I'm sorry that you have this eyesore. I empathize. To recommend plants, we need to know a few things about your place:

What zone are you in?
Is this shade, part-shade, full sun?
Wet soil or evenly moist or dry?
Do you want evergreen, deciduous or a mix of shrubs?
Do you like gardening...if so, what kinds of flowers do you like and how much time do you want to spend maintaining?
Are deer or rabbits a problem?

Cameron

I know I'd feel just as you do if it happened to me. Put in a row of the fastest growing evergreens you can find for your area and hope all the pinecones fall on their side of the fence. Better yet, plant deciduous trees just tall enough that the leaves will fall into their yard every fall, and they and their deck will be obscured from your view all summer long. Or, fruit trees! That'll teach 'em.

Never mind. I'm thinking vindictive, and you want advice like Cameron can give you. You'll make the best of it, and in time will probably learn to appreciate the fence. I hope so.

Sherry

How tall is the fence?

It's wood? Does the actual fence touch the ground?

Pile up some dirt onto the bottom of the fence. It will rot out in a couple of years. Termites will eat it.

It's unfortunate that you don't care for the neighbors fence. One thing I've learned is that you have to beat them to the punch. My lot is similar to your - side neighbors only. We hired a surveyor to establish the lot lines. I was planning a lilac hedge on both sides. I was in the process of finalizing varieties and getting my quotes. Neighbor was so afraid of what I might do that she planted a row of arborvitae the day after the surveyor came. There are only two plants in the world I hate - and arborvitae is one of them. However, I love symmetry more than hate arborvitae so ended up planting another row of these atrocious plants (to the tune of $3500 to match the species and spacing)instead of my lovely lilacs. This happened 6 years ago and it is still irritating! So I feel your pain and next time I'll be sure to execute my plan first!

My suggestion would be to get some trellis and plant some pretty flowering vines in front of the fence on your side so that it becomes part of the landscape design instead of an eyesore.

I'm sorry that your neighbor's deck and fence is blocking your view, but I'm going to play devil's advocate here. Your neighbors have a small dog, and they need to keep their dog in their yard. Small dogs can be jumpers. I know. I have a 12 pound yorkie poodle that can jump from a standing position to about 5-6 feet high. Not kidding. The more excited he gets, the higher he jumps. AND because he's a small dog, a pretty iron fence is entirely useless. He can squeeze through and underneath the smallest bars. When we moved into our current house, the first thing we did was replace the old fence and gates. Because our yard backs to a hill, and our neighbor's house sits at the top of that hill, we could not build a new fence at the top of the hill to keep our dog in the yard, so we tried to put in a cute picket fence hoping that would keep him from climbing the hill. No such luck. Luckily we have a very nice neighbor with an extra leash and she brings him home for us when she finds him lounging in her yard since she didn't want us to build a fence at the top of the hill. He has stopped escaping now that he's familiar with the neighborhood, but still -- it's a concern because small dogs that get out of yards can get hit by cars very easily because they're hard to see. Please don't begrudge your neighbor's need to keep their pet safe.

I am so sorry, Gracie! I know exactly how you feel. I once had a neighbor paint his house green. VERY wild green on our quiet and subdued street. Drove me wild. When we sold our house, we found that the buyers didn't seem to mind though!

Put in a hedge or those giant sunflowers.

It would also be a great place for a run of trellis and some climbing roses. The odd shaped fence line creates some wonderful places for a fountain or birdbath.

You have one thing in your favor: Landscaping adds to the value of your property. Any action you take from this point forward can be a benefit in the long run.

I am also going to play devil's advocate. I have my whole back yard landscaped and the neighbor behind us thinks that it is O.K. for their dogs to run through our yard. I have repeatedly asked them to keep the dogs out of our garden, but he just shruggs his shoulder and goes on and grabs the dogs. He even thinks it is O.K. to walk the dog over to talk with my husband and then to completely ignore what the dog is doing. So I am considering putting up a fence to keep the dogs out! So consider what you can do to make the fence more agreeable to you.

