In small townhouse gardens like mine, I’ve found that fences not only make good neighbors – they help create “garden rooms,” the sense of enclosure that makes you want to spend time there and enjoy some privacy. Or at least the feeling of privacy.
The role of fences came home to me recently when one was installed along the border of my back garden. Above, the scene this spring.
What changed is a new dog running around the garden next door, and he needed a fence.
Voila the fence, and I love it. The simple boards reinforced with black wire mesh keep Seymour in, and it’s affordable, as fencing goes. The style and the stain color match the existing sheds and hardscape, and even the International Style architecture of our row.
There are plans for a ‘Flame Thrower’ redbud to be planted just on the other side of the fence. And between the chairs I recently planted a ‘Snowflake’ oakleaf hydrangea that will quickly be 6 feet tall, filling in this space completely. 
Imagine it in a couple of years when it looks like this one a few feet away in front of a privacy screen.
I have two ‘Tangerine Beauty’ Crossvines that I’ll train along the top of the fence. They’re evergreen, so they’ll be a major feature the other half of the year.
On the right of the Japanese maple is the beginning of what will be a big patch of Joe Pye Weed, soon to be 6 feet tall. Chain link fencing in the distance is now hidden from my view.
Speaking of…fence styles matter!
I’m so relieved that the style and stain color of the fence match the existing sheds and existing hardscape. I really lucked out because my co-op rules allow fences to be erected without any prior notification to nearest neighbors, much less coordination with them.
But our views are enormously impacted by fences! Imagine coming home to suddenly see fencing you HATE along your garden’s border – now a prominent feature in your view from every angle in the garden, porch, living room and bedroom window.
In my case the hated fencing is chain link, which to me looks fitting in junkyards, not residences. I understand it’s functional but even its defenders don’t claim it’s pretty. I found one curious discussion of strategies for dealing with a neighbor’s hated chain link fence, with ideas including painting it black (good) or white (terrible), and growing some good vines (clematis) and one horrible one (English ivy).
At The Spruce it’s noted that chain link is “not known for its privacy or aesthetically pleasing properties. Other than being an inexpensive, effective method of keeping pets and children safe, chain link is sometimes viewed as a blight on yards. In fact, some communities even ban chain link fences in incorporated, residential areas.” Condos and co-ops, too, almost universally, except mine.
And this source opines that “chain link fencing can make a backyard feel like a prison yard.” Exactly.
(End of gratuitous rant about chain link.)
Why all the fuss over screening?
Because my co-op severely limits the amount of built screens we can have, the 6-foot fencing that separates townhouse back yards just about everywhere. I ranted about it in post: “Historic ‘Garden City’ is Surprisingly Anti-Gardening.”
Where a flag once proudly waved
Where I planted the new hydrangea was previously reserved for the flying of a U.S. flag – every day. I mentioned it in a rant called”Flags in other People’s Gardens” in 2014: “Like it or not – and for holidays I kinda like it there – it’s a dominant feature in my own garden and from my porch.”
The flag was hung by my former neighbor, a veteran, and his lovely English wife. They were great neighbors and I kept my feelings about the ever-present flag – in all the wrong colors for my earth-toned back garden! – to myself.
They’re gone now and I miss them, just not the flag. I like seeing flags on special holidays, which they make me think about. A worthy purpose. When you see them every single day flags lose their impact entirely.
Photo by Amanda Rose Spaid.
Now my garden is being enhanced with a nice-looking fence, more large plants, and many more bird visits, thanks to the abundant feeders installed by the new neighbors. And occasionally they send me photos like this one of a Black Swallowtail on my Joe Pye Weed.
I’m loving my back yard more by the day.
Hit on one of my pet peaves. Read the poem.
“He only says, ‘Good fences make good neighbors.’
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
‘Why do they make good neighbors? Isn’t it
Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.
Before I built a wall I’d ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offense.”
The poem asks if the opposite might be more the truth and we should think about the real truth of old sayings we use without thought, just because our fathers said them.
Of course, the cows might be your neighbors offending dogs.
Excellent article!
“I kept my feelings about the ever-present flag – in all the wrong colors for my earth-toned back garden! – to myself.” I think perhaps you should have continued to do so. Several family members proudly served under that flag I find that to be rude and disrespectful. Our nation’s flag does not match the colors of your garden? Really?
So you display a large flag in your garden EVERY day of the year? I don’t see how that impacts my family members who’ve served one way or the other, but okay.
I too am disappointed – that you commented anonymously. Susan
That fence looks absolutely terrific. I’m happy for you.
If I had chain link, which I don’t, I would cover it with something…a vine most likely. Sometimes, however, homeowners don’t have the funds to replace an unattractive fence.
