A couple years ago we traded the glamour (not!) of living in the big city for something a little more sedate. We ended up moving to a city of more modest size; in fact, it was the city I grew up in. We found the, if not perfect at least adequate, house to buy. Actually, we loved the house but the big downside was the fencing. It did at least have a fence, but the fence was chain link, all eight feet of it. Not that we are particularly unfriendly, but it made us feel like we lived in a fish bowl.
There were, as we saw it, two options. Spend a ton of money and put in a more private fence or, my favorite option, because it involved buying plants, use ornamental vines to give us a more secluded yard. Operation “Cloistered Nun” went into full effect immediately. All hail the trumpet vine”¦and any other vines for fence cover you can fit in your landscape!
If you’re a vine lover like me, then these five vines for the landscape are something you’ll definitely want to try, especially if you’re looking for ornamental vines to cover a chain-link fence:
- Trumpet Vine: My love of all things vining really did start with a trumpet vine. This almost ubiquitous vine could be found clambering and lounging all over the city. It does get a bad rap for being a bit invasive, but we figured we could “tame” it.
- Kiwi: Next came a hardy kiwi. Why? Because I thought the double whammy of providing delicious fruit and sheltering us from prying eyes was a win/win.
- Grapevines: On that same note, we also decided to plant some grapevines, one white and one red. I mean, why not have your fruit and eat it too (or drink it).
- Climbing Hydrangea: Since I love flowers, we put in a climbing hydrangea. A little bit of a slow grower, but if you know the tale of the tortoise and the hare, you get it.
- Clematis: Last but not least, we included a lovely flowering clematis vine, not the dinner plate sized variety but one laden with hot pink blooms nonetheless.
At this point we’ve only been at the house for two years and with the exception of the climbing hydrangea, which is indeed mind numbingly slow growing, we have covered the height and breadth of most of our safe but less than secluded fencing. Give me another year and you won’t be able to tell there’s a house here!
