How to choose fencing for your garden
Your garden fence is essential as a perimeter to mark, secure and protect your property. However, it can also be so much more. It serves as the backdrop for your lawn, beds and patio, meaning that when it comes to choosing your fencing, aesthetics as well as practicality must be a consideration.
Then, throw into the mix that fencing need not solely be used on perimeters, but also inside your garden for screening and separating. With so many styles and structures of fence panels on the market not to mention different brands and fashions, where does one start?
Managing Director of fencing, sheds and landscaping manufacturer Worcester Timber Products, based on Hartlebury Trading Estate, Leon Hopkins starts with the practicalities. “If the most important thing to you is to unwind in quiet in your garden, especially if it is compact in size or located near busy roads, then look no further than Jackson’s Acoustic Fencing barriers which have been designed to reduce noise pollution. Another practical consideration must be ensuring that your fencing is strong enough to withstand wind, rain and storm damage which are increasingly common with environmental concerns. This means that your fence panels around the perimeter should be strong and the correct post installations used. We are able to advise on these sort of concerns.”
Ali McCall from Little Acre Gardens, a local landscaping company adds his advice: “Be brave when choosing your next fence. Think outside the box and get creative. You don’t have to use fence panels in the orientation they were necessarily intended, especially if it doesn’t suit your space. Consider choice of materials that compliment or are sympathetic to the surroundings, for example, do horizontal or vertical panels work better for the space,” he says.
Fence colour too can impact. “Recent colour blocking trends in black might seem like a bold choice for garden fencing, but will actually make the greenery around it seem greener! Fresh green shades up against the black of your fence will make them stand out even more and gives a contemporary look that’s easy to achieve,” adds Ali McCall.
Also consider the size of your garden when choosing fencing. In a smaller garden for example, a common technique employed by experienced garden landscapers or fencing contractors to make smaller gardens appear more spacious is to use horizontal lines in their design concepts, to elongate the space and make it appear longer.
In a larger garden, fencing can be used to define different areas. Decorative fence panels can work beautifully as a backdrop for climbing plants or to separate a patio, or screen bins and storage areas. Local garden designer James Dobson from Gardens by JD is a fan of this technique: “The trend for gardens as an extension of the home continues, so by zoning the garden using decorative panels, we can create different ‘rooms’ and create screening and privacy to a greater or lesser extent, using different heights, lengths and style of fencing.”
Worcester Timber Products’ Leon Hopkins adds: “If you’re looking for a decorative fence style that improves privacy while still keeping the garden light, airy and open, then a trellis panel is the perfect option. However, for added privacy using a decorative slatted design you may opt for Jackson’s Venetian Hit & Miss panels as seen several times on Alan Titchmarsh’s Love your Garden on ITV. Made with horizontal slats on both sides of the panel, they are fixed in an alternating pattern which means visibility is greatly obscured, however, light and air still pass through, helping to improve the lighting in your garden.”
Your style preferences can also be considered when it comes to fencing. Manufacturers such as Durapost, KDM and Jacksons Fencing offer such a wide selection of styles and designs, from traditional feather board to contemporary horizontal, cottage style trellis top or woven styles, that all tastes can be accommodated. If your home interior has a modern, contemporary vibe, why not continue that theme out into the garden with fencing as well as other garden elements.
When it comes to choosing fencing, your outside space is an extension of your home, and so it is important to ensure it reflects your style and taste, as well as working for you and your garden on a practical level. To enjoy your garden or entertain friends without having to see unsightly clutter, as well providing as a safe, secure and robust perimeter, we recommend utilising fencing as a key element of your outdoor space.
Little Acre Gardens, www.littleacregardens.co.uk
Gardens by James Dobson, www.gardensbyjd.co.uk
