The Best Garden Fence Ideas UK
A fence can be so much more than just a practical boundary line.
Fences are an easy way to bring colour, style and character into the garden. There are so many ways to customise fences that you’re sure to find a design that you love.
In fact, the fence could easily become your favourite garden feature!
Need some inspiration? Take a look at these 41 garden fence ideas – you’ll be ready to start transforming your garden in no time!
1. Place White Fences Out Front
A front garden presents your home to the world so it needs to look good.
A white fence always looks fresh, and narrow fence posts have the added benefit of letting in plenty of light to keep your flowers healthy.
The garden above has made striking use of hydrangeas, but you could choose any shrub you like such as evergreen holly, white spirea, or purple lavender to fill the space with colour.
2. Go Mini with Small Fences
You can’t beat a white picket fence, and they don’t even have to be full-size. Small fences are a great way to add depth and levels to your garden. A light colour helps the fence to show up, which also means you’re less likely to trip over it.
Small fences are easy to manage and can be used in all patterns such as the small tidy fence above that clearly divides the garden border from the lawn.
3. Inject Colour with Popping Hues
There’s always a trend in garden colour. Follow the trends or go with your favourite shade – the choice is yours. Fence paint is much cheaper than replacing a fence, so if yours is looking a bit sad, freshen it up with a colour that makes you smile. This is one of the best garden fence ideas to make improvements on a budget.
4. Add Quirky Decoration
Fences can be boring, but decorating it is a cost-effective way to improve your practical fence quickly.
Why not get wildlife-friendly? This fence is decorated with birdhouses. You could choose birdhouses (robins love old teapots), bee houses or insect houses, and get the kids involved too. If the above fence is a bit too chaotic for your taste, paint them all one colour to increase cohesion.
5. Paint with Patterns
A rainbow of colours on the fence is certainly going to wake you up in the morning, but there are plenty of other designs and patterns you can try out too.
This one is minty green with white daisies. It’ll match well with hostas or other green or white plants including long grasses.
6. Create Natural Security with Thorny Plants
Rather than attaching dangerous spikes to your fence, try growing a thorny bush.
Pyracantha in this picture is not only beautiful but its long thorns put off any would-be intruder. They will grow in any soil and need very little care once established. Other good prickly plant choices include native hawthorn and holly.
7. Add Light to Fence Posts
Outdoor lighting is one of the best fencing ideas to make gardens more inviting and useable in the evenings. Try draping strings of fairy lights along your fence for low-cost lighting.
If you don’t fancy running electrics outside, choose solar-powered lights. They charge up during the day and automatically come on when the sun goes down.
8. Incorporate Wood, Metal and Stone
Wave goodbye to boring brown fence panels that go mouldy green over the year.
Here the fencing is not only wood, but includes stone gabions, pebbles, and metal so you’ll never get bored. Stones look even better wet and provide a home for pollinating insects to overwinter too.
9. Source Free Materials
One of the best garden fence ideas on a budget is to use free or cheaply-sourced materials. Willow is one of the most natural materials you can use to weave a practical and stylish fence.
Upright posts in the ground give you a sturdy framework to weave whippy willow branches left and right until its high enough. This is a traditional country way to make fences because they were cheaper than sawn timber or iron.
10. Use Modern Silhouettes
A new modern fence gives any type of property a makeover. This fence is not a solid wall of impenetrable wood, but single panels with small evergreen conifers between, so it feels welcoming. Horizontal oak-coloured slats and rendering shout bold, modern, and chic.
This modern fence brings front gardens right up-to-date and will improve your home’s kerb appeal.
11. Make Fences Functional
Instead of painting your fence, why not take note of this practical and functional garden fence idea. In the garden above, raised beds have been built using the fence line as a back wall and stabiliser for wired frames. This is a great idea because it makes the most of small spaces and you can grow delicious fruit and veggies safely covered from birds, cats and other pests.
12. Lower Fences for Internal Boundaries
Low fences mark a boundary if you have several ‘rooms’ in your garden and they look great lining a walkway.
For a low, practical, and stylish fence you can’t get better than wrought iron. Iron withstands the elements and with a lick of paint each year looks as good as new. The open framework is great for growing plants as it lets in plenty of light.
13. Screen From Neighbours and Noise
There are plenty of ways to block out nosy neighbours and passing traffic. Here, thick sections of natural bamboo have been screwed into a frame. This can be used along a fence line or in the garden to screen off an area such as the kids’ play den or your morning coffee spot.
This is simple to build and looks stylish too.
