Garden screening is one of those great multipurpose outdoor accessories: it’s decorative, great for privacy and provides a boundary that every outdoor space needs. It’s also incredibly easy to put up yourself – all you need is some steel wire and a pair of pliers.
Choose your preferred type first – many opt for bamboo screening, but reed and willow screens are also our favourites! Once you’ve decided, read our guide to learn how to install garden screening.
Shop our range of garden screening online, featuring bamboo fence screening and lots more.
Screening vs fencing
Many people confuse screening with hurdle fencing. It’s easy to do, as they’re both types of decorative borders often made from natural wood materials. The main difference is that hurdles are generally a freestanding fence, while screening comes in rolls and needs to be attached to existing walls or fencing.
Things you’ll need
- Screening rolls and existing fence
- Pliers
- Galvanised wire, cable ties or staples
How to install garden screening
- With the pliers, attach the screening roll to the fence by tightening the wire or cable ties around both the screening rods and the fence.
- You can also staple the screening to the fence posts, but for bamboo make sure to staple the wires that join the canes rather than the canes themselves or they will split.
- Bind the screening to the fence at regular intervals – every 50cm vertically and 10cm horizontally.
- This should ensure the screening is fixed taught and firmly held in place, even during windy weather.
How to put up garden screening as a freestanding fence
If you have no existing fence to attach your screening to, then you will need to create a framework first.
- Position 75x75cm wooden posts at most 2m apart along the length you desire.
- Join the posts with vertical rails every 50cm upwards.
- The posts should be twice the height of the screening roll, with half the length buried in the ground.
- Surround the bases with concrete at least 5cm thick on all sides.
- Then attach the screening to the frame as detailed above.
We hope these instructions make putting up your garden screening as simple a task as possible. All it takes is a little DIY and you can enjoy a revitalised natural surrounding to your garden. If you have any tips from your own experience, please share them below!