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Landscape Design

Chain link fence ideas

16 years ago

Hello, I am new to this forum and gardenweb in general. I am getting some great ideas. This is my first attempt at gardening.

I live in zone 6 in a red brick 1950's ranch. I have chain linked fence on both sides of the house (about 6 feet per side). Naturally they are ugly but I cannot afford to replace them.

I have many questions about inexpensive landscape ideas (I ripped out every last bush and shrub) but I want to post with a picture when I ask that question.

For now, my main question is -- is there such a thing as an EVERGREEN climbing plant that would work to cover the fence? I would hate to have dead leaves/vines on the fence all winter.

Thank you and I'll offer more info if needed.

Shannon

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Comments (7)

lindasewandsew
16 years ago
Hi, I have chain link around the slope in the back yard. Although it's not finished yet (will post pics when it is), I collected dog ear fence boards that were being thrown away. 2x4s, also from the curb, will be attached to the chain link, then the boards will be attached to them. I'm sanding, priming and painting them. Five gallon buckets of mis-mixed paint (good brands) at HD or L*we's are just $15. Our L*we's even had a dented gallon of Zinsser primer, my favorite, for $5. You can cover chain link on the cheap if you watch for fences being torn down. I'm covering about 120 feet of 6 foot tall chain link and it will be well below $200 when finished, probably closer to $100. It doesn't even require much skill, just a lot of time.
When I was looking for ways to cover this thing, this seemed to be the cheapest way, and won't require much maintenance. I'm in zone 9, so don't know what you can grow in your zone. Lots of plants that will cover fences are rampant. All those materials made to weave through them don't look good to me. If you email me, I'll send you pics of how mine looks so far, even though it has a long way to go. Hope that helps. Linda
seg189
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the ideas, Linda I sent you an email to see some pictures.

Shannon
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Your fence alignment and afternoon shade could be ideal for the rasp and black berries. Blueberries would prefer more sun. If the existing east-facing fence you mention is a chain link fence, that is fine for caneberry support, but half of the fruit will be on you neighbors side. Raspberries will spread onto the neighbor's property in coming years. If you are going to erect a chain link fence apart from the existing fence for berry support, that would work but might be overly expensive unless you have lots of spare fencing material already. Big if: The major conifers are near the fence, overhang the fence, and their roots are in the berry planting area, that would not be a great place to plant berries.
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How long a fence is it? Do you think your neighbor would mind (or notice) if you put a vine on it? Doesn't hurt to ask. If it's a really sturdy fence, wisteria might be nice. Even though it goes dormant, it still has a nice woody presence and will hide most of the fence once it grows up a bit. Even grapes could be useful here. If you don't mind losing a little space and want something softer than coniferous evergreens, there are some really wonderful clumping bamboos that can stay green all winter in your zone (check out Fargesia spp.). If you plant them close to the fence, they'll swallow it up and render it invisible. The landscaping forum can be helpful if you decide to go with plants.
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in mild winters , mine keeps most of it leaves. The discrepancy might be in the character of the winters in Texas compared to PNW. We have much milder weather most of the time and the BANG we get a huge 60 degree drop in a day and then mild again. Usually we will have 3 of these cold fronts. This year we had one. I swam many times in January in the neighboring river. It started to loose some leaves in January briefly around that realy strong cold front and then was actively growing again soon after. You guys get cold and stay coldish for awhile. More time to loose more leaves. We , in Texas, are in a PNW summer right now.. Have been for awhile. Tomatoes are ripening.
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karinl
16 years ago
Do a search of this forum for chainlink. It's been discussed before.

KarinL
kailleanm
16 years ago
One thing you can do is to paint the fence with a roller -- black or dark green look SO much better than regular aluminum or white chain link. It blends into the background much better. And keep your eyes out for funky used gates and it will look really good.
marymd7
16 years ago
I'm sorry, but I'm really puzzling about why you might have decided, particularly with a limited budget, to "rip out every last bush and shrub." Some of those existing plantings might have been moved or adapted to help screen the chain link. Nothing hides chain link better than a layered mixed border of shrubs. I generally think vines don't do much for chain link other than accentuate it, but if you're set on vines, then some soil and exposure info would be helpful.
seg189
Original Author
16 years ago
I ripped them out because many were old and dying and were very dated. I really hated the looks of them and honestly I like the blank slate more--- even though I know it needs work. Thank you for the vine info.

Thank you also to kailleanm...the painting idea is a good one. I already painted it 2 years ago from rust to silver--- I guess I never thought about a different color!
kailleanm
16 years ago
I have to look at an ugly section across from my property (maintained by the city) and I went out to stealth paint it one night. It's truly amazing how much the fence disappears when painted a dark colour. I used dark green.

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