You know the old adage – fences make good neighbors. Whether that's true or not, fences do make good sense in a lot of cases. However, you also want to show off your landscaping style because that adds curb appeal to your home. Blend your landscaping with fencing for an attractive complement to you house.
Stone and Xeriscaping
If you have a Mission or Southwest style home, it may make sense to utilize a solid material such as stone or adobe for your fencing. Indeed, Home and Garden TV describes a home with a cast concrete fence embedded with native stone. The fence blends right into the landscape.
Quite often such a house calls for xeriscaping. You can create an attractive desert-style garden with succulents, cactuses, and ornamental grasses. Start with a selection of architectural cactuses, such as saguaro or beehive. You could also choose agave plants or Mexican palm. Use these as your centerpiece plants. Surround them with smaller cactuses and succulents. Finally, plant ornamental grasses against the fence and to create borders. This adds texture to your xeriscape garden.
Chain Link and Climbers
A chain link fence is a durable, budget option for fencing. It can look very basic, though, on its own. Luckily, the chain links naturally lend themselves to becoming a lattice for climbing plants.
You have many options for combining chain link with climbers. One is to transform the chain link into a living fence. For this you'll need a selection of leafy climbers, such as ivy or golden hops. Plant these at the base of the fence, and start training them to cover the chain link completely. Another option is to complement the metal of the chain link fence with delicate flowers, such as morning glory or clematis. Finally, you could improve the security of your fence by planting thorny climbing roses, which provide a natural deterrent to intruders.
Picket and Cottage Garden
Picket fencing is common for traditional and historical style homes. You can keep the look classic with white pickets, or you can add a touch of creativity by painting the pickets. Either way, a lush cottage garden provides a natural complement.
For your cottage garden, you need a selection of tall flowers, mid-sized flowers, groundcover plants and other filler plants. Talk to your local landscaping services experts about which varieties are best in your locale. The goal of the cottage garden is to create a profusion of color and greenery. Plant your tall flowers at irregular intervals along the picket fence, and fill in the gaps with mid-sized flowers and filler plants. Extend these plants forward from the fence. Finally, fill in any gaps with your groundcover.
Blend beauty and functionality by combining fencing with landscaping.
