If your fence is in good standing, but you’d like to bring a little more eye appeal to the space, consider landscaping your fence line to soften the edges of your yard. Items like shrubs, flowering bushes and annuals are great options when you’d like a different look for the perimeter of your yard.
What is Fence Line Landscaping?
Fences are considered a hardscape element. Sometimes using the most economical or logical fence type doesn’t always lend itself to the most appealing look in your yard. Fence line landscaping can be used to camouflage unsightly fences, soften the hard edge look of a fence or even help carry on a style or color scheme in your yard. For example, if you’ve got a white picket fence and like a cottage theme in your yard, using garden plants will help evoke that feeling.
Planning
Using repetition of materials in your yard is a great way to bring continuity to your design and make your fence line landscaping not look like an afterthought. If you use fire bushes in the landscaping around your home, consider using fire bushes along your fence line. Using the same plants or materials will help mask the fence even more.
Consider using bushes or plants that keep their foliage through all four seasons when landscaping your fence line. If you don’t like the look of your fence in the summer, you certainly won’t like the look of your fence in the winter when all the flowers and leaves are gone. Using hedging or evergreen type trees will help your fence line landscaping look the same all year long. Make sure to take into account sun exposure and your landscape as well.
It’s important when planting fence line landscaping to keep a good distance away from the fence. Planting trees or shrubs that will grow too tall or wide may damage the fence or make it difficult to maintain the landscaping. If you have a wooden fence, you’ll need enough clearance to be able to paint or stain the fence.
Also, shy away from using any sort of ivy or vined plants as they can grow between the slats of the fence and cause the fence to weaken. If you really love the look of ivy or vined plants, consider using planters on the fence that can be removed for fence maintenance.
Planting
Once you have the plan for your fence line landscaping, make sure to map out your plants to ensure proper spacing and that you like the overall design. Plant your items and be sure you have a plan for irrigation, especially in the first few weeks after planting. Finish off the soil with fertilizer and mulch or pine straw. Keep all landscape trimmed a few feet away from the fence line to ensure no damage is done during storms or wind.
Following these few simple tips will help you find a gorgeous plan for fence line landscaping. If your fence needs repair or if you’d like to talk to someone about a new fence, let Horner Bros know and we’ll send someone out to give you a free estimate!
