• Garden structure.

A hedge is particularly useful where the problem is close to the boundary.

Combine Trees and Hedging

A layered approach may use:

• Hedge at lower level

• Trees above.

This can create more complete screening without relying on one very large element.

Screening With Shrubs

Shrubs can hide:

• Shed walls

• Garage walls

• Utility areas

• Lower sections of buildings.

Use larger shrubs as part of a layered border rather than relying on a single row.

Garden Planting Ideas

Planting can turn an unattractive boundary into a feature.

Our Garden Planting Ideas page explores how planting can create:

• Depth

• Structure

• Seasonal interest.

A well-designed border often works better than a purely functional screen.

Use Deep Borders

Where space allows, deep planting creates a stronger result.

A narrow strip of plants may still leave the unwanted background visually dominant.

A deeper border can create:

• Foreground

• Middle ground

• Background.

This makes the garden feel more layered.

Layered Planting

A strong screening border may contain:

Upper Layer

Trees

Middle Layer

Shrubs

Lower Layer

Perennials, grasses and groundcover.

This produces a more convincing landscape.

Ornamental Grasses

Tall grasses can help soften:

• Fences

• Low walls

• Garden buildings.

They also provide:

• Movement

• Texture

• Seasonal interest.

They are usually better for filtered screening than complete concealment.

Climbers

Climbers can soften:

• Walls

• Trellis

• Pergolas

• Screens.

They are especially useful in small gardens where planting space is restricted.

Trellis

Trellis can create a lighter screen.

It can support climbers and help reduce the visual impact of a building without completely blocking light.

Slatted Screens

Slatted screens work particularly well in contemporary gardens.

They can:

• Filter the view

• Provide structure

• Support planting.

The spacing of the slats influences how much screening is achieved.

Solid Screens

Solid screening may be useful where the unwanted view is:

• Very close

• Particularly intrusive.

But use it carefully.

A large solid screen may become another dominant object.

Pergolas

Pergolas can help screen unwanted views while also creating a destination.

Our Pergola Ideas page explores wider uses for pergolas.

They can provide:

• Vertical screening

• Overhead structure

• Shade.

Pergolas for Privacy and Screening

Our Pergolas for Privacy page explores how pergolas can interrupt sightlines.

This can be particularly effective where the ugly view sits above boundary level.

Hide a Neighbour's Extension

A neighbouring extension is one of the most common unwanted views.

Our How to Screen a Neighbour's Extension page explores:

• Trees

• Pergolas

• Planting

• Strategic screening.

Do not automatically try to hide the entire extension.

Hide an Overlooking Window

If the unwanted view also creates privacy issues, a more targeted solution may be needed.

Our How to Screen an Overlooking Window page explores this in detail.

The best screening position depends on:

• Window height

• Distance

• Viewing angle.

Hiding a Garage Wall

A garage wall can often be softened with:

• Trees

• Climbers

• Shrubs.

If the wall belongs to your property, it may also become a feature.

Consider:

• Render

• Paint

• Climbing plants

• Lighting.

Hiding a Shed

A shed can usually be integrated rather than completely hidden.

Planting can reduce its visual dominance.

Trees or shrubs placed in front may make it feel more like part of the garden.

Hiding a Garden Room

Garden rooms can feel visually heavy when placed at the end of a garden.

Use:

• Trees

• Shrubs

• Climbers

• Planting

to connect the building to the landscape.

Hiding Bins and Utility Areas

Some unwanted views are within your own garden.

Screens can help conceal:

• Bins

• Compost

• Heat pumps

• Utility storage.

These should still remain:

• Accessible

• Ventilated

• Practical.

Hide a Poor Fence

If the boundary itself is unattractive, consider whether it needs:

• Replacement

• Screening

• Planting.

A poor fence can often be softened using:

• Shrubs

• Climbers

• Trees.

Create an Internal Screen

The screen does not always need to sit on the boundary.

An internal screen can:

• Break the view

• Create a garden room

• Add depth.

This can be more effective visually.

Creating an Outdoor Room

Our Creating an Outdoor Room page explores how:

• Pergolas

• Screens

• Planting

can create more enclosed garden spaces.

An outdoor room can make the unwanted background less noticeable.

Move the Seating Area

Sometimes the easiest way to improve the view is to change where you sit.

A new seating area might:

• Face a different direction

• Sit behind planting

• Use the house as a backdrop.

Our Garden Seating Area Ideas page explores different approaches.

Outdoor Dining

The dining area does not need to face the problem.

Our Garden Design for Outdoor Dining page explores how table position can improve:

• Views

• Privacy

• Circulation.

