8 Vertical Fence Garden Ideas

Vertical fence gardens are ideal for small yards with limited garden space.

Depending on the type of fence you have you can mount planters onto the fence or use the fence as a trellis to grow climbing flowers or vegetables.

Here are 8 ways to turn your backyard fence into a productive and attractive vertical garden.

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flowers climbing up fence

8 VERTICAL GARDEN FENCE IDEAS

1. Wire fences

Wire or chain link fences make it easy to grow vegetables or flowers vertically.

Wire fencing is strong enough to support most climbing vegetable vines including squash, cucumbers and small pumpkin varieties.

You could also train a flowering vine to grow up a wire fence to provide privacy in your yard.

Some good options include star jasmine, which has beautiful fragrant white flowers or bougainvillea, a climbing vine with stunning brightly colored flowers.

RELATED: 10 Flowering Climbers

wire garden fence with rose

2. Pallet planter

Recycled wooden pallets can be mounted on a fence to create a beautiful vertical garden.

Staple some thick fabric inside the pallet, fill it with potting mix and mount it securely to the fence.

Pallets are ideal for growing herbs and leafy salad vegetables.

pallet fence garden

3. PVC pipe

Pipes and even old guttering secured to a fence is another great way to create a vertical garden.

Guttering is a bit easier because you don’t have to drill holes for the plants.

plants growing on fence

4. Fence mounted planters

There are many different planters you can buy to mount onto your fence ranging from decorative planters that hang on top of the fence to large vertical planters with numerous pockets to create your own salad or herb garden.

fence planters

5. Lattice fence

Lattice fences don’t provide much privacy but they make an excellent trellis for climbing vines that will block out the neighbours.

Try planting a star jasmine vine and train it to grow up the lattice for a beautifully fragrant privacy screen.

You can also hang pots from the lattice like in the photo below.

pots hanging on lattice fence

6. Timber fence

Timber fences are also great for vertical gardens. You can screw hanging planters to the timber or secure wire across the fence.

In the photo below a bougainvillea vine is growing across a timber picket fence that has wire attached.

bougainvillea plant on fence

7. DIY Honeycomb Fence Trellis

If you enjoy DIY garden projects you could try this idea from Mama Needs A Project.

It’s a honeycomb shaped garden fence trellis that is ideal for beautifying a boring fence.

Even without any plants growing on it, it’s a gorgeous piece that will add interest to your backyard garden.

honeycomb fence trellis

8. DIY Fence Trellis

Another DIY project you might like to try is this fence trellis by The Handyman’s Daughter.

It’s a fun project that you could complete in a weekend and it’s ideal for covering up an ugly fence.

You can lean the trellis against the fence or attach it to the fence with nails.

It’s ideal for flowering climbers like clematis and you can give your vines a hand to get started by weaving them through the slats of the trellis.

Once they take off the entire fence will be covered with beautiful flowers.

timber fence trellis

Vertical garden maintenance

Maintaining a vertical garden is fairly easy and you don’t need to be an experienced gardener to create a beautiful vertical garden on a fence.

Installing a watering system is a good idea for busy people and it’ll ensure that your plants don’t dry out, especially during the summer months.

It’s also a good idea to cut back the flowering vines after they’ve finished blooming to keep them tidy and encourage more flowers the next year.

growing flowers vertically

So there are 8 ways to grow plants on a fence in your backyard.

Using a fence to create a vertical garden is one of the easiest ways to create a beautiful and productive garden when you have limited space. 

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Which of these vertical fence garden ideas do you like best? Let me know in the comments below.

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Kelly Martin

Hi, I'm Kelly Martin, a landscape gardener and designer with over 10 years experience. I have a passion for small space gardening and I love designing and creating beautiful outdoor spaces that maximize the potential of small urban gardens. Read more

This Post Has 8 Comments

  1. jerry godinho

    Kelly i always look forward to your post. I like the colors, the vivid descriptions and they are practical and achievable. Thanks for this post on the vertical fence garden. Lots of tips and stuff to learn.

  2. Dreams Abroad

    PVC pipes are one of the best ways to have lettuces growing in small areas. All of these vertical fence gardens are so freaking cool!!! I love the honeycomb pattern.

  3. Lyosha

    Very cute ideas! Perfect if you are lacking space and desire to have a garden. Thanks for bringing the inspiration

  4. Tracy @ Cleland Clan

    These are great ideas. Fence gardens are especially wonderful if you don’t have a lot of space or if you want to create a private nook. I don’t have a fence, but I do have teepee type trellises that I’m growing pole beans, cucumbers, and squash on for the first time this year.

  5. Kat

    These are so creative, I especially love the one with the salads and the PVC pipe. Not only does it look great, but you get a delicious and healthy treat from it!
    My mother has a stone vertical garden – it’s not a fence, but more a wall and there are giant stones with wild flowers growing in the cracks. It’s beautiful.

  6. I’ve seen people use old gutters to create a garden before! It seems like an ideal way to grow smaller things like herbs too. I’m a big fan of recycling, and the gutters seem like a perfect way to reuse something that would be scrapped otherwise.

  7. Britt K

    I absolutely love the look of the honeycomb trellis! We have a nice sized garden in our yard, but something like that would serve not only to add more garden space, but also to add a fun look to the yard as a whole. While I love the functionality of our privacy fence, it’s kinda plain to look at. I’d rather have plants and greenery everywhere, right?

  8. Zachary Tomlinson

    My aunt was watching this movie the other day, and she got envious of how the fences on a character’s garden look really great. Your idea of using wires or a chain-link fence where you can grow climbing plants is a great suggestion. I’ll recommend that she contact a chain link fence expert for advice.

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