Fences are frequently built to provide privacy from neighbors or protection from wildlife intruders. Many of the garden fence ideas shown here are either too low or too permeable to deter peepers or grazers. They can, however, be used to mark the edges of flowerbeds or borders and provide a connecting element between them.
Some can also assist in keeping mulch in place and your plants out of the path of the lawnmower. Garden fences, above all, can improve the appearance and flow of a landscape. Make sure the style and materials of your fence complement your home and garden, or they will appear unfitting rather than unifying.
- Metal
Elegant decorative metal fencing, reminiscent of Mediterranean balconies or wrought-iron fences once used to secure the perimeter of estates, complements stucco houses of Moorish or Spanish design particularly well. Plants to accompany them might include the traditional balcony pelargoniums and dwarf citrus trees, as well as cacti and succulents, climbing roses, and jasmines because they are often popular in warm, dry climates.
- Wood Edging
Half-log edging has a rustic feel to it, reminiscent of rail fences and corrals. As a result, it complements wildflowers and bucolic blooms like black-eyed Susans, daisies, coneflowers, zinnias, and sunflowers. Add an eye-catching, low-profile fence around the gardens planted by summer cottages, cabins, or farmhouses. If you like the look of wood, you can save money by building garden beds and barriers out of old pallets.
- White Vinyl
If you want the American dream of a white picket fence but don't want to deal with the upkeep of a wooden one, you might want to consider a vinyl garden fence instead. Pickets complement Cape Cod and other traditional-style homes. Consider planting delphiniums, foxgloves, and hollyhocks in front of them, flanked by low growers like sweet alyssum and lobelia, and topped off with a rose clambering over the crosspiece.
- Resin Edging
If you like the classic look of wrought iron but don't want to deal with rust, or if your lot or garden bed is so small that a larger fence would look ridiculous, you might want to try a low-border edging like this one made of black resin instead. However, you should always read reviews because some plastics can be flimsy and may not last as long as iron.
- Living
Living fences with neat shearing, such as boxwood hedges, are very popular in the formal gardens associated with mansions or British manors. Simplicity is key in formal gardens, and masses of the same type of plant, rather than a mix of many, can provide a simple but formal feel. Because tall hedges tend to hide all but the most stately flowers, you may want to keep yours short or keep your beds in front of rather than behind those hedges. Alternatively, use this hedge as a living fence to divide a front yard or to border a sidewalk or driveway.
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