Put in fast-growing shrubbery, ideally evergreens, on your side of the property line. Arborvitae typically grows quickly, if that works in your climate, as do some hollies and cypresses, and don't require a huge amount of tending. Wire or lattice fencing (again, on your side of the property line) will support fast-growing flowering vines if you like fiddling with plants. You can install a privacy screen on your deck, put up a pergola from which to suspend roll-up blinds or canvas curtain panels, or put up trellises to support vines.

To be a third devil's advocate, why didn't you ask your neighbor when s/he told you about the fence plan what s/he was planning to use if it was important to you?

We are planning to fence our back yard for our dog this summer. He is a smaller dog but small dogs need exercise to keep from getting fat and lazy and cranky just as much as any big dog does, he likes to run around and play "chase" and doing that on a leash just sucks because he gets his feet tangled up in it or he runs out to the end of the leash and gets yanked back. We also want to keep stray dogs and less-determined cats, skunks, raccoons and other critters out of the yard; rabies is a problem here. Since he loves to just "hang out" outside in the snow in the winter, a fence with a lockable gate is a great deal safer for him than having him on a trolley or tether (as we had to do this winter). Because he can get quite barky when he sees other dogs, it needs to be a solid fence, and we know he can jump 4 feet pretty easily with a bit of a running start so we're planning on a 6' tall fence, the highest the town allows. Pretty as it might be, really decorative fencing that meets those parameters is very expensive, so unless they want to help out with the money end - ha! - the neighbors are just going to have to live with what we CAN afford to put up. We'll do our best to make it nice but it's entirely likely that something that looks fine to us is an "eyesore" to someone else.

Any pictures??

Fences do seem to be a really touchy subject for many people. Over at the home disasters forum it's a very common topic, and generates a lot of friction! In your case I'd plant something really pretty on trellising that you won't tire of looking at. Funny thing is we had next door neighbors that had a dizzying array of critters over the past 4 years they lived there, and they always ended up hanging out in our yard! They have a wall that is brick halfway up and then iron on top, and everything got out. Their baby chickens and turkeys ate my seeds, their rabbit got injured and hid in our yard, their several puppies dug up my plants, broke an antique ceramic planter and got shut in our garage overnight in January, their un-neutered cat chose to live in our garage most of the time and harassed our cats...the list goes on and on. They have since moved, however, and the new neighbor's dog stays put!

Use the fence to your advantage, as a back drop for a flower bed or flowering shrubs. We had a wooden fence in our last backyard and it enhanced the landscape, kept the kids in when they were small, the dog and the handicapped cat we owned for 15 years.

Wrought iron fences cost more and do not necessarily keep dogs in the yard, depending on their size.

I'm sorry that you don't like your neighbor's new fence. At least he isn't running a meth lab, or breaking and entering and robbing your home, or suing you over every little thing, or... neighbors can be true nightmares in countless ways.

Good fences really do make for good neighbors so I'm astonished by some of the replies here. Your neighbor thinks enough of his dog and of you to put up a fence. That protects his dog, but it also protects your flower beds from being dug up, and you and your guests from stepping in dog poo or maybe even being nipped. Honestly, I think you're very lucky to have such a considerate neighbor. His fence also protects you against anyone who buys his house in the future and may have more or larger dogs or naughty kids.

As far as camouflaging the fence, you've gotten a lot of good suggestions here, so I hope you found some you can enjoy. If you ever watch the landscaping shows on HGTV it's amazing how they can turn lemons into lemonade. Maybe you can tape some for ideas?

I'm sorry the fence has upset you. Is it a chainlink fence? Those are truly ugly.

I agree with the others that it is a shame the fence is not that attractive and blocks some of your view and privacy. I would add a fast growing tree to gain back your privacy and beautiful landscaping around the fence to beautify your yard and hide the fence on your side of the yard.

When I was a child, we had a lot of land around our new lot and it bothered us when so much building came about but I guess we can only vent, have others listen, care and commiserate with you and then do something to lessen the problem. We are here for you.

Almost everyone has fences around here, we are one of the few houses that don't.

I suggest you use the fence as a backdrop and landscape in front of it.

