BC Living
How to Support BC Wineries Now
Embark on Culinary Adventures: 5 Must-Try Solo Dining Experiences Around BC
You Gotta Try this in April 2024
4 Tips on Balancing a Nutritious Diet with a Side of Indulgence
Choosing Connection: A BC Family Day Pledge to Prioritize Presence Over Plans
Embracing Plant-Based Living this Veganuary and Beyond
Inviting the Steller’s Jay to Your Garden
6 Budget-friendly Holiday Decor Pieces
Dream Home: $8 Million for a Modern Surprise
Protected: Spring into Fun in Kamloops: The Best Events in the City
Travel Light, Travel Right: Minimalist Packing Tips for Solo Explorers
A Solo Traveller’s Guide to Cozy Accommodations
Melodies and Museums: Solo-Friendly Entertainment for the Independent Traveller
Arts Club Theatre Company Celebrates 60 Years
Films and TV Series that Inspire Solo Travel
8 Gadgets and Gear for Your Solo Adventures
A Solo Traveller’s Guide to Souvenir Hunting in BC
Sḵwálwen Botanicals – Changing the Face of Skincare
Q: I’m replacing a fence between my backyard and my neighbour’s. The current 5′ fence is rotting with gaps, and I’m considering installing a pressure-treated 6’3″ “Privacy Plus” fence, which means that there will be no more gaps. What I’m concerned about is possibly jeopardizing my garden by reducing the sunlight and air flow. Would I be creating an undesirable microclimate by choosing the Privacy Plus fence?
How the airflow near this fence is affected partly depends on which direction the fence faces. My neighbours and I garden along a very similar fence that faces west. It can get warm on summer afternoons, so we’ve chosen drought-tolerant plants (it’s an area we don’t like to water more than once a week).
We’ve varied plant heights and textures as it’s a long fence and we don’t want it to look static. But for continuity, we’ve used similar plants and the colours meld well. The biggest mistake people make when planting near a fence (or other structure) is not giving the plants enough space in front of the fence. If a shrub will get to six feet across, then be sure to plant it three feet out from the fence (to the center of the shrub). The exception, of course, would be plants to be trained against the fence.
Pay attention to where the sun will hit, and take that into account when making plant choices as well.