Noisy neighborhood? Try these tactics.
While you can’t totally block out noise, several noise reduction strategies exist that can go a lot way toward mitigating noisy surrounding to make them less bothersome.
Did you know you can absorb sound with plants of all sorts? Their leaves, branches, and wood entrap the vibrations. Best when employed as close to the noise source as possible, this method is commonly used for large scale applications.
Trees with rough bark are effective at scattering sound waves. Deciduous plants lose their effectiveness when leaves fall, but leaf out for maximum advantage during the months when windows are open and you’re spending more time outdoors.
Hedges for Noise Reduction
Consider planting hedges in order to create a noise barrier. These plants can create dense screening between you and your neighbors and outdoor noises that may interfere with enjoying your landscape.
Partitions can cause sounds to be bounced away from the recipient and sometimes back toward the source.
When sound waves strike a 5- or 6-foot masonry wall, it does not vibrate and they are reflected back toward the source. The sound waves that are higher up travel across the wall more readily, which is why plants along the wall and/or vines that grow over the wall enhance its effectiveness.
When sound waves strike a slightly flexible panel it will vibrate. This transforms sound waves into other forms of energy and deflects them in different directions. The more flexible the material, the greater the deflection. Common materials are fiberglass and corrugated metal.
White noise
If a room is empty with a bare floor and walls, every sound bounces off the hard surfaces to magnify it or even cause a slight echo as it bounces around. Add carpeting and the echo vanishes. On the ground plane the most powerful tool is a lawn, due to its large area and excellent refraction ability.
Fountains and other water features provide a pleasant ‘white noise’ that is appealing to the human brain as a mask for undesirable noise. The most widely used method is a fountain that makes loud splashes. Coupled with other noise-reducing methods, even a smaller fountain becomes far more effective than you might think.
Working with a professional landscaper will help you get the most out of your efforts. Walls, lawns, plantings and landscape installation are among the expert landscaping services Frontier Landscaping is proud to provide.