Creating a beautiful outdoor space for you and your family to enjoy takes a lot of hard work. Of course, choosing our planting scheme and carrying out the work is so enjoyable. But there are practical aspects of the garden that need to be in place but that can be an eyesore, ruining your hard work in other parts of the garden.

Fence panels are one such culprit. While they do provide excellent security and boost privacy, they are not the best-looking things in the world. For many of us, a lick of paint is the only attention that a fence panel will get but this still doesn’t do much to add to their aesthetic appeal.

But surely there are other ways? The good news is that by allowing yourself to get a little creative you can easily cover unsightly fence panels, breeze block walls, outbuilding walls and much more.

Hiding fence panels with garden plants

Plants are one of the best ways to disguise an ugly looking fence panel (or even a shed or polytunnel) in either the back or front gardens. After all, you’re in the garden so natural things are always going to be the way forward. But you must take the time to think about what type of plants you’ll use because not all of them are suitable.

It goes without saying that climbing plants are a great choice. These plants will grow up the fence giving a beautiful cottage garden style. You can choose to grow them directly on the fence or you might use a trellis and place this onto or in front of the offending panel.

Rambling roses are an excellent choice. They grow quickly and spread quickly, are very colourful and they even provide an extra layer of security.

If you have a trellis instead of fence panels Sometimes a trellis, you’ll have more scope to move it, should you decide you no longer want it in its current location. Over time, fence panels do need to be replaced and if you’ve got a mature climber growing up it, you might have to say goodbye.

Do keep in mind that if you choose not to use a trellis, you will need to choose suitable climbers for this that will be able to grow up the fence unaided. Things like ivy are ideal for this.

What are the best climbing plants to hide fence panels?

The great thing for the modern gardener is that they have so much choice when it comes to all plant types, including climbers. If you are looking for a quick way to cover up that nasty looking fence then we’d assume you’ll want a fast-growing plant.

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Plants like rambling roses and clematis are excellent as they will quickly grow with some species of clematis being incredibly fast growing. For most species, however, you can expect a couple of feet growth each year.

Honeysuckle is another great choice for covering your fence and will also grow quickly. These stunning plants will begin to flower after three years, again upgrading the look of your fence.

These plants, however, do take some time to establish so there may be something of a wait. But you might consider filling the gaps with annuals like sweet pea and morning glory.

Hedging

While climbing plants are very effective in covering your fence, they aren’t to everyone’s taste and that’s OK, you do have other options.

There are some plants that can be used to create a hedge that will grow tall enough to effectively cover your unsightly fence panels. The boxwood is one of the most common hedge plants but they are quite slow growing at around six inches per year.

On the other hand, if you choose something like Leylandii then you can expect as much as 90cm of growth each year which is great if you want quick coverage.

Using a hedge to cover your fence is a brilliant natural option and also adds depth to the border. Moreover, this will be a long-term addition to your garden so is ideal if you plan on staying in the property for a long time.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to plant a single hedge then you might choose to plant a border made up of a whole host of different plants. This is your chance to get creative with mixing trees, shrubs and flowering plants all in one place. Choose plants that grow taller and have a spreading habit for better coverage.

You might also wish to include some evergreen plants so that the fence remains concealed even when the winter months come around.

Other ways to cover fence panels

If you don’t want to endure the hard work of planting climbers or hedges then you might pot up some plants and hang them onto your fence. There are lots of different hanging planters to choose from and while they won’t offer full coverage, they are great as a temporary distraction from the fence panel.

As we mentioned earlier, some people like to paint their fence but the downside to this is that it doesn’t offer full cover; it just changes the look slightly.

However, if you have a bit of artistic flair, you could always get a little more creative and paint a mural. This works very well on an exterior wall, just make sure that you have permission from the property owner especially if you live in a rented home.

Hiding garden fence panels

Your garden fence is a pretty important part of your outdoor space but that doesn’t mean that it looks good. But you don’t have to put up with an eyesore in the garden when there are so many wonderful ways of concealing it.

Plants are one of the best options and there are so many types to choose from. Whether you opt for a dense hedge to add layers to your border or go for whimsical climbing plants to add some character, you’re sure to find something that’ll suit your style.