I started my garden last year and have had great success (much due to the suggestions from this website). I have a 50 year old chain link fence seperating myself from my neighbor's yard who have lived there for 50 years. I suggested putting up a wood fence between us at my cost but they do not want this as they grow vegetables in their entire back yard. For the most part the yard is neat but not my style and a little junky but I can appreciate the vegetable garden and the grape vines are nice. Anyway, I want to honor their request to leave the 50 year old rusty chain link fence as I do not want hostility. So...the are is part sun part shade and I would like to grow tall shrubs/little trees or anything that can give me some privacy. They style of the garden so far going in a toad lilli, echinatia, peoni kind of direction. The first sized shrub I have purchased is a Bridalwreath Spirea. Not sure if this is my style of not but will give some privacy.
Any suggestions on great, interesting, unusual privacy type plants?
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I detect a hint of "passive aggression" in the removal of your morning glory. I suspect the neighbors want that chain link fence to let the sun shine into their garden and they may be a little resistant to your efforts to maintain privacy. So, I suggest you take off your gardening gloves, and put on your kid gloves, and tell them with great pride and joy how you intend to honour their wish to keep the fence while you work on landscaping your own yard, by using it to support beautiful climbing vines that can be enjoyed from both sides. That will deprive them of the "excuse" of "cleaning up"....
Hollyhocks could turn that rusty fence into cottage charm. They are biennial, I beive, but with their self-seeding quality people tend to have them come back year to year. As far as evasiveness goes, I hear they are easy to pull if they begin spreading further than you want them to. It might take a year or two to get them established, as not all of the varieties flower the first season.
I had a pack of seeds for my favourite variety, the black one. (Alcea Nigra?) I didn't get to sowing outside when I was supposed to last year, so I put them in containers in a window not too long ago, and I now have some seedlings for a spot along a fence in my back yard. I'm hoping for great success in this spot that has a lot of sunshine. I think they are really pretty!
on the fence.....
I agree with the silver lace vine, it grows rapidly and is very pretty. Can you erect a privacy screen of lattice and grow the vine up that?
Thanks for all of your great advice! I will definately grow some of the suggested vines. Last year morning glory was growing all over the fence and they came on to my property while as I was at work and "cleaned it up for me". Gee thanks. I'll have to let them know that they there on purpose.
Thanks!
A very good climber is silverlace vine. It grows extremely quickly and will cover the chainlink in no time.
I attached the widest kind of wood lattice to the chain link fence at my house. It doesn't stop all the sun and is the same size as the link fence. it looks nicer and now i will train climbers on it as well.
I planted engleman's ivy along my chain link fence. Give us lots of privacy in the summer and turns a brilliant red in the fall. It grows very quickly and hardy. We are in zone 4.
You can plant some perennial ivy type plants to climb over the rusty chain link fence. Some climbers turn a beautiful shade of burgandy or gold in the fall so you have colour all year. By extendind some of the fence posts vertically the ivy-type would climb taller to give even more privacy. Just an idea.... :)