Neighbour's ColourFence

[brokenstone]

Hi there

My neighbour has installed a ColourFence which is not to our taste. It's metal and I dislike the colour so I don't think I can paint it and I doubt they would want me to. Also, it makes an awful noise when anything hits its. I feel like I have a container ship in the garden!

I think I'll probably have to put our own fence in front of it but I was just wondering if they was another way to hide it?

Many thanks

The obvious one is lack of maintenance - they’ll essentially last forever.
Look absolutely awful though

This is a really good point. I totally fried a honeysuckle leaving a metal stake in the ground near it. It had wound itself round it and the part that had was a crisp when I clocked it one boiling summer's day.

It’s quite remarkable how innovative companies are when it comes to creating new hideous products and how receptive we as the general public are to them. It’s seeing stuff like this that makes me long to live somewhere with plenty of regulations and by-laws about what you can do to your house. Where I am it’s wood-effect plastic fences and cladding in shades of grey or diarrhoea brown.

Honestly, I’d just pay to get decent fences if I could afford it, op. It’s the best way to hide it, it’s instant, you can have whatever colour you like and presumably it will mitigate the effects of the extreme temperatures pps have mentioned.

These are the norm in Australian. It's called Color Bond here. Doesn't rot and resists fire.

I don't mind the way they look, I'm used to it though. Look up color bond fencing and you'll probably find loads of pictures and ideas.

Get some ‘big foliage’ plants, like Musa Basjoo, they get big, really quickly, might take the focus of it.

Ugly I agree. I hope you are not having to cope with their taste in music, if they have any.

I think some plants in front may be the best option.

OP absolutely has no right to paint it and I would be furious if I was the neighbour.

Put your own fence up if you don’t like it OP.

Yes I do have to cope with their music and yes they do have astro turf :(

You have my sympathies, our neighbours have also put one of these in (bright green); it is one of the ugliest things I have ever seen. But yes, they put it in to avoid maintenance. Luckily for us it is not on our adjoining side. But I agree with everyone saying trellis or hedge.

God that’s hideous I’d get a taller wooden one to go in front of it. Did they not discuss it with you?

Wow, grim. I’d have to put my own fence in front of that monstrosity, and then a hedge or climbers.

Or move.

Is it pink or brown I can't tell

God that's grim - I have never seen anything so hideous - what can they be thinking of?

Quick option is to simply put up a decent wooden fence that is plenty taller than theirs - expensive but would do the job instantly, and you could grow things up it or create a nice hedge on your side in the fullness of time.

My neighbours installed a 6 foot high, brown plastic fence all the way down their side of my garden. It's not even wood effect Totally hideous.

Will you be covering it?

Am assuming you’d be ok with disturbing your gravel area to create a hedging line?

I so, I was initially going to suggest laurel. It grows fairly quickly and densely, you could cover the fencing no problem. However, you do need to keep on top of it to keep it at the height and width you want it - the downside to how quickly it grows.

Another option could be Photinia Pink Marble. It’s evergreen, but offers a bit of colour interest. It would take a bit longer to create an established hedging line, but once you’ve encouraged it’s shape then it’s definitely easier to maintain.

I wouldn’t suggest a mix of shrubs. It will be much easier to look after if the shrubs/hedge are all the same.

Actually thinking about it, someone in my village recently put in a screen in their front garden to give them a little privacy from the road and to screen off their view of their cars from the house. I was really impressed, it was a sort of trellis type structure and they planted lots of tall hedging plants all along it. It only took a about three days.

If the neighbour doesn't see it,how will they know?
Next time they need to gain access to maintain the fence!

A bit late to the party but I just wanted to defend this fence due to the amount of criticism on here.

I bought this fence a while ago for the entire perimeter of the garden. I spent some time looking into which fencing was best and I’m so happy I went with this product. It’s in green and it doesn’t need any maintenance. People don’t seem to like the fact that it’s metal but I don’t know why? It’s so much better than wood which needs more maintenance and can look pretty bad after a few years if you don’t look after it. No maintenance is ideal considering you are growing plants over it which won’t get ripped down if the fence needed treating. For me, this was a no brainer.

Plants dont much like metal, it gets very hot and scorches them. Also you would have to provide a frame, which would involve drilling into the fence.

I would look at putting trellis ( self supporting on met posts) in front of the fence. You can then grow things up it, but it will conceal the fence anyway.

Not without any visible means of support, it wouldn't.

A fence like that is going to get roasting hot with the sun on it in the summer, and that wouldn't do climbers all that much good.

@Jux maintenance. If you have small children, elderly family who need care, working full time plus housework there is not a lot of time left for painting and maintaining fences or cutting hedges. This fence requires no maintenance, put up and leave. They also usually have a decent warranty.

If they are elderly or struggle with mobility or health conditions then finding someone to come and cut hedges regularly or paint fences is an expensive job. Especially if like in our area gardeners have loads of demand and don't turn up. If you are relying on younger relatives to cut hedges or paint fences you are relying on good will and as long laborious jobs they are unpopular.

Passion flower is a very pretty and vigorous grower if you were looking for a climber to cover the fence quickly.

You could also go for star jasmine but that very easily gets out of hand!

But yes, as PP have said, you would need to erect posts and trellis panels on your boundary line for the climbers to clamber over.