Whilst design your garden you might need to consider creating a sound barrier to mask or remove unwanted sounds such as a near by road or school. Sound travels in waves similar to ripples on a pond, to create a sound barrier you need to create a source of similar sound but stronger to mask and cancel out the unwanted sound.

Sound in a garden can be created by the following-

1. Water features such as water falls and fountains.
2. Plants i.e silver birches and popular trees that create sound as the leaves move in the breeze.
3. Wind chimes

To create a sound barrier firstly identify the sound you wish to screen. Consider the points in the garden you wish have covered by the barrier, for example a patio or summer house. Next make sure that the unwanted sound source is screened. This is key because if you cannot see the source it will be less noticeable. A solid barrier will physically reduce sound but not to a large degree.

Once you have identified the source you can create a sound to intercept it. The following examples can be used-

1. For distant motorway traffic noise trees that create a low sound in the breeze can often provide enough sound to mask the unwanted sound.
2. For unwanted sound sources using a water feature such as a spring or waterfall shown in the pictures can often provide the solution. The great advantage in using water is that the sound created is on demand and can changed by using different flow rates and changing the material the water falls.Water falling though 4 to 6 cm cobbles will increase the resulting sound.