Please note: This article may contain affiliate links. All recommendations and styling advice are provided as helpful suggestions only, please always research thoroughly before making any major changes to your home.
It’s easy to become hyper-focused on interiors when you’re updating your property, but gardens, patios and courtyards deserve just as much attention. After all, a garden effectively becomes another ‘room’ in the spring and summer months, so cultivating a stunning outdoor area can massively increase your enjoyment of your home.
While you might be busy planting flowers and shrubs or upcycling garden furniture, spare a thought for your garden fence. With the right styling, a fence can be so much more than just a boundary marker and the right decorations can transform your outdoor space.
For inspiration, take a look at these top 10 garden fence decoration ideas and start planning your outdoor uplift now:
1. Add a Burst of Colour
One of the quickest and easiest ways to overhaul your garden fence is simply to use paint or wood stain to change the colour. Most garden fences are made from wooden slabs, which can begin to look dull and dreary as they age. However, a lick of paint can breathe new life into old materials. To make your life easier, consider using a paint sprayer for maximum results and minimum effort.
Choose a colour that complements the exterior of your property or, if you’re planning a garden theme, select a shade that is in keeping with your flowerbeds, shrubs, and foliage. Whether you want a vibrant tone to match the summer sun or calming pastel shades to create an outdoor idyll, painting your garden fence is a fab way to give your outdoor space an entirely new feel.
Pro Tip – To avoid a disaster like mine, check the weather forecast before you start painting!
2. Create a Living Wall
A ‘living wall’ is essentially a boundary that’s created from plants and greenery and it’s a great way to give your garden a softer feel. Instead of a harsh wooden or metal boundary, you can create a natural oasis with live plants to mark the perimeter of your garden.
If you already have a garden fence installed, planters and an irrigation system can be added to minimise maintenance requirements. Then, you simply choose plants with dense foliage to cover the panels of the fence.
If you want to add a living wall to your garden but you don’t fancy the installation or upkeep, opt for an artificial living wall instead. This will give you a fantastic view from your window and you don’t need to have green fingers to keep it looking lush!
3. Use Outdoor Lighting
If you’re looking for easy garden fence decoration ideas, outdoor lighting is one of the best. Depending on your budget, you can opt for elaborate lighting schemes or simple, self-installed lights that can be affixed to an existing garden fence.
Outdoor lighting creates a great ambience, especially for summer get-togethers and dusky evenings in the garden.
I’d recommend solar-powered lights when adding outdoor lighting to your garden. As well as being environmentally friendly and free to run, you don’t need to worry about extending an electrical supply when you use solar or battery-powered outdoor lights.
4. Add Shelving to Fences
When you want to do something a little different and add visual texture to your outdoor space, consider adding shelving to garden fences. Using the same material or paint colour as the fence will ensure that shelves blend seamlessly into your existing boundary but choose a contrasting shade if you want to turn them into a statement feature.
As well as looking great, shelving adds functionality to your fence too. Once installed, you can add:
- pot plants
- birdfeeders
- garden tools
- decorative accessories
5. Disguise Fences with Climbing Plants
Climbing plants are an effective way to disguise boring fence panels that you’d rather keep hidden. While they can take a little more maintenance than a living wall, they are also easy to plant, and you’ll find varieties that are perfect for all types of gardens.
Climbing plants, like ivy, wisteria, clematis, jasmine or honeysuckle, look exquisite and will add a burst of colour to your garden too. If you want to make a quick impact in your garden, purchase plants that are already established or opt for fast-growing climbers that will cover fences or walls within weeks.
6. Paint a Feature Wall
If painting every fence panel in your garden seems like overkill, choose a particular section and turn it into a ‘feature wall’. This allows you to add some colour to your outdoor space without overpowering the garden.
Remember – you needn’t stick to just one colour when you’re turning a section of fencing into a feature wall.
Be adventurous and use complementing or contrasting colours to create a horizontal divide for a two-tone effect, and you’ll add visual interest in an instant.
A ‘feature wall’ is also a great idea if you get bored of painting partway through upcycling all of your fence panels (I speak from personal experience!).
7. Add a Trellis
People often assume that a trellis goes on the top of a fence to make it taller, but this isn’t the only way you can use a trellis to brighten up garden fencing. Larger trellises can be affixed to the fence panels themselves and offer both a functional purpose and visual appeal.
Adding a trellis to a fence panel makes it easier to grow climbing plants, for example, so you can blend a decorative trellis with colourful blooms and greenery. Alternatively, use the trellis itself for maximum decorative effect. A trellis painted in a bright colour adds instant excitement to the space, for example.
8. Hang Jam Jars and Mason Jars
This is a fantastic garden fence decoration idea that anyone can do. Simply hammer some nails into an existing fence and hang jam jars and mason jars to jazz up this feature. You’ll find decorative jam jars and mason jars in all sorts of colours, so you can use any theme you like to uplift your garden.
They’re also great tealight holders so, if you’re planning an evening event, you can rely on jam jars and mason jars for intimate, flickering light too.
You can purchase decorative ready-to-hang jars but, if you want to upcycle old jars, simply add wire to the rim to create a loop that will make it easy to hang each jar from a nail on your fencing.
9. Use Garden Mirrors to Maximise Space
Mirrors are an effective way to make a space feel larger than it really is, and this works as well in a garden as it does in indoors. Adding an outdoor mirror to your garden fence instantly makes the space feel bigger – and who wouldn’t like a bigger garden?!
When I added a mirror to my garden fence, I decided not to go through the hassle of actually hanging it. Instead, I simply leant the mirror against the fencepost to ensure it had enough support and surrounded it with potted plants to add to the effect.
With so many styles to choose from, you can use modern, contemporary, antique or vintage outdoor mirrors to give your garden a bigger, brighter feel.
10. Get Creative with Artwork
Adding artwork to a garden fence is a great way to realise your creativity and make your garden your own. Whether you’re a budding artist who wants to create their own work or you’re using art you’ve collected along the way, using your fence as a backdrop can showcase artwork in a whole new way.
Firstly, make sure you choose weatherproof frames or holders so that your art will remain in good condition. Then, simply plan your design and affix frames and art wherever you choose.
Alternatively, use garden fencing as a canvas and create your own garden mural. Spray paint is an easy way to create new designs outdoors, but you’ll need to have a steady hand if you want to get it right first time!
Put Garden Fence Decoration Ideas into Action
Now you’ve got some fab ideas to overhaul your garden fence, you’re probably eager to get started. However, it’s important to remember that there might be some restrictions when it comes to how you decorate or modify your garden fencing.
For example, there are height restrictions for garden fences, so remember to check how high you can go before you add a trellis or extend the height of your garden fences in any way.
In addition to this, you’ll need to confirm who actually owns your garden fencing before you make any changes to it. In your back garden, for example, you’ll usually own one side of fencing while your neighbour will own the other. Be sure to ask permission before you start decorating a fence that you don’t own and, if you’re in rented accommodation, ask the landlord first!
Once you’ve done this, you’ll be free to crack on with enhancing your garden fence and using these fab decoration ideas to spruce up your garden, patio or courtyard!
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