Seattle gardener offers landscaping solutions for privacy

Seattle gardener Marty Wingate offers gardeners privacy tips in her new book “Landscaping for Privacy: Innovative Ways to Turn Your Outdoor Space into a Peaceful Retreat.

Acknowledging that many city dwellers end up living very
close together, a Seattle author has come out with a new
book with tips for gardeners on how to use landscaping to
add privacy to outdoor living spaces.

Marty Wingate, author of “Landscaping for Privacy:
Innovative Ways to Turn Your Outdoor Space into a Peaceful
Retreat,” tells Ciscoe Morris, host of 97.3 KIRO FM’s Gardening with Ciscoe,
there are a lot of solutions to make your outdoor
entertaining areas more private.

Listen to interview with Marty Wingate

Wingate said she understands each outdoor space has
different challenges.

For privacy plants, Wingate suggests considering the
season you’re most concerned about. If you’re only worried
about keeping your deck free from prying eyes in the
summer, you might be able to get away with a plant that
will be big and decorative in the warmer months, and will
drop its leaves, allowing for extra sun exposure in the
winter time.

Another concern in the outdoor space, beyond what you can
see, is what you can hear. To combat road or pedestrian
noise, Wingate suggests adding a water feature.

“It distracts us and calms us,” said Wingate of the sound
of water. But she cautions that you should make sure you
like the sound the new element will produce.

More ideas from Marty Wingate can be found at her
website or in her new book, “Landscaping for Privacy:
Innovative Ways to Turn Your Outdoor Space into a Peaceful
Retreat.”

Gardening with Ciscoe can be heard on the
new 97.3 KIRO FM Weekend Saturday at 10 a.m. and anytime
ON DEMAND at MyNorthwest.com.

By JAMIE GRISWOLD, MyNorthwest.com Editor