Do it Yourself Designs for a Country Cottage Privacy Fence

Picket fences are the country cottage perennial favorite.

Maintaining your privacy while keeping your property attractive and consistent can be a challenge. Fortunately, the "country cottage" theme makes for an easy interpretation, with picket fencing that installs easily, or "living walls" that grow quickly.

Instructions

Picket Fences

1. Buy picket fencing from a home and garden center. There are many different kinds of picket fences ranging from waist high to 6 or 7 feet tall. Made from either plastic or wood, they can be designed so that each panel lies tight to the next, or with a space between each panel.

2. Paint the picket fence. White is one of the most popular colors, but any color that is used for your home's trim will help keep the look consistent.

3. Install your fence. The process varies according to the type of fence since some are hammered into place, while others hold a few hanging panels between two hammered in posts.

4. Plant flowers and bushes around the exterior of your fence. Besides looking attractive, they will block the view from outside your new fence. Rose bushes, hanging vines and similar climbing plants look particularly good.

A Living Wall

1. Hammer posts around the area to be fenced, leaving a space of about two to three feet between each of them. The height of the posts should equal the height you want the fence/wall to eventually reach.

2. String wire between each post. You should have a space of about six to eight inches between wire going from about one foot off the ground to a few inches from the top of the posts.

3. Along the bottom of the fence, plant vine plants such as ivy, creepers, grapes, climbing roses or other plants that will expand and cover your new fence as they grow.

4. Train the plants to climb up the wire. You can do this by gently wrapping the curling tendrils around the wire. This process can take as little as a summer or as long as a few years depending on what kind of plants you decide to use. Ask advice at your local garden shop or research plants that thrive in your area.