1. Go Classic With A Picket Fence
Given their low height, picket fences are the classic choice for front gardens. Not only do they add to the curb appeal of your front yard landscaping ideas, but they also offer protection as they enable you to see beyond your home's border. Furthermore, they won't block the sightlines of pedestrians and drivers – often a requirement of the law. Complete the look by pairing your picket fence with garden gate ideas.
2. Choose Hit And Miss Fence To Avoid Having A Best Side
One of the primary motivations for installing garden fence ideas is to improve your garden privacy. Traditional fences have a good side and a bad side and it is common courtesy that the 'good' finished side faces your neighbor's garden, with the 'bad side' facing your own. However, it's unlikely that you'll want the 'bad' side impacting on your carefully curated flower bed ideas – especially when you paid for the fence – and this can cause disputes between neighbors.
3. Consider Wildlife When Opting For Your Fences
Consider wildlife when choosing your garden boundaries. Hedges are the ultimate boundary for wildlife garden ideas and suit a cottage-style garden. Opt for plants like hawthorn and box and you’ll see them buzzing with wildlife come spring. However, hedges can be expensive to plant and will require maintenance.
4. Replace Your Fence With A Work Of Art
Fences don't have to be made of wood, in fact, there are lots of alternative materials that let you get a little more creative with your garden boundaries. One of our favorite garden fence ideas is Corten steel, which is available in a range of styles and colors. Designed to naturally weather, the finished look of a Corten steel fence will look unique to your garden and the climate in which you live – giving a textured and natural look that is sure to complement your garden decorating ideas.
5. Add A Fence Around Your Pool
If you have a pool, then pool fence ideas are a must. In some parts of the country, they are a legal requirement, but even if they are optional where you live they are a great way to ensure your home is safe. We love the idea of adding a glass fence to your pool patio ideas, not only does it make the space safer but it also helps to zone your garden without compromising the aesthetics of your space.
6. Use Fencing As A Backdrop For Built-In Seating
Horizontal fencing makes a sleek modern backdrop to this built-in outdoor seating area. Positioned in the corner of the garden, it has an enclosed feel due to the addition of a pergola.
7. Add Low Trellis Fencing For A Cottage Garden Look
If you are adding fencing but want to retain the view, then a low-level trellis ideas are one of the best garden fence ideas for a traditional scheme. Allowing you to define an area, while supporting and displaying beautiful plants, a trellis design is also the perfect complement to your cottage garden ideas.
'There are lots of different styles, colors and finishes available; just carefully note the size of the holes before you buy,' says James.
8. Integrate A Water Feature Into Your Fence
Add a unique design feature to the garden with a statement water feature, integrated into the fence. Water feature ideas are a fantastic way of introducing water to a yard that isn't large enough for a pond.
9. Build A Ranch-Style Post And Rail Fence
The classic post and rail fence is an easy, cost-effective solution to adding a boundary to your yard. Traditionally used for containing livestock, this style of fence has all the charm of a country ranch. But, crucially, it doesn't impede on views, making it perfect if your property borders an attractive area, such as a woodland.
10. Break Up Your Fence With A Living Panel
You may have seen living wall ideas in the past, but did you know the solution can also be applied to garden fences? 'Living green walls are a common sight in towns these days, with plants growing to cover expanses of concrete and stretching to the sky in the urban environment. They are also increasingly being used in the home garden to transform walls and fences,' says gardening expert Leigh Clapp.
11. Enclose An Outdoor Dining Area With A Low Fence
As well as defining the borders of your yard, a garden fence can also be used to demarcate a patio or give your outdoor dining ideas a boost. Designing your garden in this way makes seating areas feel more secluded and gives a visual break on the landscape.
12. Make A Plant Theater Display For Your Fence
Fences don't have to be plain, unimaginative expanses. Bring them to life with climbing plants or, as in this design, a plant theater.
13. Set Up Horizontal Louvered Fencing
Make a statement with horizontal louvered screening, instead of a traditional fence. It creates a designer look commonplace in show gardens, and the timbers are ideal for supporting plants. 'If a solid fence would block out too much sun or you just want to create a little shade and privacy for a garden dining space, contemporary louvres are ideal,' says James. 'They let in light and offer privacy while still blocking views, but unlike trellis they’re visually more substantial.' Horizontal screens often go to the ground, but they can also be used to add height to an existing wall.
14. Install Vertical Fencing
A sturdy, mid-budget option, individual vertical timbers are attached one at a time to cross-supports. It eliminates gaps, and is one of the best garden ideas for privacy. It also allows you to custom build to fill whatever space you have. Cut down on labor costs by buying pre-made panels. Attach them to timber posts in the same was as any other fence panel.
15. Consider Trellis Options
Panels with integrated trellis ideas might offer slightly less privacy initially, but the open, airy feel is undeniably elegant and perfect in small gardens, and if you can borrow a view from beyond your space will feel larger, too.
16. Think About Windier Days
Unless you have a sheltered garden, a solid fence will suffer more than those with open trelliswork. The wind can blow through the holes of trellis, rather than battering it – which will ultimately weaken the fence. If the wind has already wreaked havoc on your garden fence ideas, then discover how to fix a leaning fence with our expert guide.
17. Add A Coat Of Paint
Outdoor paint will not only make your garden fence ideas look good, but it will also give the timber added protection, too.
18. Go For An Entirely Natural Garden Fence
Create a rustic, cottage look with willow fencing. It has the feel of traditional wattle but the strength of a modern panel, and makes a beautiful backdrop for most plants. Willow hurdles, framed willow or hazel screens offer a more natural look and suit informal garden settings, but they may not be as strong (or last as long) as a pressure-treated timber panel.
19. Choose A Tried-And-Tested Shiplap Design
Shiplap is the most popular type of ready-made fence panel, offering good value and plenty of sizes. It is usually supported by concrete or timber posts, and needs to be treated with wood preserver regularly. If your current shiplap design is looking a little tired, give it a makeover by painting it in a distinctive color, with themed planting.
20. Create A Boundary With An Evergreen Hedge
Evergreens are perfect for creating a boundary for your property and make the best privacy hedges; the permanent leaf cover of evergreen hedges can do a great job of keeping humans and animals out (or in), if you’re not partial to a traditional fence or wall.
21. Reinvent The Picket Fence
Breathe new life into your picket fences by painting each post a different color. 'Usually painted white, garden fence ideas look great painted in a range of pastel shades to complement your front door color,' says Rachel
22. Invest In A Design-Conscious Scheme
A favorite in the design world right now, horizontal slatted fencing is having something of a moment. This garden, designed by Lucy Wilcox, uses boundaries as art to create a garden that beautifully blends modernity with family-friendly functionality.
‘I couldn’t just create a show garden, because it had to work as a practical family space, but I didn’t want it to look like a playground either,’ she says.
23. Match Fencing To Furniture
I love the echo of the garden fence in the bench in front of it in the backyard above,' says Lucy
'Just as you would indoors, create moments of repetition like this in a backyard for a harmonious balanced feel. You can do it with anything from fencing materials to planting.'