Covering ugly fence - minimal space

Loxley

Hi. I want to cover a rather ugly fence, but minimise the space taken up in a narrow (>4m wide) terraced house garden. The fence is about 1.5m with concrete posts. I want to clothe it completely in foliage to give the effect of a clipped hedge (so climbers probably won't work).

Has anyone else managed to pull off this trick, and how?

Cheers

Will

Fairygirl

I've used ivy on a shady, rear boundary fence, which has a very narrow border in front of it with mainly evergreen foliage plants, and lots of early bulbs - snowdrops, crocus etc

It still looks nice in winter - this was taken exactly a year ago

You could use cotoneasters which would have loads of berries for interest,  or Loniceras (shrubby honeysuckle) which can be kept tightly clipped. I have a couple of those in the middle of that fence. I just trim wayward branches every so often. The alpina clematises could be useful too. I have one on another fence in a very narrow raised bed. good coverage and foliage is there for a good amount of the year. Very easy as they don't need pruning - just tie in the new growth as they mature 

Loxley

That ivy looks very good. (Slightly concerned about it getting onto the neighbour's side and damaging the fence). Placing the trellis in front, and painting the lot black, works brilliantly though! Love that idea.

Loxley

Is that some kind of pergola above the bed, or am I just seeing the top of the fence?

Fairygirl

It's like a full length window box Will. I have a variety of things in it - it's still a work in progress as some things have done better than others, but the middle section had white sweet peas and creamy nasturtiums in it this year, and next year it'll have the  nasturtiums only as they did really well. White Arabis also did really well. The whole thing is mainly white, cream and soft yellows, with a green background. 

KT53

Ivy can get very heavy and damage the fence over time.  I'd be more inclined to look at something like cotoneaster or similar as it at least partly bears its own weight.

treehugger80

I have a Pyracantha hedge about 6 foot tall and 6 inches wide, I just keep it trimmed throughout the year and its bushed quite nicely, plus lots of berries in winter!

Loxley

Yes we used to get ivy coming under the upvc window frames of our flat. Fatshedera might work, you can train it but it doesn't cling, right? I also quite like things like Vitis and hops. 

Love clematis, was concerned it would go straight to the top and bush out though. 

Loxley

Thanks for all the comments. I had thought that climber's wouldn't cut it but Fairygirl's shown how painting the fence black really helps make it 'disappear' so it's really not necessary to cover it entirely. I did a quick photoshop job to show how this might pan out. With a bit of training I might get a more even coverage than I showed in this quick PS job -

 

Loxley

By the way the path down the middle is split between my side and neighbour's side, I am waiting before I negotiate with next door about what to do there. Putting in a fence will probably mean ripping up the concrete and reinstating their path as well as mine.

Loxley

I know. I'm not wanting to put anyone's nose out of joint, and to be honest it's nice to have the sense of space. When I start using the garden more my thoughts may change. I suppose the minimally disruptive option would be to core drill the fence posts footings and leave the path as is, but I'm in no rush. If I ever get a dog it will be a must though.