Chain link fences provide security and keep pets contained, but they’re notoriously unattractive. If you’re stuck with an ugly chain link fence in your yard, all is not lost. With some strategic landscaping, you can easily disguise it and boost your home’s curb appeal.
In this article, we’ll share lots of creative ways to hide a chain link fence using plants, trees, vines and other landscaping techniques. You can transform an eyesore into a beautiful, private oasis and forget the fence is even there.
Use Climbing Vines for Quick Coverage
For fast, effective camouflage, climbing vines are ideal. As they grow, vines will weave through the fence’s links to obscure it. Choose vigorous varieties that won’t damage the fence with excess weight. Evergreens like star jasmine keep their coverage year-round. Some top options include:
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Trumpet vine – Fast-growing with orange trumpet-shaped blooms
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Clematis – Showy flowers in a variety of colors Avoid overly aggressive varieties
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Honeysuckle – Fragrant white or yellow flowers and dense foliage.
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Morning glory – Cheery blue or purple blooms on this annual vine.
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Grape ivy – Year-round evergreen coverage with white flowers.
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Climbing roses – Add both foliage and elegant blooms.
Install Climbing Plants Along the Fence
In addition to vines, you can train climbing plants up chain link fences. Some choices like forsythia quickly grow 8-10 feet to obscure the fence. Other options include:
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Hydrangea – White summer blooms and brilliant fall foliage.
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Hops – Vigorous climber with distinct lobed leaves.
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Trumpet creeper – Orange trumpet flowers and dense growth.
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Clematis – Drapes gracefully and flowers profusely.
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Carolina jessamine – An evergreenclimber with bright yellow blooms.
Use Tall Shrubs and Trees for a Living Screen
Plant a row of tall, dense shrubs or trees in front of the fence to entirely block it from view. This creates a lush, attractive privacy screen. Some top picks include:
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Arborvitae – Grows quickly to 40 feet tall with soft, feathery leaves.
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Leyland cypress – Forms a narrow screen up to 60 feet tall.
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Bamboo – Fast-growing and spreads to form a thick hedge. Select clumping instead of running varieties.
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Elephant ears – Tropical-looking plants with huge leaves, up to 5 feet tall.
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Rows of fast-growing willow or poplar trees.
Hang a Screening Fence Cover
Fence covers mount directly on the chain link fence to disguise it. Simple to install, affordable options include:
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Bamboo or reed fencing – Rolls out and secures with zip ties. Natural look.
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Privacy slats – Slide horizontally between fence links.
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Plastic lattice – Zip ties attach it to the fence.
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Fabric or vinyl – Stretch over the fence and secure top and bottom.
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Plantable fence covers – Have pockets to insert plants.
Paint or Stain the Fence
One of the easiest ways to improve the look of a chain link fence is giving it a fresh coat of paint or stain. Consider:
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Black or dark green – Makes the fence recede into the landscape.
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Earth tones – Choose tan, brown, slate, etc.
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Neutral colors like gray, beige or taupe.
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Bright colors for a fun pop of color.
Paint also protects the fence from rust and damage. Match house trim for a cohesive look.
Train Plants to Grow Through the Links
Vigorous vines and groundcovers can be planted near the fence and encouraged to grow through it. Some options include:
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Clematis
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Climbing roses
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Trumpet vines
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Black-eyed Susan vine
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Morning glory
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Hedera (English ivy)
Add Hardscaping Near the Fence
Completely disguise a chain link fence by constructing solid barriers around or in front of it:
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Masonry or stone walls
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Wooden privacy fences – Match house siding.
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Lattice panels – Painted to coordinate with your color scheme.
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Arbors, trellises or screens – Support vines or annuals.
With a bit of creativity, you can transform an ugly chain link fence into a gorgeous focal point dripping with flowering vines. Or make it disappear from view entirely behind a lush hedge or privacy screen. Use these landscaping strategies to hide an unsightly fence and boost your curb appeal.
