My comment somehow is messed up. Yes tatts that’s what I was thinking. I need ideas though. I could stain it too. It’s the ugliest piece of the lot. And now missing tips from the damage. We’re in Virginia.

Well, it will eventually turn grey naturally, but the right stain will make it blend in better and keep it looking presentable longer.

If the fence is on your neighbors property you can not stain or paint it. I would cover it with shrubs.

Is the fence on the property line? Are you on good terms with your neighbor?

What does the other side of the fence look like? What, if anything is planted by it?

Would definitely cut the limbs hanging on your side of the fence.

Would your neighbor object if you added wood stain to your side of the fence or painted it a deep dark green. It appears to need a finish, something that could help protect the boards from moisture damage.

You could create a planting area in front of the fence parallel to it -- but disturbing the fence posts with digging could create a problem so you'd need to be careful about that.

Putting plants -- moisture -- against a fence could decrease its lifespan so you'd need to reach a happy medium as far as taking up your own yard vs. putting plants close enough to risk fence damage and any potential for cost and/or conflict that might cause.

Ideally, after you've stained or painted the fence -- or just added CWF to make the color more uniform and less "junky: as well as protect the wood -- planting a row of shrubs that keep their leaves year round would be a great solution. Perhaps Camilia or Acuba or Holly or Abelia..

As an alternative, you could put your own row of 8' square treated posts (anywhere from four to eight feet apart) parallel to the fence and add lattice to some posts and brackets for hanging baskets on the others. A pot in front of the lattice could contain a climbing plant -- rose or ivy -- and the brackets on the other posts could hold hanging baskets -- pots with quickly growing plants that hang down and create a screen such as heart leaf shaped heart shaped philodendron or wandering jew.

Additional thought: The fence itself and the posts / framing on this fence look "iffy". Perhaps you could add your own 4"x4"x8' treated posts on your side of the fence, one in the middle between each of their posts and add a bracket to each of them . Then, as each sections of their fence collapses, you could add fence sections of your own to your post, painting or staining or adding CWF to the entire board before you nail it to your post.

Before you invest in stain, consider CWF.

You could just build a nice looking fence on your side of the property line and not worry about what his looks like. If it's only that portion that's visible, you wouldn't even have to run it the whole distance of the line, just what you can see. More like a screen than a fence.

If the neighbor doesn't intend to finish cleaning up the tree, then I would ask if he minds if I do it at no expense to him. It would be worth it to me not to have to look at it. Also, it would not be a hard job. The same holds true for the fence picket. I would ask if I could repair if he wasn't going to. He might not even know you care. If so, he might do once the subject is brought up. If not, then I'd repair. I would not plant a bunch of bushes in front of the fence unless it's the plan that I intended to do anyway for my own reasons.

To be sure you should confirm it is on the property line...in some places if it is not and the fence remains for a period of time it becomes their property...as is I would stain the offensive area....and avoid confrontations...what they did and how they did it is an indicator that they may have some un-addressed concerns as well...possibly concerns about your kids playing on their property?..in that instance they could be responsible for mishaps...so keep an open mind if you approach them...

You can not just repair or stain a neighbors fence just because you think it is ugly. If it is on their property and sound you can't do anything. It would be like staining or repairing the side of your neighbors house that faces you because you think it is ugly. If it is falling down and is a safety hazzard or they violated the townships setback for a fence, even then you can't touch it. Your neighbor could charge you with defacing personal property. You would have to report the violation to the township and have them handle it.

I have a feeling the neighbor got tired of people using their property as their own and put up the fence.

This a good neighbor fence...the good side is facing you - no railing. There are only four pickets broken...ask him if you can replace them. Wow, kids were using and building on a neighbors property, really? Respect others property and be a good neighbor.

I guess I'd want to be sure that the fence is on the neighbour's and not your, property. If it's on his side of the property line, then it's his fence and you've got no say, except maybe to apologize for building forts on his land. Just be sure he's not encroaching. But if he's not, then make peace, offer to fix the fence, offer to stain it (at your expense) and if that doesn't work, plant some sort of screening plants (but not so close that they'll damage his fence).

Are the broken branches on your side if so get chain saw and cut them off I don’t really see the hoorible part so plant some shrubs to get tall er than the fence and move on I agree he built a good neighbor fence As for the soil that will takes some work to provide a good growing spot.

That looks horrible. Since your HOA governs rules on your side of the fence, You could also ask your HOA to approach your neighbor for a solution. I would consider putting a different fence up.

In this area a fence may not be placed on the property line. There is a small setback ( I forget what it is) so that the fence owner has access on the opposite side in order to maintain the fence and any weeds, etc. You cannot legally do anything to your neighbor's fence. If they are not maintaining it you can ask them to do so. If they do not you should be able to contact the proper agency that handles code violations ( assuming you have codes?).