I have a wooden privacy fence, and I thank God for it. I hang signs and plants on it, and it acts as a backdrop for my larger pots and plants. My newest neighbor on one side is a friendly, talkative lady. Sometimes I feel like having a conversation and sometimes I don’t. If I don’t feel like talking, I hide behind the fence. The other neighbor…meh!…She built an illegal chicken coop right next to the fence hidden in her side yard. Her side yard is quite ugly, and this is where her 5 dogs “go”. She has a large patch of green algae growing on that side of her house that I see from an indoor window, but not through the fence. Also from what I see from inside my house, the large chicken coop is rarely cleaned. Fence to the rescue–From my backyard, I don’t see the ugly side yard, the dirty house siding and only the top of the chicken coop, although I do hear the chickens. When she really pisses me off, which is usually once or twice a year, I think of turning her coop in….
Laura, you are right that garden rooms and privacy are provided by fences. The poem was actually titled Mending the Wall and was more about a wall going through a rural property, not about a fence around people’s yards. Still, it is a thought provoking poem. Wish more people would actually read it with attention to meaning and ideas, perhaps reading it in the peacefulness of their private, fenced yard.
Quick reply just to add that this new fence is the same price as chain link at the fence company used. At some, it’s actually cheaper. I’m told the price of chain link went up during the pandemic.
A shame you don’t like the AMERICAN FLAG…. Everything does not have to be “ matchy matchy”….
I certainly don’t want to provoke a Garden Rant squabble, but just because Susan didn’t like the colors of the flag doesn’t necessarily mean that she doesn’t like what it stands for or the men/women who served under it to protect this country. However, Susan didn’t ask me to speak for her so if she chooses to discuss it (or not), then I’m sure she will or won’t.
One can prefer having a U.S. flag flying prominently in their garden only on or near patriotic holidays, not EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR, without DISLIKING said flag. Laura gets it.
I liked what you said so much that I quoted it in my blog, where I was wishing that a certain garden I care for would remove an array of small American flags which were jarringly wrong for a quiet green fern bed. They’d gone in for the Fourth of July. Five weeks later, they were still there. Finally, maybe because I put a word in someone’s ear, they were removed, and the garden looks much better.
Y’all got me thinking, and I’ve added this on the subject of flags:
” I like seeing flags on special holidays, which they make me think about. A worthy purpose. When you see them very single day flags lose their impact entirely.”
When I read the title of the post I assumed it meant flags like the garden banners at Hobby Lobby and the dollar stores – cutesy things with birds or Happy Valentines Day on them. I was dismayed to see the complaint was about an American flag being displayed year round. While technically it should follow the correct flag protocols of being lit up at night and such (which I’m sure would have provoked a far more vehement rant) it is hardly in the same league as a seasonal or holiday decoration. It means so much more than that. It is discouraging to hear someone say that seeing it daily makes our flag lose its significance.
Susan,
I’m a gardener and with you on the flag subject. I live in a towhouse community and do not appreciate a flag being flown at a
private resident continuously in any location. It becomes special when flown on our holidays or other noteworthy occations.
My husband was a disabled vet who died after the last of many surgeries five years ago. We always had a flag flying out front and I still do. It has not lost its meaning for me and my family. The neighbors comment on it in a positive way. I never thought about or cared if it matched the flowers or not.
Regarding chain link fences, we purchased our now 110 year old house which was enclosed with a modern chain link fence. I agree that they’re not at all instinctively charming like wood fences or stone walls, but they are undeniably functional, especially for families with kids and dogs, and vines find them particularly functional. My chain link fence has all but disappeared under rampant seedless Concord grapes and Virginia Creeper, but I’m posting to make two other points. One is that our dislike of the look very likely has more to do with its associations with public, industrial and penal institutions, and less with something intrinsic in the fence itself (it’s actually a pretty clever way to get a lot of very durable miles out of a minimum of material). The other, more surprisingly, is that mine is arguably the best successor for the original fence surrounding this house in 1912, which could not be described in any other way than as a chain link fence. Who knew?
I just want to know if Seymour is your dog or your neighbor’s? I love dogs as much as I love gardening. And I SO agree with you about the flag and fences.
Seymour is my neighbors’ dog. He’s still getting used to seeing me in my mind garden.
Re chain link fences – Ken Druse’s advice that Cabot stain “Spanish Moss” makes them disappear, or at least blend in to the landscape — really does work. It’s great on any fence though. I think I first heard about this in our Brooklyn community garden network, and then maybe he wrote about it in the NYTimes?? But here’s another mention: https://awaytogarden.com/distinctive-shaped-trees-perfect-outdoor-paint-colors-storing-garlic-and-more-qa-with-ken-druse/
Oh, I would love to plant a vine on my neighbor’s chain link fence. But he won’t even allow a branch of a shrub to grow over or through the fence. His lawn guy loves hedge trimmers.
