Privacy mesh or artificial hedge
Updated: October 2026
Two green products arrive in the same search, and only one of them is trying to block a view. Privacy mesh or artificial hedge is that split: a weighed HDPE cloth with holes and eyelets, or a leaf mat that clips over a panel and looks planted. You are covering a fence you already have, not choosing a living boundary and not buying a new timber panel. Neither product is a blackout. The [privacy fence comparison](/hub/fencing-and-wire/privacy-fence) holds both in one shortlist. Prices are the stored amazon.co.uk figures for this set. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Two green products arrive in the same search, and only one of them is trying to block a view.
Two green products arrive in the same search, and only one of them is trying to block a view. Privacy mesh or artificial hedge is that split: a weighed HDPE cloth with holes and eyelets, or a leaf mat that clips over a panel and looks planted. You are covering a fence you already have, not choosing a living boundary and not buying a new timber panel. Neither product is a blackout. The privacy fence comparison holds both in one shortlist. Prices are the stored amazon.co.uk figures for this set. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Type | Size | Fabric weight | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  VOUNOT VOUNOT 1.8 × 10 m privacy netting, 230 g/m² | Privacy netting | 1.8 m × 10 m | 230 g/m² | 9.4 | about £27.54 | View offer |
| Best value |  VOUNOT VOUNOT 1.8 × 10 m privacy netting, 90 g/m² | Privacy netting | 1.8 m × 10 m | 90 g/m² | 9.2 | about £15.19 | View offer |
 AGJIDSO AGJIDSO artificial ivy screening, 3 × 1 m | Artificial hedge roll | 3 m × 1 m | n/a | 8.8 | about £21.99 | View offer |
On this page
What each product actually is
HDPE netting is a holed cloth with ties or grommets. The decision numbers are on the privacy fence buying guide. The garden-run pair is VOUNOT at 1.8 m by 10 m: 90 g/m² and a 75% claim at about £15.19, and 230 g/m² and a 95% claim at about £27.54. The heavier roll is the top pick and the lighter roll is the best value.
The AGJIDSO ivy is a leaf mat, 3 m by 1 m at about £21.99, with 4.3 from 571 reviews, no grams and no shade percentage. It is 3 m² of green face, not 18 m² of cloth. Under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, a high hedge is two or more evergreens or semi-evergreens over 2 metres. A plastic roll is not that hedge.
What you can still see
The 75% and 95% lines were not measured here. Reviews of the 90 g/m² roll still see through one layer. Reviews of the 230 g/m² roll call one layer nearly opaque, with a bright background still possible. The leaf roll can show its backing grid where leaves are thin, and reviews already mention a flimsy feel outdoors. You cannot invent a shade percentage this listing does not print. If someone on the path must not read an outline in sun, start with the heavier net and still expect a limit. If you want a planted look, the leaf mat is the closer object.
Height, length and wind
A 1 m leaf roll leaves the top of a 1.8 m panel bare, and 3 m of length is not a 10 m boundary. One VOUNOT roll covers that run. Sparse leaves lift and show the grid. The RHS, on planted windbreaks, says a solid barrier throws eddies and a filtering screen has to sit taut. Neither product here is a tested windbreak.
The AGJIDSO roll is about £21.99 for 3 m². The light VOUNOT is about £15.19 for about 18 m², and the heavy one is about £27.54 for the same area. Fix the cloth through the eyelets, and the leaves through the backing mesh, not through a leaf.
Which to buy for which job
Choose the HDPE cloth to block a view along a garden run: 90 g/m² if a lighter cloth is acceptable, 230 g/m² if you want the denser weave and will still not get a blackout. Choose the AGJIDSO roll for a 3 m by 1 m green face, and accept gaps and leaves that lift. Do not stack them to seal the mesh. That is more catch in the wind. A cloth decision is grams and height. A leaf decision is whether a planted look is the brief.
Common questions
Will an artificial ivy roll give me privacy?
It will soften a view and dress the panel. It will not give you a measured privacy rating, because this roll states neither grams nor a shade percentage. Notes on similar ivy say you can see the backing grid where the leaves are thin. At 3 m by 1 m and about £21.99 it covers one low face. If a person on the path must not read an outline in sun, the heavier HDPE cloth is the closer tool.
Is HDPE netting more private than a leaf mat?
It can be, when you buy the heavier cloth at the full height of the panel. The 230 g/m² VOUNOT at 1.8 m by 10 m is the dense end of this set, and reviews still say a bright background can show. The 90 g/m² roll is often see-through in one layer. A leaf mat hides by coverage, not by grams, and sparse leaves leave holes. The heavy net is the privacy tool here, with the limit that it is still mesh. The leaf roll is the look.
Which one looks like a hedge while a real one grows?
The leaf roll. That is the job it is built for: a green face on a sound panel, with spare leaves in the pack, while a climber or a hedge fills in. It will not become the hedge, and it is not a high hedge in law. The netting looks like netting, even in green. If the real plants are the plan, use the mat on the bay you see from the kitchen and do not expect it to seal the boundary on its own.
Does the leaf roll cover a 1.8 m panel?
Not in one piece. This roll is 1 m high and 3 m long. A typical panel is about 1.8 m, so the top stays bare unless you add another course and accept the join. A 1.8 m by 10 m net covers that height for about 10 m of run. Buy the leaf roll for a metre-high face. Buy the net when the panel is the thing you are trying to hide.
Which is cheaper for a long run?
The netting. One 90 g/m² VOUNOT roll is about £15.19 for about 18 m², and the 230 g/m² roll is about £27.54 for the same area. The ivy is about £21.99 for 3 m², so a long run of leaves means several packs and still only a metre of height. The leaf roll is the smaller job only when you need a single 3 m by 1 m face.
Is a fake hedge a high hedge in law?
No. A high hedge under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 is two or more evergreen or semi-evergreen plants, usually over 2 metres, affecting a neighbour's reasonable enjoyment of their home. A plastic ivy roll and a roll of HDPE are not that definition. Complaints about a real hedge go through the council's high-hedge route. Complaints about a cloth are about the fence, the lease or planning, which are different questions.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources from the research digest, plus the amazon.co.uk listings in this set. Page updated October 2026.
- Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Class A (retrieved October 2026)
- Planning Portal: fences, gates and garden walls, planning permission (retrieved October 2026)
- Planning Portal: fences, gates and garden walls, building regulations (retrieved October 2026)
- GOV.WALES: planning permission for fences, gates and garden walls (retrieved October 2026)
- Scottish Government: Circular 1/2024, Class 3E (retrieved October 2026)
- Northern Ireland GPDO 2015, Part 3 Class A (retrieved October 2026)
- Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, Part 8, high hedges (retrieved October 2026)
- HM Land Registry: boundaries and boundary disputes (retrieved October 2026)