The HOA has no jurisdiction on what the next door neighbor does to his property. All you are going to accomplish is pissing the neighbor off. If I had a fence on my property that an neighboring HOA kept hassling me about I would paint the fence every bright awefull color I could find and they couldn't do a thing about it.

I’m only looking for options. While I can appreciate advice on how to be neighborly, I don’t need it. They have been responsive and so have we. When we learned the treehouse was a few inches on the property line, my husband had it down 2 days later even though they gave us 4 months notice. No problem. That’s not the point. Looking for options to make yard more attractive. Nobody wants revenge. Thanks for those who gave them.

Function, I only suggested the HOA as I am on the board of a HOA. We had an issue with fence replacement/ tree removal and approached the neighboring property owner in an very professional, friendly manner and all was amicable. I was not talking talking about harassment and pissing people off. Cool of your horses.

Darla, I am glad you have a good relationship with your neighbor and you can talk with people.

As I see it you will have to put up a living fence or a real fence. That is if the HOA permits it. In my township the HOAs do not permit fences and any planting has to be approved. Of course your HOA might be less strict.

Looking again and reading your description of your relationship with them, I'd simply ask them if it would be ok if you stained your side of the fence and maybe replace the broken pickets. With the weathering already taken place, I don't think a transparent stain will cover the sins. I think someone else suggested this, but a nice green would make it fade into the background and be a soft background to whatever you do on your side, planting wise, if anything. Just improving the looks of the fence might be enough. Maybe show them some pics of something you'd consider:

Motupeg, sorry but I have heard and read too many horror stories about HOAs trying to walk over non HOA neighbors .

Those greens are great...the darker ones may blend in with the background best as it seems pretty shady there...

I kind of like stains best (no peeling) and would also point out a slightly variegated color from the stain...might blend in better....you are obviously not trying to draw the eye to “the cute fence”...but want it to sort of disappear

Pretty hard to make further suggestions due to not knowing how far all this is from the house...and how much fence there is that will need painting...but I would wait before doing any plantings as this will take a long time to make any difference.....and the soil problems make that a pretty big job of it....and it looks like it has all been in a natural state for a long time...when the,painting is done it will be more clear if it is still offensive...at that time a post another pic if you still need ideas

Hi Function, is am sure that is true. Even toward their own members if someone on the board is an unhappy person. I live in a small community in CA. Everyone has fences due to property shortage.

I would ask them to fix the broken pickets and saw off the wooden supports which are taller than the fence. A tinted sealer, such as CWF, may help, but at your expense. Additional plantings, which clearly would not camouflage the fence, might make the area more attractive. On a positive note, the fence may keep the dog ( and your children ) away from ticks, snakes, poison ivy and other woodland hazards.

Not sure why folks are being unpleasant. She just wants suggestions on improving the appearance of the fence.

Check with your neighbor about whether they are OK if you stain your side and then choose a color that is mid toned so it will blend in. Plant a hedge, creating a bed that is deep enough for whatever you choose so that when the plantings are full grown, they won’t be rubbing against the fence.

Do you want the solution to be DIY? If so, water the area a bit to soften the soil, remove the grass in the bed area, buy a truckload of compost, and rent a rototiller to mix the compost into the whole bed. Add an edging at the back to keep the neighbor’s grass from encroaching, and then plant with shrubs that will camouflage the fence. If you stagger a couple of layers and use a combo of flowering shrubs and evergreens, it will always be interesting. I typically plant some perennial groundcovers, and often also add annuals the first year or two while the shrubs start to size up. Below is a link to a shrub forum discussion that half way down I have photos of a line of shrubs I put in to separate a work area from the main drive. I explained my goals and listed plants used.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/3113384/shrubs-for-privacy-along-a-fence

If you want specific plant suggestions, we need to know where you are, both USDA growing zone and nearest large city.

If you don’t want it to be diy, hire a landscaper to design and plant for you.

The older portion of the fence that you've already been looking at doesn't look too much different than the minor repaired portion. I guess asking the owner if you can stain and repair is your only option other than planting something along your side of the fence.

I think the fence looks fine, even with the few broken slats. The big issue is the huge tree that looks like it is one its last legs.

If you're on good terms, I don't think it could hurt to ask if you could replace the broken pickets and stain the fence facing your yard. When we put our fence up, I had no problem with my neighbor asking if she could add flowers on the side that faced her yard. Nor would I have objected if she had wanted to change the stain color on her side.

colorful way to hide the fence:

The tree is the problem, and it’s looming over your kids’ swingset. I would focus on this in your interactions with your neighbor, since it’s a safety issue.

You may lose your goodwill capital with the neighbor if you want to do a custom makeover of the fence AND get him/her to get rid of that dangerous tree.

The fence issue is easily solved, Take the photo to a nursery or get a free consultation. Ask them to recommend fast-growing bushes and a new tree. You’ve gotta replace the greenery that will be lost when the current tree is cut down, anyway.