14. Paint it Grey
Grey is the on-trend colour for fences and luckily for us, it’s a flattering colour.
One of the best ways to get your fence perfectly grey is to paint it and let the wood soak up the paint before applying another coat.
This dark fence line looks modern and it’s a great colour for planting against. Greens, whites, and yellows all pop against a grey background – and it’s a good alternative to black that’s always recommended for Japanese style gardens.
15. Add Marbles to Fence Panels
If you need a simple idea to improve a fence panel this trick with coloured marbles is great fun.
Drill holes in your fence panel and push marbles into the holes. When the sun catches them, they light up. It’s also a good way to fill in those knots that naturally occur in wood.
16. Consider Contemporary Fencing
If security isn’t an issue these posts create a contemporary fence line that doesn’t block out all your light.
Differing height placement is what makes this design modern. It brings plenty of movement and is easy to achieve. Use postcrete to keep your poles in place and if you like colour, feel free to paint them.
17. Choose Panels with a Trellis
This is an upgrade on traditional wood fences.
These panels are a deeper colour wood (cedar) and are much wider than standard panels. The wider version makes your garden appear bigger.
The addition of trellis on top stops them look too austere and is very useful for climbing plants.
18. Choose Light, Contemporary Colours
Stylish fence ideas don’t have to be expensive. Using a pale blue, duck egg, or light willow fence paint can transform a boring old weathered fence into something bright and exciting.
A paler colour on your fence brings light into a garden, which is especially welcome in our dull winter light. It also looks great behind darker flowering plants such as blues, purples, dark pink, or tree trunks. Using a pale, contemporary colour is one of the easiest garden fence ideas to bring a bit of modernity to old fences.
19. Consider Temporary Fencing
There’s nothing simpler than pull-out, retractable garden fences.
Retractable fences can be used permanently if fixed into place, or pulled out when they are needed for privacy or wind shelter.
Many have artificial leaves attached or even fairy lights. It’s a simple fence that you don’t need to spend a lot on.
20. Get Creative with Gates
So you need a fence with a gate, or you just need a gate? Stop!
Gates don’t have to look like internal doors. What about a rounded shape? This one looks hobbit-like and is still practical enough to keep the kids and dogs inside.
This design is an archway with scoop design gates beneath creating the circle.
21. Use Fences for Panelling
Here, the back-fence forms part of a pagoda and a cosy place to relax. Pagoda struts can be decorated with a cloth to keep out the sun, hung with lanterns, or used as props to grow climbers. It’s a multi-purpose practical back fence that makes the most of your space and looks stylish too.
22. Embrace Tradition with a Wall Instead
Garden wall fences are often more expensive, but they last longer and you can choose between modern or traditional styles.
Here we have a traditional red brick garden wall with a lion head fountain. It looks old but is newly built with reclaimed materials. This garden wall would create a lovely sun trap to relax or grow herbs and tomatoes in.
23. Cordon Off Areas with Low Fencing
Short garden fences are an easy way to create areas that you want to be off limited to pets or kids. This might be s a vegetable garden or rose border, for example.
The simplest way is to buy ready-made sections that push into the soil. They are available in small sections, curves, and a wide variety of colours. This is the simplest fence to build – they can be created in less than a day.
24. Disguise Existing Fences
An ugly fence that’s still practical can stay put. All you need is a covering. The best value coverings are willow or reed mats. These mats are lightweight and easily attached to an existing fence with cable ties.
Not only to do they make a great job of covering fence panels, but they provide hiding places for insects and grip for climbing plants.
25. Use Pleached Trees for Privacy
Whilst high garden fences ensure privacy, they can be pretty severe and block out the light to your outdoor space.
A good alternative to standard fences is a row of pleached trees. Pleached trees have a bare stem and branches trained into flat rectangles. They are bred to create a high fence line and look especially stylish.
Remember to choose evergreen if you’d like year-round privacy
26. Protect Vegetable Gardens
Growing your own is great fun and it’s healthy too, but when pests get near your whole crop can be ruined in a few minutes – we’re looking at you football-playing kids and pet dogs.
Erecting a simple fence around your veggie patch will keep your crops safe from damage. It’ll also keep out harsh winds whilst letting in light. A few wooden posts with wire stapled to the uprights is usually enough.
27. Give Dogs a Look Out
Dogs are masters of escape so many of us need a sturdy fence. This often means a high wooden affair to prevent your dog from jumping out.
