Partial fence for side yard - ideas please!
We purchased a 1880 Italianate home where the majority of the yard is on the left and right side of the house. We want to put a fence on the left side of the house for our dog. One idea is to buy iron or wood fence for the front facing portion and then use a chain length fence starting after the lilac/mulberry bush. We have some concerns that fencing only one side would look odd. We could fence in the right side too but it would more expensive and we are not sure we need it.
Does it look odd to fence one side? Would it look okay to change the type of fence after the lilac bush?
Thank you!
Lilac bush is on the left side of yard.
Comments (14)
PROYardvaark
5 years agoLindsay
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoHere's a sketch. The dotted line is a proposed fence but we are not in love with it. Mixing the fence types would probably make more sense if we ran the fence from the front of the yard (to the sidewalk) and then along the property line where the lilac bush is planted on the west side.
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Ideas for improving my bungalow's front/side yard? (pics!)
Comments (14)KarinL, you've given me tons to think about. Here are some thoughts in response to parts of it: Your questions about how I want to move through and be in the space are well taken. I'd add another consideration, though, which is how the house speaks to the street. I'd like it to say: "this bit is my yard, but please do come in! Because of the walk, the porch steps, and the deep front porch, the way in for visitors - and the way I'll walk in and where I'll put down groceries - are very well defined. Here are a couple of pics that show more of the front yard: Because of the way the holly tree (which I love) sits on the west side of the front yard, there's a real imbalance between very strong and rectilinear visuals on the west side and open and scraggly boundaries on the east, the more so with with fence coming down on the east side. I'm cool with the openness on the east and the more closed, divided feeling on the west, because I love my east-side neighbors and not so much the west-side one! That said, I do feel like there's a need for some visual interest and definition at the property line on the east side - something just a little sheltering to reach out from the side of the house towards the sidewalk and embrace visitors without overwhelming them. Which leads to your next point about... Planting along boundaries: The caveat against the beginner's mistake makes sense to me, because of course in interiors the comparable mistake is to line up everything absolutely straight against the walls. In this case, though, having lived in the house only a short time, I can clearly see the need for some definition along the property line but don't yet fully know how I'll want to move in the space. Since whatever goes along the side and back of the yard will be visible over whatever eventually goes in the middle, is there any harm in planting shrubs near the outside edges of the space and making decisions about the middle in a future season? On the hedgy stuff in front of the porch, I do have some useful info, and I think you're right that most of it has to go. There are several different things going on there. The low thing out in front that's trimmed like a hedge is a group of azaleas! Now, I like azaleas, but these flower in the worst possible shade of magenta for all the other color that's going on here. The largest thing is a red-tip photinia and most unfortunately it's falling victim to that leaf spot disease. Poking up between the azaleas and the photinia are a couple of very happy rhododendrons, which could stay and become part of a new grouping. I'd love to look out over something pretty when I sit on the front porch, but I don't need something that screens the porch as much as the current ailing photinia does....See MorePartially fencing front of yard - ideas please!
Comments (34)I have another thread going about the easement issue which I'll link, but the short story of it is that there used to be several streets which all converged right there, creating a bit of a traffic nightmare. In 1990, the city decided to take out a through street, cutting off part of the access to the Boulevard to change the traffic patterns. They put in some green space instead and connected the Trolley Trail that I had mentioned earlier. Well, that street removed was the one that this house exited onto which basically landlocked the house. So they allowed the driveway to cross the property, put in some nice shrubs to block the driveway from the little greenspace and sidewalk that they made. The contract with the city which I had reviewed by my lawyer BIL looks ok according to him, it is in place for at least the next 50 years (at which point I will either be dead or senile). I do have a property plot map, but not the specifics starting and ending spots on the property line (I probably could have gotten out a tape measure but didn't). But I still think getting a surveyor to measure it out would be helpful to clear up a lot of questions. Here is the plot map, if you have any specific questions I can tell you what everything is, the house is the one on the end of the street on Brookside (this does not show the new garage which has been added): Regarding the fence, no HOA, but I think the city does have some restrictions. So that will be worth looking into as well. It was suggested that we could ask for a variance if it isn't allowed. Here is a link that might be useful: Link to easement thread...See MoreIdeas for trees/shrubs for privacy along sides of yard...PICS included
Comments (6)if hapypaws meant thuja green giants .... be clear.. that you do not have room for those .... period ... [your welcome hapy] if you want to throw in some vertical aspects.. look into degroots spire .... comparatively thinner in the years to come .... https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Thuja+occidentalis+%27DeGroot%27s+Spire%27&t=ffcm&iax=images&ia=images my first thought.. along the garage.. was also ... drag those ugly bushes toward the fence.. and make the walkway along the building ... though im not sure as to ID .. and the cost/benefit of moving those things .... the spires might look better along the fence ... and give you a wider walkway ..... you probably have to get the lawnmower thru that space???? .. is it a rider??? as to general planting.. see link ... note the timing aspect .... planting is an early spring thing.. not the heat of summer thing .... so either get it done early.. or wait until fall ... for best chance at success .... or bifurcate your your plan ... https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub why are you fixated on holly??? .. nothing wrong with them.. you just mention them many times ... plz give us a more specific big city name .... if you plan on joining us more often.. its best to go to your members page and add you location.. as you note most of us have ... it matters ... you too hapy!!! is snow load damage really a zone 7 issue???? lastly ... do not plant so far down the driveway.. that you have problems with seeing down the road when backing out .... ken ps: whats the tree out from the porch toward the monster tree??? ... how far is it from the porch??? .. and while your are at it.. whats the totem pole tree and whats the deal with that?????...See MoreNeed your ideas for an unused side yard, please!
Comments (2)If you type side yard in the search bar here and on sites like Pinterest you’ll find good advice and ideas. Good luck....See More
User
5 years agoLindsay
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoLindsay
5 years ago
Saypoint zone 6 CT
5 years agoThe welded wire enclosed one entire side of the property and included the back door and the whole side yard. It excluded the driveway and parking areas. It was safe for dogs (lots of dogs, I fostered) and visiting grandkids. 4x4 posts were used at (3) gates and corners, metal stakes were used in shrub borders where they virtually disappeared. Some of the shrubs were existing, more were planted to hide the rest of the fence and add more privacy.
It’s a lot of shrubs/small trees to plant, but we wanted the privacy anyway. If you feel the chain link is the best option for you, you can still plant things on and in front of it to camouflage it, but I think it’s a bit harder to hide than a more open fence material. How about a rail fence with wire on it?
Mine was not elegant by any means, but by focusing on planting on the outside first, neighbors were spared looking at for long. Plantings on the inside followed. You could even plant first and fence later. Not my photo.
My favorite fence. Next house.
Lindsay thanked Saypoint zone 6 CT- PRO
Yardvaark
5 years ago Lindsay
5 years ago
cpartist
5 years agokrnuttle
5 years agoLorayah Lenore
2 years ago
Saypoint zone 6 CT