Blurring the boundaries - how to?

Jessum

Hello all,

I have always been amazed by gardens that seem to go on forever because the boundaries are covered in climbers etc.  I was impressed by the pictures of Frank Bowdler's garden (page 87 in the Ma issue of GW) and would love to achieve that effect.
The planting element of this is no problem to me, what I need is practical advice regarding my fences.
I have fence panels with bits of trellis on top and my fence posts are concrete.  That means that I can't screw in vine eyes for training wires.  The fence has been pressure treated and I understand that it is difficult to put nails into it (?)
Also how do you get such "fullness" of planting when the fence panel is no more than 10cm deep?  Once lush thick growth is achieved, how do you maintain the fence or stop it collapsing due to the weight?
My fence is on the left side of the garden and as you can see from the pictures, I managed to get some that were higher than others and now I have a really uneven look that I want to disguise!
The fence by the patio is bare and I am after something that can be grown in a pot that will deal with cold wind.  My side passage is cold and windy (ooh err Missus!) so I need something robust.
Any suggestions regarding the technicalities of fencing, wiring would be most helpful.
Thanks so much.

Loxley

I have a fence with concrete posts - like you I wanted to fix wires for climbers. You can't fix to the panels themselves. But there are products you can buy to fix wires to the existing posts - https://www.rivelinglenproducts.com/concrete-post-fixings---wire-anchors-33-c.asp

Personally I decided to just concrete in new wooden fence posts alongside the concrete ones, as it was more economical.

Fairygirl

You can certainly screw vine eyes into concrete, but you'll need a suitable drill and drill bits.
You can use clematis on that uneven fence - if you choose wisely, there are many which need little, to no pruning, and even if you need to access the fence at a later date, you can cut them back to the bottom. it just means they'll take a year or two to be back to their best. Alternatively - use some taller shrubs to hide the fence.
Painting it a dark colour also helps to make it 'recede'. 
If you can move that bench along a little - towards the main garden, you could certainly plant a sturdy shrub in a container, but it would need to be a large container. Something like an Eleagnus would be ok there.
Alternatively, and it would depend on the amount of room you have, you could have a trellis screen at right angles to the main fence which would give some shelter, and a shrub as well.
It would probably be easier to relocate the bench though 

Also  - how much do you use the side area? It doesn't look as if you have much room between the bench and the house. That's always a problem, and it's why I ask how you use that area. It's possible to stagger some planting along there, which can help filter the wind.

Jessum

Thanks WILLDB and Fairygirl,
I like the idea of those concrete grip thingies.  That is really something to consider.  The bench can be moved to the other side of my patio leaving a space of one and a half fence panels.  I can see about getting a substantial container to grow an eleagnus and once that is established I can think about other things to plant in the shelter it creates.  The windy side passage has always been a nuisance and I have often wondered what to put there to diffuse the wind a bit.