On the bright side, at least the dog won't be doing his business in your yard (this is what my neighbors allow) and at least they didn't put the fence on your property (what my fabulous previous neighbors did).

We tried landscaping around it, planting honeysuckle and jasmine and other climbing things.

Thank you all so much for your suggestions! The fence as a backdrop sounds appealing to me! Cameron, your ideas will be very much appreciated. We live in Oklahoma. Our Soil is red clay. The fence is on our south side and we have a lot of old tall oak trees.That area gets sun and maybe shade later in the summer as the trees begin to fully bloom. Our other neighbor planted Fhontina and it grew fast. One friend reccomended Rose of Sharron and Jasmine. We are not gardeners. I actually have a girl who plants for us in the spring and fall.We do not have to worry about deer. Maybe rabbits and armadillos.Thank you so much in advance for your ideas and input!

Another message to all! We are big pet lovers! We love dogs, we own a cat. You are all right about the fence keeping our neighbors dog in a safe surrounding. I guess we thought there might be other options available for them since the rear landscaping of our neighborhood does not lend itself to fenced yards. One neighbor across the street put up an invisible fence for their dog. Also there is the faux iron fences that are reasonably priced. We are going to deal with this and I really appreciate your help and suggestions. Thank you all!! :)

Gracie, I have no suggestions that are any better than what you've received, but I just wanted to say "hi" from a fellow Okie!

gracie - even though a faux iron fence might be reasonably priced it is probably not suitable for a small dog as they can squeeze through fairly easily. My in-laws found a small dog and they had to put up chicken wire until she got fattened up some.

A invisible fence doesn't work for all dogs. Mine couldn't care less. He just ran quickly through it. Guess the pain was less then.

Just be glad it wasn't a chainlink as that is the only that might have worked for what your neighbors need if they have a small dog and also leave the area open.

Not sure if ladybanks rose (not thorny) will grow in your area, but it will grow tall and have a show of flowers all the time. Would cover the fence too.

I made a fence trellis out of copper plumbing pipes for wisteria. In another section, I put up a collection of wooden birdhouses around a fan shaped trellis with trumpet vine. There's lots of things you can do to add interest, besides just putting plants in front of the fence.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Allison, that is beautiful! Very creative. I wish I had that talent.

Electric fences might keep some dogs in, but they don't protect you or your dogs from other animals that are free to enter your yard. Passersby don't know that the electric fence is there until they get close enough to read a tiny sign (if it's there at all); meanwhile, they can be terrified by a barking, snarling dog on the other side of an invisible fence. As Lyfia says, not all dogs stop at the invisible one. They are banned in my city for those reasons.

We looked into the invisible fence idea because we couldn't fence at the top of our yard, and the package clearly states that an invisible fence is for training purposes ONLY. It is not to be used when you are not actually training your dog.

Sorry to hijack- but Allison- how long did it take for your wisteria to look like that???
That just might be a great solution to our hideous fence we inherited when we bought our house.

Thanks. It was several years old when the picture was taken (before we moved), but it only took a year to get it to grow to the ends. It is invasive, so you have to keep trimming it. If you need to trim right after it blooms, you can sometimes get a second bloom time (just not as good as the first).

You can see the center top - I had to cut that part numerous times each growing season. It would be in the front yard in no time, but I think it was worth the trouble. Doesn't take long to trim and I would check on the growth a few times a week to make sure it was going in the direction/on the proper copper length.

I'll go find a picture of the birdhouse and chair to post. I had Bridal's wreath spirea planted in that area and it was gorgeous when it bloomed.

gracie
If the fence is on or near the lot line - the owner installing the fence is required typically by local code to put the "nicer" finished side of the fence on your side -

I would agree w/the sentiments above - use the fence as a back drop for various garden ideas -

Gracie, now you can plant things without worrying whether or not the dog will be over messing with it. I had so many doggie droppings from my next door neighbors dog, I wish they had put up a fence.

At any rate, I found this thread on another forum with ideas and I think you'll see you can really take the focus off the fence. I just love their first version.

Here is a link that might be useful: Covering up a privacy fence

Being in North Carolina, I'm not sure what works in Oklahoma.