Outdoor Living

Our Outdoor Living Garden Design page explores how:

• Seating

• Screens

• Pergolas

• Planting

can combine into a stronger outdoor space.

A better outdoor living area can reduce the importance of the unwanted view.

Outdoor Kitchens

An outdoor kitchen can become a strong focal feature.

Our Garden Design Around an Outdoor Kitchen page explores how the kitchen can be integrated into the landscape.

It can sometimes be positioned to screen:

• Utility areas

• Poor boundaries.

Fire Pits as Focal Points

A fire feature can attract attention away from an ugly background.

Our Garden Design Around a Fire Pit page explores how seating and fire can create a stronger destination.

Water Features as Distraction

A water feature can become a highly effective focal point.

Our Garden Water Feature Ideas page explores:

• Rills

• Pools

• Sculptural water

• Moving water.

Movement and sound can help draw attention away from an unwanted view.

Sculpture

A sculpture placed strategically can create a much stronger focal point than the building behind it.

It may be framed with:

• Trees

• Hedges

• Planting.

Garden Walls as Screens

A new garden wall can create an internal backdrop.

Our Garden Wall Ideas page explores how walls can be used as landscape features.

A wall can:

• Hide a poor boundary

• Frame planting

• Support a focal point.

Screening Small Gardens

Small gardens need particularly careful screening.

Our Small Garden Design page explores how compact plots can retain depth.

Avoid surrounding the whole garden with:

• Tall screens

• Dense evergreens.

This can make the space feel smaller.

Use One Strong Foreground Element

In a small garden, one strategically placed:

• Tree

• Pergola

• Screen

may be enough.

Screening Medium-Sized Gardens

Medium gardens often have enough space for:

• Deep borders

• Trees

• Internal screens.

Our Medium Sized Garden Design page explores how different areas can be organised.

Screening Large Gardens

Large gardens offer much greater opportunity to absorb unwanted views into the landscape.

Our Large Garden Design page explores:

• Tree groups

• Hedging

• Landscape zoning.

In a large garden, complete concealment may not be necessary.

Large Rear Gardens

Our Large Rear Garden Ideas page explores how different destinations can be created.

Strong internal structure can stop an ugly building becoming the visual endpoint.

Long Narrow Gardens

An unattractive building at the end of a long garden can dominate the view.

Our Long Narrow Garden Design page explores ways to interrupt long sightlines.

Use:

• Trees

• Screens

• Planting

• Garden rooms.

Wide Gardens

Wide gardens allow more freedom to redirect views sideways.

Our Wide Garden Design page explores how multiple destinations can sit alongside each other.

Screening Sloping Gardens

Slopes can make unwanted views more obvious.

Our Sloping Garden Ideas page explores how:

• Levels

• Terraces

• Planting

can affect sightlines.

Screening a Steep Garden

Our Landscaping a Steep Garden page explores how planting on different levels can help manage views.

A tree on a higher terrace may provide effective screening with less mature height.

Retaining Walls and Screening

Retaining walls can create raised planting areas.

Our Garden Retaining Walls page explores how they can reshape sloping gardens.

Raised planting can sometimes improve the screening effect.

New Build Gardens

New-build gardens often face:

• Close neighbouring houses

• Blank walls

• Poor fencing.

Our Garden Design for New Build Homes page explores how these gardens can be transformed.

Screening should form part of the wider garden design rather than be added afterwards.

Garden Design After an Extension

Your own extension can create new views towards:

• Neighbouring buildings

• Boundaries.

Our Garden Design After House Extension page explores how the garden can respond to new glazing and altered sightlines.

Landscaping After Building Work

Building work may remove existing:

• Trees

• Hedges

• Screens.

Our Landscaping After Building Work page explores how the garden can be reconstructed.

This is an opportunity to create better screening than existed before.

Screening Period Property Gardens

Period houses may benefit from softer screening methods.

Our Garden Design for Period Properties page explores how modern requirements can be balanced with older architecture.

Trees and planting may often feel more sympathetic than highly contemporary screens.

Listed Properties

Where the property is listed, some new structures or works may require additional consideration.

Our Garden Design for Listed Buildings page explores the wider heritage context.

Country House Gardens

Larger rural gardens may use:

• Tree belts

• Hedging

• Woodland-style planting

to soften distant unwanted views.

Our Garden Design for Country Houses page explores the relationship between house, garden and wider landscape.

Family Gardens

An ugly view may be particularly noticeable from:

• Patio

• Play area

• Trampoline.

Our Family Garden Design page explores how different uses can be integrated.

