I’ve been asked by many readers to publish this 2010 column again. It’s crammed with ideas!
Sunnybank visitors who are constructing their own gardens sometimes ask how they might cheer up their drab, no-color chain link fences. Consider these fun ideas!
Find a refrigerator box. Cut it open to create a much larger area. Prop it behind the fence to capture extra paint. Cover the grass underneath with a tarp, then spray-paint the fence black or forest green. One lady sprayed hers a wine color to compliment the trim on her home. She made her gate a warm tan. In California, a woman spray-painted a meandering rainbow road along the entire length of her navy blue fence, and placed a huge yellow pot of colorful flowers at its end. So clever!
Sometimes it’s possible to pry/saw off the post caps to poke long lengths of black or white flexible PVC pipe (easily painted) deep into their hollow cores (for stability). Bend gently to form an arch. Skip the next post and put each pipe’s other end into alternating posts, creating a woven affect. Then, coax vine tendrils to weave through the fence and onto the arches. Clematis terniflora (sweet autumn clematis) can grow 40 feet. Millions of scented white flowers smother it in September. Or, consider Boston ivy’s stunning red autumn foliage. It blankets buildings! Both offer three seasons of total leaf cover. (Ivy and clematis leaves fall in fall, but snow will collect on their thicket of bare vines, making intriguing patterns.)
Or, plant a climbing rose. My sister painted her south-facing chain link fence black, and introduced a Seven Sisters climbing rose. She wove the canes through the fence as necessary, and now it’s buried in gorgeous pink blooms for weeks in midsummer. The deep green leaves remain until well into autumn. The fence has effectively vanished.
Vines and roses take time to grow and train. But if you’re patient, in three years you’ll have a living wall. (The first year they’ll sleep while they establish themselves underground: the second year they’ll creep: the third year they’ll leap!) Meanwhile, your face-lifted fence looks fresh and interesting.
One guy wove vinyl window shade slats through his fence’s links, then spray-painted everything. He effectively blocked the view of his neighbor’s yard, and recycled what normally would have been discarded. Bonus: the slats were easy to remove or replace.
Consider building wooden pillars around the fence posts. (I’ve done this at Sunnybank.) Then frame out the fence’s edges between the pillars. No digging is necessary, as your existing fence already has a cement foundation. And why keep the pillars the same height as the original posts? Go twelve inches higher. Add thick, loosely hung rope swags that travel from pillar to pillar so vines can scramble along them. Wow!
Fountains add the sound of falling water that invites you, and visitors, to tarry awhile. Hang a decent-sized one from the fence. For fun, hang another one further down its length. Foliage will conceal the electric cord(s). Bury the rest of each cord inside PVC pipe that would run just under the grass to an outlet.
Create a hanging garden by attaching flower boxes crammed with cascading plants. Sturdy and tough, the fence will accommodate their weight easily. Heck, call the whole thing— fountain and plants—“Babble-on.”
Hmmm. Spray-paint it glossy white—or draw a garden on weatherproof outdoor stucco panels and attach them to it—or have each family member design a panel—or espalier an apple tree to it—or install an old mirror over the links, then surround it with vines to add a reflective element, and a bit of mystery—or weave tomatoes and morning glories through it—or tie a tarp to the high poles you’ve inserted in the fence posts to make an interesting, shady spot for adults in a corner of the garden – or attach the tarp to the fence and create a tent for the kids so they can look out at their veggie or flower garden – the possibilities are nearly endless.
Remember: Nothing ventured…