Ann, how does one go about painting, or staining, a chain-link fence? Is it done with a paint brush or some kind paint sprayer? That may sound like a silly question, but I’m wondering what is the most efficient way to do the job and do you need to somehow prime the chain-link first? What a good idea! I think I may need to try this.
Interesting! We Brits are not that keen on flags, but a house in a nearby village has a chimney out of which a variety of entertaining flags regularly appear, and that is fun.
And I can hardly imagine any British garden without it’s privacy being created by fence, wall, hedge or shrubs. Fortunately we don’t generally have all your regulations unless you choose to live in a conservation area: https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/hpg/has/conservation-areas/, so reading about yours induces a kind of horrified fascination. Well done that dog! Xx
Flags represent things: our loyalties, politics, feelings about something, etc. I work across the street from a private property that has 6 prominent flagpoles up right next to the street (behind a 6-foot tall solid wooden fence). Prominently displayed year round are 2 American flags, 1 “*rump Won” flag, and the others are “F*ck Biden/Harris” flags. They do not match anyone’s landscaping. It was very shocking and offensive to me at first, seeing those every day, but now they’ve just become part of the landscape, like a weedy yard perhaps. The big takeaway for me has been to wonder how a person can live with so much hate and anger inside for so long.
As for fences, I like Robert Frost’s assertion (in his poem “Mending Wall”) that fences aren’t so much about keeping people apart as they are opportunities to share a common space, the wall, and come together there.
I am loving your garden, Susan and the pots you wrote about previously look terrific. We inherited an old chain-link fenced enclosed dog yard when we moved here two years ago and so I turned that messy, weedy shaded part of the yard into the enclosed garden I’ve always wanted. Between the shrubs and roaming native perennials I planted in front of the fencing all the way around, I can now hardly see it. But I love going through the gate and closing it behind me for a sense of solitude and retreat. Which is one reason I am agreeing about the flag. Personally, the American flag reminds me of the heartache and violence of all the wars we participated in and, for me, is the antithesis of the atmosphere of calm I want to create in my garden spaces. Thanks for sharing your space with us. May you and Seymour develop a friendly over-the-fence kind of relationship.
Also, what is the purpose of the poles with CD’s on them? Are you keeping birds away from something edible?
Maybe be careful about hydrangeas: All hydrangeas are considered toxic. Ingestion of any part of the plant may cause diarrhea, vomiting and/or depression. Keep plants away from dogs, cats, horses, and children. I have dogs that when puppies they were constantly pulling the leaves and stems off the shrubs and threw up, had to remove them from play area and now that they are adults leave them alone, but once in a while it is hard for them to resist.
Did not know that! Love hydrangeas, have two dogs. I’ll start keeping an eye out! Thanks.
I’m a chain link defender. No, they’re not beautiful, but I don’t see a lot of difference between chain link and the wire attached to the fencing your neighbor put up. I much prefer chain link to the ubiquitous worn-out-after-a-few-years-falling-down-graffiti-painted-decrepit wooden privacy fences one sees everywhere in my town. At least chain link allows air flow, which is much needed in our hot humid summers. Yes, wooden fences are pretty at first, but they don’t last long at all. Chain link lasts forever, and yes, can be hidden by vines and shrubs.
As for the flag, I have to admit I was taken aback by your comment that the neighbor’s flag didn’t match your landscape. Seriously? That’s a problem? Otherwise, I do wish that people would follow proper flag protocol when flying the flag. If I want to complain about anyone constantly flying the flag, it would be business establishments such as car dealerships and fast food restaurants. Or being torn to bits on the vehicle’s antennae or sticking out of the bed of a truck. To me that’s total disrespect.
I’m seriously considering installing a 6′ tall stockade fence through a beautiful stretch our woodland just beyond our rural garden. It feels like a crime, but after years of enjoying lovely “borrowed scenery, the adjacent parcel was bought by someone who immediately installed, practically at the boundary line, a travel camper, a screened gazebo, a porta potty, a metal shed and several other unidentifiable structures, all visible from various points within our garden. I’m hoping that painting it black will make it less obtrusive. Even if the deer allowed me to plant a hedge, I’m afraid I’ll be in a nursing home by the time it’s done its job. Alternatives?
Poor John! Those structures would do me in as well. Black fences great wonderful backdrops to greenery but I would also look at painting it Disney’s “disappearing green.” It’s the color they use to paint all of their utilitarian equipment to make them unobtrusive. A Google search will give you some suggestions.