Osmanthus fragrans is a wonderful, fragrant evergreen shrub here, but I don't think it works in your zone.

The red clay will need some amendment for most plants.

The best thing will be to go over to the Garden Forums side and find some folks in your area. I'm including the link to Oklahoma Gardening.

Here is a link that might be useful: Oklahoma Gardening forum

Allison0704, please don't forget to post more pics of your fence. I'm keeping an eye out for them! :)

One very positive thing about Phoenix AZ is that many, if not most, homes here have 6' tall concrete block walls surrounding the backyard. So you have privacy, blank walls to decorate, etc.

Back in WI I had vines growing against the house and next to the porch for my own version of privacy. Clematis is a very nice vein that comes back every year, I also had a wild vine that went bananas every year.

In my old house we were severely limited with fence height - 4 1/2 feet in the back yard so with small tiny yards everyone could see everything. Here the 6 feet height makes one feel much more secure.

Vine:

Old yard fence:

New yard (old picture):

Well, I have mixed opinions here. First off, I didn't like having a neighborhood setting, HOA's or really close neighbors. So I built my new house on 15 acres and put my house in the middle of it. But the rural aspect opens up a whole new set of issues. Gracie, honestly, I would work with the fencing and just be happy you have responsible neighbors who want to confine and care for their dog. Some of the posters here have made some great suggestions for disguising the fence, and making your yard very attractive. I personally would capitalize on trellises and vines. What a wonderful surrounding! Some of the tall evergreens would make a great mask for the far parts of the yard, and please feel good your neighbors want to confine their pets to make life more comfortable for everyone. Take heart!! I have a neighbor who is over 800 ft away from me who has a Pitt Bull who showed up on my back deck a few days ago. Not the most responsibile on the block so to say! Now I'm a dog lover and have 3 retrivers myself who live inside. But I have to find a solution to secure 600+ ft of frontage, 1300 ft of side footage and 600+ ft of back line. Not easy. I don't need to see someones Pitt Bull running thru my 100 ft of lawn! I know I'm looking at some fencing, a lot of trellises, specifically placed evergreens and anything else I can figure out to secure my privacy. When you are working with a smaller area, options are very good. And some great ones have been presented on this thread. Have fun, be creative, and enjoy your yard!!

I am all for "gardening in the third dimension" (trellises and vines) and to that end we have several trellises and a large pergola in our yard.

In my community all fencing must be installed with specific "set backs" from the actual property line. So, the fence is likely on your neighbor's property and DOESN'T belong to you. Therefore, you have NO RIGHT, whatsoever, to afix any sort of trellis to their fence, pile dirt against it or do anything like that. Even if they grant permission to do it, whatever you do is not your's... you're improving their fence and their property. If they get cheesed off at you, sell the house, whatever, you've lost your investment. So be very, very careful.

Since you are not particularly interested in gardening (at least from what you've said) I'd hire a decent landscape contractor and have them work with a local nursery to select an interesting array of low maintenance shrubs to soften the harsh lines of the fence. A pretty mixture of interesting evergreens and shrubs that flower throughout the growing season would be very pretty.

Fussy chicken, I didn't forget. I looked through several photo albums and drawers but didn't find what I was looking for. I will try again at some point this weekend.

I feel your pain, had a similar situation, only our HOA required them to notify us and when I saw the plans I was able to petition to the HOA and the end result wasnt as bad as it could have been. I would have died if I woke up one day to what she had planned to do to the property line....then, the dog died 2 years later....regardless. I loved the Southern living ideas. One thing we did was build a small burm out of dirt to elevate our plantings. We did not pile dirt on their fence. It sloped back to their fence. The berm gave our plants probably 12-16 inches of height, so they appeared bigger, the new soil helped them grow faster too. I dont have pictures, this was in our last home. The only draw back to this was it ate up a large amount of our back yard, but in 2-3 years it was beautiful. Not sure if Leyland Cypress grow in your area, we mixed these into the plantings and they really took off nicely. My husband is big on Miracle Grow and he fed all the plantings constantly, which I swear helped the area get big and lush. So my words to you are, try to make lemonade out of the lemons, even though its still a sour fruit. If you are there for the long term, the nice thing is wood fences rot and usually do not last more than 7 years before they need replacing. Do you have a sprinkler head that can be directed in their general direction...oops, sorry that wasnt nice:)

No fences (unless Wrought Iron or Invisible) allowed in our community per the HOA.