Screening a Trampoline and Other Visual Clutter

Sometimes the unwanted view is actually within your own garden.

Our How to Hide a Trampoline in a Garden page explores how planting can reduce the visual impact of play equipment.

Dog-Friendly Gardens

Screens can also help manage:

• Dog routes

• Visual triggers

• Poor boundaries.

Our Dog-Friendly Garden Design page explores wider dog-friendly layout.

Accessible Gardens

Screening should never create unnecessary obstacles.

Our Accessible Garden Design page explores how planting and structures can remain integrated with clear circulation.

Wheelchair Accessible Gardens

Our Wheelchair Accessible Garden Design page explores path widths, turning and accessible planting.

A screen should never create a pinch point on an important route.

Low Maintenance Screening

A screening scheme should be designed for the level of maintenance you want.

Our Low Maintenance Garden Design page explores how mature plant size influences long-term work.

Avoid selecting a fast-growing screen that needs constant pruning.

Screening in No-Lawn Gardens

A no-lawn garden may rely more heavily on planting to soften:

• Paving

• Walls

• Boundaries.

Our Low Maintenance Garden Without a Lawn page explores how planting and trees can create softness without grass.

Screening and Light

Every screening element affects light.

Before adding dense evergreen planting, consider:

• Garden orientation

• Existing shade

• Window light.

This is particularly important in compact gardens.

North-Facing Gardens

Our North-Facing Gardens page explores low-light design.

Avoid making an already shaded garden darker simply to conceal a distant view.

Screening and Wind

Solid screens can change airflow.

On exposed sites, filtered screens and planting may sometimes be more appropriate.

Screening and Drainage

Deep screening borders still need appropriate:

• Soil

• Drainage.

Our Garden Drainage Installation page explores wider water-management issues.

Heavy Clay

Heavy clay may affect:

• Establishment

• Root growth

• Drainage.

Choose screening plants suited to the site's actual growing conditions.

Garden Lighting and Screening

Lighting can transform screening planting after dark.

Our Garden Lighting Ideas page explores how:

• Trees

• Walls

• Planting

can be lit selectively.

Try to illuminate the new foreground rather than draw attention back to the ugly view.

Light a Better View

The evening garden gives you an opportunity to control exactly what is visible.

Lighting a:

• Tree

• Sculpture

• Water feature

can make the unwanted background virtually irrelevant after dark.

Garden Screening in North West England

Screening solutions in North West England need to respond to:

• High rainfall

• Heavy soils

• Shade

• Wind

• Dense suburban development

• Rural landscape settings.

The same approach will not suit every site.

Screening Ugly Views in Lancashire

Lancashire gardens may need to soften:

• Neighbouring houses

• Industrial buildings

• Roads

• Rural outbuildings.

Planting should suit local rainfall and soil conditions.

Screening Ugly Views in Cheshire

Larger Cheshire gardens may have enough depth for:

• Specimen trees

• Pleached trees

• Layered planting.

This can create sophisticated screening without making the garden feel enclosed.

Screening Ugly Views in Greater Manchester

Urban and suburban gardens may face:

• Extensions

• Blank walls

• Upper-storey buildings.

Localised screening can often be more effective than increasing every boundary.

Screening Ugly Views in Merseyside

More exposed sites may require:

• Wind-tolerant trees

• Robust screens

• Suitable hedging.

Screening Ugly Views in the Ribble Valley

Rural Ribble Valley gardens may benefit from:

• Tree groups

• Native hedging

• Woodland-style planting.

This can soften unwanted buildings while maintaining the relationship with the wider countryside.

Do I Need a Garden Designer?

Professional design can be valuable where several unwanted views need to be managed at once.

Our Do I Need a Garden Designer? page explores when design input can add value.

A designer can analyse:

• Sightlines

• Screen positions

• Tree placement

• Focal points

• Seating orientation.

Choosing a Garden Designer

A good designer should not automatically recommend the tallest possible screen.

They should ask:

• What actually needs hiding?

• From where?

• Could the eye be redirected instead?

• How much light would be lost?

Our How to Choose a Garden Designer page explores what to consider.

Questions to Ask a Garden Designer

Useful questions include:

• Do we need complete concealment?

• Could a tree solve the problem?

• Could the seating orientation change?

• Could a water feature become the focal point?

Our Questions to Ask a Garden Designer page provides a wider checklist.

Preparing for a Garden Design Consultation

Take photographs from the places where the unwanted view is most noticeable.

These may include:

• Kitchen

• Living room

• Patio

• Main seat.

