Backyard designs for a nearly soundproof sanctuary

Install attractive noise barriers to improve your outdoor living space.

Your home is your sanctuary. It’s where you can lounge in sweats while you watch TV and dance with abandon to your favorite songs. Your yard should be an extension of that private, relaxed space. Admittedly, if you live in a busy neighborhood, your yard may not be a serene oasis. While we can’t transform your outdoor living space into a beachside resort, we can help you make it quieter.

Evergreen hedges and trees create a natural sound barrier year-round.

Natural sound blockers

Spruce up your yard and make it a soundproof retreat with nature. Tall trees with dense foliage will block sound and give you extra privacy. Consider trees such as columnar oaks. They grow 50 feet tall and up to 20 feet wide, providing a large, leafy barrier. They also keep their leaves throughout the winter, protecting you from noise even in the colder months.

Evergreen trees, such as blue spruce and Colorado spruce, are also excellent choices because they keep their foliage year-round. Similarly choose evergreen bushes such as boxwoods, arborvitae fescue grass or rhododendron to give you an attractive noise proof barrier.

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A fence blocks unwanted noise. Choose dense materials such as brick or wood.

Build a fence

Building a wall between you and your neighbors isn’t always a bad thing. A well-made fence is a tidy way to keep your property in place — pets, kids, errant plants. It’s also a solid way to cut down on the noise. Dense materials such as brick, wood and composites will provide the most sound proofing benefits. Planting bushes along the fence will help even more.

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Add a feature

Include a water feature in your backyard design to swap annoying sounds for soothing ones. A pebble-lined brook, a water fountain or a small waterfall will provide gentle babbling sounds. When you focus on that, you may not even notice road noise and barking dogs. Or you’ll be so relaxed, they won’t bother you anyway.

Ground cover can help dampen noise.

Soften your landscape

Decks, patios and fire pits can be attractive additions to your yard, but be sure you’re not adding too many hard surfaces. Between your fence and cement patio, you may create an echo chamber of sorts. Be sure to include plenty of soft groundcovers between pavers that will absorb sound. Grass works well, of course. To be more waterwise, use plenty of mulch in your flower beds and plant low-lying ground cover greenery such as:

• Creeping thyme
• Creeping Jenny
• Creeping phlox
• Honeysuckle vine

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A deck full of furniture may be quieter than one without.

Furnish your patio

If you’ve ever walked into an unfurnished room, you probably noticed the echo. But once you fill it with furniture, the noise is negligible. That happens outside too. Add some cushioned chairs and couches to your patio or deck. If you don’t have cushioned furniture, you can add a few pillows to help absorb sound. Not only will you have somewhere comfy to sit, you’ll have a quieter place to relax.

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Improve your outdoor living area with just a few changes to your backyard design. Whether you choose to make a natural barrier with trees or simply reduce echo with softer landscaping, you can quickly cut down on the noise.

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