The yard around our house is fenced with a chain link fence, which keeps the dogs safely in the yard , but does not add to our privacy at all. When we first moved here, I got some of those rolls of plastic fence weave and put those along the front part of the fence, intending to do more bit by bit as we could afford it and I had the time to cut and install them. At that time, we had more little dogs, and they all wanted to see outside of the yard, and so they chewed up the bottom of the plastic fence weave. I have been planting shrubs and creeping vines (ivy) along the back fence; but the front is next to the street and where we most want privacy. So, @Bobby Cole said that he thought some of the split bamboo privacy screen out front might be just the ticket. One of the neighbors down the street has it along the road side of his yard, and it really makes a difference. You can actually see a little bit through the screen, but it still gives a lot of privacy, and the open spaces make it easier for wind to just blow through the screen. We ordered two pieces, 14'x7' tall, and put them up along the front fence by the driveway side. There is still an open area of about 6' on one side, so we will either get another piece of the screen, or Bobby will use the wood slats like he put over the backyard gate.
We did the same along our back fence Yvonne to replace what was chicken wire, but the wind was bending it a little too much so we planted a Laurel hedge in front of it...which has now grown to about 12 feet...and protects the garden completely from any wind along with our mature trees down the side.. of course we didn't need to have any light or see out the front like you want to...so the laurel in front of the Bamboo was ideal for us..
Can anyone help me? I just prepared a post to this, and it got "stuck" in "preview", with no option shown to post it. Showed "upload a file", instead of "Post reply". I'll see if I can do it over!
Bomb and bullet-proof, @Chrissy Page , to be sure! The wall in front is lower, 5 feet, so we can peek over it if someone pulls up on our drive. Shortly after moving in, we noted a vehicle quite often pulling up to our entrance, stopping, as though lost, then leaving. My wife later determined that the Water Company supplying a large housing addition east of us, has a webpage showing our address, and a satellite view corresponding to our house! The address problem stems from ours being "Circle" and the Water place "Cove", same street name. None of this is reason to super-build a monument, I know! Just enjoy making stuff others do not have. Can't buy our way into being envied, like neighbors trying to each have the more expensive car, so make up for it this way.
Very nice, Yvonne! Nobody has a fence in the front yard in out area, maybe they're not allowed. Everybody has the same wood fence on the side and back though. We share a fence with our neighbors. That's the way the subdivision was built.
@Linda Binning Linda is also a Californian, though I'm not sure of her location. She has spoken of rural, and mountains. Would like to compare two places in CA, rural, and city, just to get an idea of differences. My Uncle left Chicago in early '50s, for CA, finally settled in Sylmar, at a time when one could look down on L.A. and see clearly, it was beautiful, back then.
Yes, she doesn't live too far from me but I live in the city whereas Linda lives in the mountains or the foothills. One difference is temperature. Cooler the higher you go.
I like that fence Frank. It'll be good for keeping out the wind. I bet that kept you busy for awhile huh? What do you want to compare?? I know Sylmar as my daughter's x sister in law used to live there. Its down near LA. Her sister-in-law had some beautiful rare black little horse so I guess it's city and country both. I am a fence person and like to define an area. The bamboo fencing is beautiful. We have wire fence with barbed wire on the top and I like that as I like to see out and keep an eye on the neighbors and they can keep an eye on our house when we are gone.
Lin, back in those days, me, about 24, travelling about Cali, it looked like Paradise on Earth. We went to Disneyland in '65, drove down from uncle's place in Sylmar. Greatly enjoyed it. Still lived in Chicago, California represented to me a MYSTIQUE, a place of untold and unexplainable mystery, like an amusement park's "house of mirrors". Never knew what might be seen next! We crossed that Golden Gate, got home, my wife telling her Mom, both immigrants from Germany, about the "Goldene Bricke", her Mom looked scornful, remarking, "Was, gebaut von Gold? Spinnst Du!" What, built from gold? Yer Nuts! How I loved that first girl of my dreams! Married her at 18, she lost her parents tragically when she was 20, supported us by working to allow me to get my degree, then broke down, and gave up when her brother died, at 25. I loved that kid almost like I loved her. So, we called it "quits", at her request. I was a semester away from attaining that multi-year goal of an Engineering degree. My Mother helped me pull through this. Then began the "placement" movement. I was offered a job in CO, took it, and moving was again underway. Why I'm relating these imponderables is uncertain, except to say, any young folks facing future similar uncertainty while reading this, may glean valuable fact from earlier voyagers, and be able to guide themselves accordingly.
Frank have you ever thought of contacting a local school, any grade, I'd say from 3 up through 12 and seeing if they would like you to give a 10 or 15 minute talk on some of your experiences with getting an education? Lots of young people face horrendous trials and it might help them to hear how you made it through yours and got your education.
@Linda Binning Actually, I answered an ad seeking a teacher for Electric Theory at Mohave Community College, while we were wintering here. Everything went smoothly, reaching only the point where transcripts were needed, and DeVry Technical Institute could not produce my transcript of proof of graduation! I pursued it until giving up in disgust.