We had new neighbors move in behind/to the side of us. We received info that they were planning on putting in a fence for their tiny dog, so we made sure they knew the HOA rules. Lot's of realtor's don't inform new neighbors of the HOA rules.

We had the same rules in our last neighborhood. A contractor had to re-do a retaining wall, because he used artificial stone.

We have an Invisible Fence and it works great for our Jack Russell. :)

Could you please post a picture of the fence & yard in question.. my interest has been piqued. Think of the fence as a chance to "define" your space .. much as a rug in a room LOL.
You can use the space in front of the fence for decorating spaces.

A good article on the hazards of the invisible fence for dogs for anyone who may care.

I'd love to see a picture of the offending fence too. Have you started planting anything yet, Gracie?

Grace2006, have you checked the antique roses forum on Gardenweb? Hugely nice group of people (one of them is our own Patricia43), very helpful. Antique/old growth roses are the ones you want: super-hardy, tough to kill, relatively resistant to disease (so not needing lots of spraying and tending). Ask what would thrive where you live. I am also not a gardener, so I am looking for black-thumb-proof plants for my region as well.

I second the suggestion of a Lady Banks (or a Cecile Brunner) rose if you want the fence covered *fast*. My 2-y-o Banks is already eating a porch post, and I can see I've created a monster. But keep in mind that both these roses only bloom for about two weeks a year: there are other climbers that bloom repeatedly all summer, and the forum can advise you about those.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gardenweb Antique Roses Forum

My husband is going to help me post pics. We took some over the week-end. Thanks again for all your advice!:) We have had a ton of rain the past couple of days and so I hve been unable to get out to look at our TLC.

I don't have much solution to add, gardening or visual trickery with green things are not my fortes, but just a word from my experience - even if you don't like the fence, do be considerate in how you remedy the aesthetic situation -- remember that the fence is someone else's (potentially expensive) property, and that ESPECIALLY if they put the fence inside their property lines, you are accountable for damages. So things like climbers, which can cause structural damage -- trying to rot it -- think twice. :)

About half the yards in our neighborhood are fenced. We are the only ones for about 4 houses in either direction with a fenced yard (we put it up when we got our dog). It's cedar and was about a $5,000 investment. The people behind us don't like the fence for several reasons including the stain color clashes with their exterior paint (they say), it makes it hard to retrieve their cat (which is always in OUR yard, funny how that part of it is OK with them), etc. To show their disdain, they decided to pile their cord of wood up against our fence, for one so we couldn't get to the wood to stain it, and for two -- because they're a-holes. Well their wood leaned too far and broke down part of our fence. We built about a foot inside our property line. All things considered, they're now accountable for about $3,000 even though it's just two sections of fencing that are damaged.

Oh, yes, leahwalker's right: build a trellis for the roses, don't let them climb onto a fence that's not yours! That's not what I meant. I was just thinking of something more aesthetically pleasing for you than the fence...

I'm glad to see both leahwalker and walkin'. echo the same thing point I raised a few posts up.

There are many times our neighbors do things we don't necessarily like and that don't fall into line with our own personal aesthetic. But that doesn't give us the "right" to do things that are potentially destructive to someone ELSE'S property.

I'm not nuts about my new neighbor's boat on the trailer swaddled in an electric blue, plastic tarp. But he's a great guy, has a crazy dog, and in the big picture the boat is really inconsequential. It's more important to us to be friends. When we need each other's help or a piece of equipment it's always available. :)

I think we are leaning towards the red tip photinia shrubs and maybe two trumpet vines. We will definitely be considerate of our neighbors fence! Of course, on our side of the fence, it is our property. Oh My, it is never easy is it? To top it off, did I mention they put the gate on our side of the fence. Do we have to keep that space open from our planting or could we cover it? The gate is about two-thirds down our lot? Hmmm??