Chain Link Fence Covering Considerations
When choosing a fence covering for this type of fence, consider the following:
- Durability: Any covering you choose may not last as long as a chain link fence. Choose how often you want to cover your chain link fence again.
- Installation ease: How much work do you want to put into setting up the solution? Some are simple, while others require more work.
- Maintenance: Some solutions, like plants, require maintenance.
- Cost: Except for a few full-coverage options, most solutions are not very expensive. If you want something cheap, it won’t last as long, so you’ll have to buy a new covering more often.
- Chain Link Fence Slats 1. of 7 The Spruce/Jacob Fox Long, thin pieces can be inserted vertically to make a chain link fence more private. One slat at a time slides in easily from the top and stays in place without any attachments. Slats are made of polyester or aluminum with a high density. They can last for decades or be quickly replaced if they get damaged. This choice is one of the most neutral, so it will look good in any yard. For privacy, the slats block out 75 to 80% of the view. Ten-foot-long chain link slats that are six feet high cost between $90 and $110. Pros Inexpensive Very durable Cons Incomplete privacy Slow installation .
- Full Bamboo Screens 02 of 07 The Spruce/Jacob Fox Rolled bamboo fencing can be a natural and attractive way to hide a chain link fence. The bamboo fencing is made up of poles that are attached together and range in thickness from 3/4 inch to 2 inch. Full bamboo pole screens can be put up right on top of a chain link fence by attaching foot-long lengths of 16-gauge wire to the rails and poles. Even though bamboo is strong, it is natural and can break down over time. This style will look good in a garden with straight lines and plants like those in a Japanese garden. This fencing can offer 85 percent coverage for privacy. A bamboo fence panel that is 16 feet long and 6 feet high can cost anywhere from $50 to $100, but prices vary a lot from company to company. Tip: Pick poles with cuts on the bamboo nodes; they work better than poles with ends that are left out in the open. The nodes act as natural weather-resistant caps. Pros Attractive Natural Cons Not durable if untreated Expensive .
- Wooden Fence Panels (No. 3) The Spruce/Jacob Fox Regular wooden fence panels can be attached to chain link fences with U-brackets. There is no need to nail up boards one by one because these panels were already made in a factory. To connect the panels to the fence, you will need to be able to get to the back of the chain link fence. With this choice, your fence will have a warm, worn look that is similar to a normal wooden fence when it’s done. In addition to sealing them regularly, one way to keep wood fence panels in good shape for a long time is to keep them off the ground. Water moves up through wood panels when they touch the ground. Durability is usually excellent. Because cedar is so oily, it doesn’t need to be sealed because it doesn’t react with the weather like other woods do. Privacy coverage is high (about 90 percent). It is not inexpensive. It costs between $145 and $160 for a single wood fence panel that is 6 feet tall and 8 feet long. Pros: It provides privacy and looks like a real wood fence. It covers the whole chain link fence. Cons: The large, heavy fence panels are hard to move and set up. You may need a fence permit to do so. It’s expensive.
- 04 of 07 Reed Screens The Spruce/Jacob Fox: 8- to 16-foot-long mats are made from thin bamboo reeds that are about the thickness of a drinking straw. It’s easy to carry these rolls back from the home improvement store. Reed screens are usually put up vertically, and they look good for about two years before they need to be replaced. If you have a yard near the beach, these thin reeds will look great there. Reed screens offer about 85 percent privacy when new. As the screen falls apart, privacy drops as well. About $28 to $35 gets you a roll of reed screen that is 6 feet by 16 feet. Pros: It’s cheap, it’s easy to install, and it wears down quickly. Cons: It changes color quickly. Continue to 5 of 7 below.