Our How to Prepare for a Garden Design Consultation page provides a wider guide.

You can also read What Happens at a Garden Design Consultation?.

What Information Does a Garden Designer Need?

Useful information may include:

• Location of unwanted buildings

• Garden orientation

• Boundary heights

• Existing trees

• Key internal views.

Our What Information Does a Garden Designer Need? page explores the wider brief.

Do I Need Drawings?

Where screening depends on exact placement of:

• Trees

• Screens

• Pergolas

• Seating

drawings can help coordinate sightlines.

Our Do I Need Drawings for My Garden? page explains their wider role.

Professional Landscaping

Large tree planting and structural screens require good installation.

Our Professional Landscaping page explores why quality workmanship matters.

Landscape Construction

Our Landscape Construction page explores how:

• Screens

• Paving

• Structures

• Planting

can be coordinated through construction.

Garden Groundworks

Large trees and new structural features may require appropriate ground preparation.

Our Garden Groundworks page explores the hidden work behind the finished garden.

Complete Garden Design and Build

An ugly view is often the reason someone first considers redesigning the garden.

But the solution may be much broader than simply adding a screen.

A complete redesign can create:

• New focal points

• Better seating

• Deeper planting

• Improved privacy

• Stronger outdoor living.

Our Complete Garden Design and Build page explains how the garden can be redesigned and constructed as one coherent landscape.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best way to hide an ugly view in a garden?

Start by identifying exactly which part of the view is most intrusive and from where it is seen. Then use targeted trees, planting, screens or focal points.

Do I need to completely hide the view?

No. Softening it and creating a stronger foreground can often be more effective.

What are the best trees for screening buildings?

The best tree depends on required height, garden size, soil, light, exposure and whether year-round screening is needed.

Are evergreen trees best?

Not always. Evergreens provide year-round cover but may create more shade. Deciduous trees may provide a better balance.

Can one tree make a difference?

Absolutely. A strategically placed tree can interrupt a surprisingly large unwanted view.

Can I use a pergola?

Yes. Pergolas can help block both vertical and high-level views. See Pergolas for Privacy.

How do I hide a neighbour's extension?

Trees, pergolas, planting and localised screens can work well. See How to Screen a Neighbour's Extension.

How do I hide an overlooking window?

Target the particular sightline rather than screening the whole boundary. See How to Screen an Overlooking Window.

Can I hide a garage wall?

Yes. Climbers, shrubs and trees can soften it, or the wall itself can become a feature.

Can I hide a shed?

Yes, but partial screening is often enough to integrate it into the garden.

What is the quickest screening option?

Structural screens and larger specimen planting can provide more immediate results.

Are fast-growing plants the best option?

Not necessarily. Fast-growing plants may require substantial long-term maintenance.

Can a focal point distract from an ugly view?

Yes. Trees, water, sculpture and feature walls can all redirect attention.

Can lighting help?

Yes. Good lighting can make the attractive foreground dominant after dark.

Can screening make my garden too dark?

Yes. Dense or evergreen screening should be positioned carefully to preserve light.

Can I hide a building in a small garden?

Often, yes. Localised screening near the viewing position may work better than a very high boundary screen.

Can I screen a distant building?

Yes. A foreground tree or internal screen may be more effective than attempting to plant directly against a distant boundary.

Does screening work on a sloping garden?

Yes. Different levels can sometimes make strategic tree planting particularly effective.

Can I use planting instead of structural screening?

Often, yes. A layered border can provide a softer and more attractive result.

Does Kirman Design design screening for unwanted views?

Yes. Kirman Design creates bespoke screening and landscape designs throughout North West England using trees, planting, screens, pergolas and focal features.

The Best Way to Hide an Ugly View Is Often to Create a Better One

A garden should not be designed entirely around something you dislike.

Instead of asking only:

“How do we hide that building?”

ask:

What do we want to see instead?

Could a tree create a stronger foreground?

Could planting make the boundary disappear?

Could a pergola frame a better view?

Could the seating face somewhere else?

Could water become the focal point?

How much screening is genuinely necessary?

How much light do we want to retain?

And what will the garden look like when the planting matures?

The strongest solutions balance:

screening + distraction

concealment + focal points

privacy + openness

planting + structure

immediate impact + long-term growth

problem solving + good garden design.

The objective is not always to make an ugly view disappear completely.

It is to create a garden where something much better becomes the view you notice first.

If an unattractive building, boundary or unwanted view is affecting your garden in Lancashire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, the Ribble Valley or elsewhere in North West England, contact Kirman Design to discuss a bespoke garden screening and landscape design solution.