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Paint fence black? Plant suggestions? Tree stump!

Hayley McGovern

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

I’m considering painting our fence black (with white posts). We’ve got black furniture with light grey pads and colourful cushions.

it’s a lot of fence to paint, about 24 panels so im a bit scared. Im a bit worried it’ll be too harsh against the colour of the patio?

I’d like to put some plants in the border at the back. I love lavender so would love a purple theme with lots of green (thought that would look great against the black) with some whites and possibly yellow to add some bright colour. Any suggestions on plants?

oh and the tree stump (in the border under the green bag)! What can we do with this? I’d love to see what you’ve done with your gardens If you’ve got a similar theme.

thank you

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Comments (5)

Sonia
3 years ago
Pretty garden with lovely sandstone patio. Black would look great as long as it has planting in front of it. Black fencing without planting can look very bleak indeed. Leaving the concrete fence posts unpainted will only highlight a rather ugly feature so I would paint those too.

However, does the fence really need painting? I’ve never painted mine. What I would do is create planting beds all around the fence line by removing the turf for a good metre in, dig over the soil and then add some compost and lightly fork it in. You then have a bed ready for plants. I would then put in some shrubs or climbers and then plant some smaller growing plants, like lavender in front. Lavender need lots of sun so can you tell me which areas are sunny or shady so that I can suggest some plants? The tree stump can be left and planted around it. They are wonderful habitat for wildlife and will rot down gradually over the years. Here’s a couple of ideas
Hayley McGovern thanked Sonia
embzop
3 years ago
I think once you have plants in the garden the fence won't be so noticeable. At the moment there is not much else to look at and it will be alot of expense and hard work to paint it, it will be wasted when plants take centre stage.

It also looks like the fence on the right of your property belongs to your neighbours and they may not want you to paint it - it is very hard to paint a fence with drips coming through to the other side so it.

Some plants that may look good are a juniper called skyrocket - it grows like a column of if you like blossom in spring consider prunus Amanogawa - a thin tree with beautiful white flowers in April.
Hayley McGovern thanked embzop
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Hayley McGovern
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Thank you both for your suggestions. It’s funny you both suggest maybe leaving the fence and @embzop your comment on the drips is the reason I thought about painting it. Next door on the left have painted their side and it’s dripped through onto the concrete fence at the bottom. Maybe I could leave the fence and paint the white with masonry paint. It would leave more in the budget for plants. I’ll take a look at the plants you’ve suggested.

@Sonia never thought about putting a border on the left. The garden is North facing so the back fence gets sun all day but the left gets the shadow from the house for part of the day. I really like the purples with the hint of yellow in the third photo.

Some colour in spring would be nice
Sonia
3 years ago
On the sunny side you could try Ceanothus an evergreen shrub with blue flowers, dwarf Lilac, Hibiscus shrub with large pink or purple flowers, Cistus

and of course roses and Clematis. At the front of them you can plant lavender, hardy Geraniums, Erigeron, Campanula and Hemerocallis but there are hundreds of perennials you can choose. Just check they like sun and the height. Sometimes adding something taller at the front can add interest.

On the shady side try Acers, Acer palmatum dissectum is gorgous. Fatsia japonica is evergreen but despite its exotic looks it’s hardy. Viburnums do well in the shade too and have lovely white flowers in spring. Climbing hydrangea is lovely and self clings to the fence. Then at the front try hardy Geraniums (they grow anywhere!), ferns, Dicentra spectabilis.

For spring colour you have bulbs - daffodils and tulips for the sunny side and snowdrops and aconites for the shady side. Again there are loads, just check if they like sun or shade.

Heres some pics to inspire you!

CISTUS

DWARF LILAC

CEANOTHUS

HEMEROCALLIS
Hayley McGovern thanked Sonia
Hayley McGovern
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Oh wow! Lots to research! Thank you so much! I will have a good look at these and share some photos once it done!

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