A Beautiful Garden Design to Set a Fence as a Border

Learn How to Hide a Fence by Creating 

A Year-Round Bed with Interesting Plant Shapes, Colors, and TexturesNo one wants to sit in their backyard and stare at a fence, no matter how pretty it is. I’ve been designing gardens for decades, and I’ve never once had anyone say, “I want a view of the fence.” The traditional answer is to hide the fence with a hedge of uniform green shrubs. However, as gardeners, we know there’s a better approach. When faced with the fence in my own backyard, I saw it as an opportunity to create a border using unique shapes, colors, and textures. The result is a bright, low-maintenance border that’s attractive in all seasons, whether viewed from inside the house or out on my patio.

Wandering Lines Create the Illusion of Movement

I started by giving my border enough depth to accommodate a few large trees and shrubs that won’t outgrow their space as they mature. My fence camouflage border is 100 feet long (the entire length of my property) and 6 to 8 feet deep in various sections. It’s 15 feet deep in the far corner. By creating a bed that can accommodate larger plants, I have the ability to layer the plantings, rather than having a row of tall plants crammed into a narrow space in an apparent attempt to screen the fence.

This deep bed gives the trees and shrubs the space they need to mature naturally, meaning I can avoid having to frequently prune trees from the lawn or walkway. (Trust me: You’ll be glad you made your garden beds deeper and sacrificed a little lawn in the future.)

We rarely see straight lines in nature, so instead of echoing the straight line created by the fence, I gave my border a serpentine edge to give the illusion of movement. This strategy naturally draws the eye down the length of the bed and away from the fence. The shape also gives the impression that the border has more length. When choosing my plants, I chose species that would fill in but stay within an imaginary vertical border to ensure that the border maintained its intended flowing shape both vertically and horizontally.

The Recipe for Creating an Impressive Border

When designing a garden, everyone has site-specific goals in mind. Whether your main goal is to enhance a view or hide a visual nuisance, the strategies for creating a high-performance border are the same. Keep these principles in mind, and you’ll be on your way to creating a beautiful and lasting display.

1. Give beds extra depth

Giving ample space to trees and shrubs allows for dynamic stacking of plantings rather than placing them in an unnatural, rigid order.

2. Choose a limited color palette

Stick to a simple color scheme that echoes the border to keep the scene unified and organized.

3. Avoid using straight lines

Curving the bed edge with a fence creates more space for planting and better visual flow.

4. Choose plants that have year-round interest

Choosing plants that have multi-season interest provides a great display with minimal effort.

5. Add contrasting textures

Choosing different plants with glossy, dull, broad, and narrow leaves adds an interesting interplay of dimension.