- The Spruce’s Jacob Fox writes about a mesh windscreen or privacy screen. At first glance, a mesh windscreen on a fence looks like a tarp. But a mesh privacy screen is designed specifically for fences. Mesh privacy screens are made of UV-rated polypropylene and can last for years. They let water and wind through but not UV light. It has brass grommets on the trim that let you use zip-ties to attach it to the chain link. The trim is double-thick all around. However its woven, so it will eventually wear. If you plant shrubs, trees, or other plants along your fence, this material will blend in with the background and almost hide it. Privacy ranges from 80% to 96%, based on how much you are willing to pay. Mesh screening is a low-cost solution. The cheapest privacy screens are the ones that block out 85% of light; a 6-foot-high by 50-foot-long screen costs less than $100. But prices vary a lot depending on the size of the screen, the seller, or the manufacturer. Screens that are 96 percent blocked may cost fifty percent more. Pros: There are almost 100% privacy screens available; they cover large areas cheaply; Cons: They have a basic, utilitarian look that isn’t very appealing for home use; dark colors fade faster in UV light;
- | Page 6 of 7 | Live or Artificial Plants | The Spruce | Jacob Fox If you want a wall of greenery, you can choose between real or fake plants. You can roll up privacy screens made of fake ivy vines and put them on one side of a fence. It can hide the chain link fence right away, but over time, the weather will change how it looks. It offers just about full coverage. There are panels that are 3 to 5 feet wide and 10 feet high. Depending on how detailed they are, like with fake flowers, they can cost $40 to $80 or more. For real ivy, make a living wall with evergreen vines like English ivy. You will have to wait a while to see results that will last from season to season. If not, put up taller privacy hedges in front of the fence. The shrubs will grow faster, but they will only add about 2 feet a year. Whether you pick real or fake vines, they will make your yard feel like a secret garden. The pros are that artificial screening covers the whole fence, it can be cheap, and it’s easy to put up. The cons are that artificial screens may fade, and real plants take too long to grow for full coverage.
- Seventeen of Seventeen Privacy Tape The Spruce/Jacob Fox Privacy tape is thinner than slats and is put in place diagonally through the chain links. Most of the time, the tape is made of low-density polyethylene that has been treated to stop color and UV light. But it takes a lot of work to put up, especially on long sections of fencing. Tape usually comes in many colors and has fasteners that hold it together. The tape is very strong and is made to withstand both high and low temperatures. Usually, all that’s needed to make it look new again is a pressure cleaning. About 90% more privacy is provided by diagonal weaving with tape than by vertical slats. The roll of tape is 250 feet long and costs about $40 to cover 40 square feet. The main goal of this choice is to get the most privacy, not to look good. The style is simple, though, so it probably won’t go against your landscaping. Pros: It covers a lot of ground, doesn’t cost much, and lasts a long time. Cons: It takes a lot of work to install, and it’s not the most aesthetically pleasing option.
Operation “Hide the Fence” –
FAQ
How to hide a chain link fence with plants?
How do you add privacy to a chain link fence?
How to disguise a metal fence?
How do you hide a chain link fence?
The answer is easy – landscaping along a chain link fence hides it beautifully. These chain link fence covering ideas use plants and shrubs to hide an ugly fence quickly! Our neighborhood is made up of 2/3 acre lots, many of which use chain link fences to divide the properties.
How to decorate a chain link fence?
1. Change the look of a chain link fence by adding flexible inserts into the links in a color that blends with your landscaping. 2. Cover a chain link or wood fence with sturdy canvas fabric to increase privacy and change the look. You can either paint the fabric, let your kids paint the fabric or leave it as is. 3.
What are some garden chain link fence cover up ideas?
Many of these garden chain link fence cover up ideas include plants. The reason is simple. Fences (and fence coverings) are hard and angular, while plants are soft and lush. The combination of the two together gets the job done of hiding an ugly fence, while adding beauty and softness in the process.
Should you cover a chain link fence?
Covering your chain link fence also helps protect it from the elements to make it last longer over time. Options range from traditional chain link fence slats and mesh to bamboo, reed, and wood fence panels. Here, discover inexpensive ways to cover a chain link fence to upgrade your space and offer some privacy.