What Type of Garden Fencing Suits Your Needs?
Nothing really heightens the charm and completes the design of a backyard garden or a front yard border like a fence. That may seem strange, but think about it–what is one of the most essential elements to the Great American Dream? A white picket fence.
But let’s be honest here–fencing is not for aesthetic purposes only. Fencing in practical use is meant to create boundaries. In a garden setting, boundaries can be essential.
In the past, many people who enjoy cultivating a garden have planted hedges to break up the lay of the landscape and foster a sense of privacy and intimacy, but few have the luxury of doing so now because of limited space.
Furthermore, hedges sometimes require strenuous upkeep and tend to become an eyesore if you do not have the resources to sustain them. Plus, there is the unfortunate possibility that they will sap the soil of nutrients and water necessary to keep your other plants healthy.
So choosing a fence for a garden’s border has become the popular alternative to dense shrubbery, as it is low-maintenance and cost-effect, but choosing what kind of fencing is dependent upon the type of tone you want to set for the area.
First, you have the Solid Board. This type is especially beneficial to those of you who may place privacy and security as your topic priorities. The benefits of this design are that it is adaptable to various sorts of terrain, so if you want to fence off the whole of your backyard, but it is not on level ground, you don’t have to rule it out; you can also add lattice at the top so that no one who enters feels too imprisoned.
Next, there is a variation on the Solid Board is the Privacy Lattice fence. Just like it sounds, it is meant to provide privacy by incorporating a tight lattice design, but it still gives a feeling of openness. Another nice feature of this structure is that is can be customized to be affixed on top of a solid wall. This can be done if you have a boundary wall that just isn’t high enough or it is just too plain–so it can be for embellishment or extra security… or both!
Finally, there is the classic Trellis style fence. A Trellis is meant to be very open, providing a much clearer view of your garden, unless you are using it to aid the upward growth of climbing plants (then the view becomes more obscured). As this is considered a “classic,” it very much sets a country feel immediately. If your main objective is to keep animals out rather than peeping eyes, this might be the right choice for your garden.
If you are interested in finding out more about these and other types of garden fencing, be sure to check out Brattle Works, Inc. (http://www.brattleworks.com/) for the best in hand-crafted garden fencing and other accessories for over twenty years. Art Gib is a freelance writer.
