Vines to Cover a Multitude of Sins (Part 2)

This post’s title should really be “IDEAS to cover a multitude of sins….” in the landscape, anyway.  Vines can be great cover-ups for an old fence, but one of the SINS of an old fence is that it is OLD!

MYTH: vines are magic (only if you have seeds for Jack's beanstalk!)

Old does not always infer decrepid and unstable (and remember: we ARE talking FENCES here), but if replacing your fence is on the to-do list at your house already, the additional weight of a thriving, healthy vine might be the last straw.

old fence builders vs old fences: train watermelon vines for a great summertime LIVING wall! (not sure the old fence builders are trainable....)

If your fence is still serving its purpose –  to keep things either IN or OUT –  here are some creative solutions to hide or enhance it and even ideas about what to put in its place when your boundary line is out of bounds.

evergreen crossvine on a cedar trellis

new heights for veggies

attached trellis & 'Cecile Brunner' climbing rose (from (Linda Lehmusvirta - at Central Texas Gardener)

a "pallet garden" can be stand-alone or attached to the fence (courtesy http://www.ShawnaCoronado.com)

STAND-ALONE OR ATTACHED TRELLIS? A rickety fence may just need a face-lift, not a tear-down.

A trellis built in front of the fence adds no additional weight so might save your view and your fence.  But if yours is beyond repair, you might want to replace it completey.  How about a GOOD NEIGHBOR FENCE that can “produce” friends, too?

HIT: employee garden enjoyed from both sides in the parking lot at Twisted Limb Paper