Space your shrubs and plants slightly away from it. A curving bed of plants rather than a straight line softens the straight lines of the fence. For great visual appeal, layer the flower beds and plants along your fence. Arrange short plants in the front, medium-sized in the middle, and the tallest ones in the back.
If you plan on having a flower bed, fresh sod, or other more delicate plants around your fence, you will want to install your fence first. This is because the contractors installing the fence could damage your landscaping while putting up the fence. You don't want all of your hard work to be destroyed.
Place tall plants where necessary to block views, and layer scenes of lower ornamental plantings in front of them. The tall plants that do the actual work of providing privacy should look like intentional parts of an overall planting composition. We like using tall ornamental grasses like Panicum or Miscanthus.
Certain kinds of fences have a finished side or a “good” side that looks smoother and more polished than the side with the rails and posts showing. In particular, the solid panel fences often used for privacy are generally constructed like this. The finished side should face toward your neighbor.
We suggest you face the “good” side of your fence towards your neighbour. Here's why: It's simply the polite thing to do, and could help foster good relations with even the toughest of neighbours.
The rules are that the fence posts must be on the owners side of the boundary, but there is no law that states the smooth side must face either way. It is entirely their choice which way the fence will face. That being said, there is something of an unwritten rule that should be abided by here.
First, the fence itself is likely to be weaker if it's not built on level ground. Second, an uneven fence is more likely to fall over, which could cause serious injury to anyone who happens to be nearby.
DO Employ a Base Gravel Layer. If a fence post fails without any sign of a pest infestation, it's likely that the failure was caused by moisture that rotted the wood over time. To help slow such deterioration, add pea gravel or crushed stone to the bottom of the posthole.
Between the posts, a fence should be a few inches above the ground. For yards that are relatively flat this isn't much of a problem. For yards with large changes in grade, there are a number of different ways to handle it.
If there is a gap underneath your fence, you will need to use filler material to remove the problem. For example, you can put chicken wire in the gap so that the fence opens and closes freely without the gap being exposed. You could also put wood blocks in the gap or even fill it in with cement.
Pea gravel is the cheapest landscaping rock available. It can be used for a wide variety of landscaping projects, including driveways.
Landscape cloth is like a thin rug. The slightly shiny side is meant to face up; the duller fuzzy side to face down, because that adheres well to the soil.
The principles of landscape design include the elements of unity, scale, balance, simplicity, variety, emphasis, and sequence as they apply to line, form, texture, and color. These elements are interconnected. Landscape design is a process of developing practical and pleasing outdoor living space.
If you're the courteous type and enjoy getting along with your neighbours, it would be generous to show the smooth side of the fence towards them, but this is far from being an established convention and there's absolutely no obligation to do so if you don't want to.
If your neighbour owns the wall or fence
You can't make changes to your side without their permission, such as painting it. If the wall or fence seems dangerous, point this out because your neighbour might not be aware.
As a rule, if a fence is not a boundary fence, it must be built at least two feet inside your property line. The best options for building near a neighbor's existing fence are placing the new one right up against the current one or leaving enough space between the fences for someone to mow.