Dogs bark at what they can hear but can’t see, so an ingenious idea is to install a dog window in your fence. Bite proof and escape-proof, this is one of the most pet-friendly fence ideas.
28. Use Pallets as Mounted Planters
A simple way to improve the functionality of garden fencing and make it more stylish is by adding greenery – and what could be easier than tough herbs that enjoy dry conditions.
In the garden above, a pallet has been screwed to the fence and faced with a chalk board. Pocket areas can be lined with plastic bags and filled with soil – then you’re good to go. The perfect pasta is just a step away.
29. Choose a Traditional White Picket Fence
A picket fence marks property boundaries without blocking out light. They also divide up an outdoor space into different areas such as a seating area, veggie garden, or a kids’ play area.
This picket fence is traditionally white, but there are plenty of other shades that suit depending on your style of garden. Pastels for a cottage garden or black/grey for a Japanese zen garden all look stylish.
30. Embrace Cottage Garden Style
Cottage gardens are traditionally full of flowers, greenery and open space. The type of fence that best suits this style is a picket fence in plain wood, white, or pastel. Here the flowers and grasses can grow through the fence to soften it.
31. Use Picture Frames for DIY Decoration
Adding picture frames is a simple tip for DIY garden fencing. Just as you would add pictures to a bare wall, frames on fences bring them alive.
These frames are deep enough to stand flowerpots inside, so plant up herbs, trailing ivy, and pops of marigold to brighten the fence.
Fairy lights wrapped around the frames bring even more magic at dusk. This is a simple DIY tip anyone can do.
32. Let Light In with Wire
When it comes to fence ideas, wire is a good alternative to wooden panels. It lets in light and prevents that claustrophobic feeling. Wire is also the perfect choice for security.
Wire between brick pillars breaks up the line and looks stylish, especially when climbing plants have wound their way up.
33. Combine Planters with Fencing
Garden fences doubling up as raised beds is a great idea to maximise your space and grow your own. Here the trellis of the raised bed acts as the fence.
Using a back fence as the trellis for raised garden beds saves space in a compact garden. It’s perfect for new-build urban gardens.
34. Recycle Household Items
Recycled items create garden fencing that will stand out and help save the environment.
A row of recycled household doors in various colours makes a sturdy and unusual fence resembling a street from Harry Potter.
35. Only Use Lattice
Lattice garden fencing is light and airy and able to support lots of climbing plants.
Lattice is an unusual choice for a fence but can be bought in standard sized panels. If you don’t want your whole fence latticed, maybe pick out one or two panels. It’s surprising how much light it’ll let in.
Lattice is also great as a single panel privacy screen by your seating area.
36. Build Weathered Country Fences
For a rustic country garden feel choose a horizontal fencing that lets in the view beyond.
Large rounded planks of weathered wood lets grasses and flowers enjoy the light and heat while almost unnoticed wire keeps out unwanted visitors. It couldn’t look more countrified.
This is also a great way to divide up a garden without casting large shadows.
37. Decorate with Ornaments
This practical garden fencing has been brought to life with a stylish swathe of metal butterflies.
This works so well because the butterflies are one colour that really stands out. Any decorative ornaments can be added to fences to make a centrepiece in your outdoor space. Time to get creative!
38. Customise Fence Posts
Fence posts are the practical end of fencing. But instead of topping them with a boring square cap, why not go all out with a mini apartment complex for birds?
This is a real talking point and one that the kids can enjoy too. It even has a little fence of its own.
39. Use Versatile Bamboo
Bamboo is a versatile material and it’s a cost-effective option when considering new garden fencing ideas. Bamboo fences can be created from living plants, large poles driven into the ground, or matting on an existing fence.
Here a wooden panel frame holds vertical bamboo screening. This is a perfect dividing fence or a privacy shelter.
40. Add Modern Metal Screens
Metal garden fencing is very modern. Lasers can cut all types of design into panels so you aren’t stuck with the option of wrought iron – although that is very nice!
Laser-cut metal panels make interesting fences, letting in light and creating shadows. They can be pricey though, so you may want to choose just one or two to fit into your existing fence line.
41. Create Rustic Fences
Wicker weaved fences with terracotta jugs draining on the posts – what could be more rustic?
This kind of fence suits a country cottage garden and is simple to erect yourself with sturdy posts and willow whips. What a great place to drain out your wellies after a long dog walk.
It’ll only be a matter of time before the robin appears.
Practical and Stylish Garden Fence Ideas
A fence is something you’ll spend many years looking at, so it’s worth thinking about a design that is not only practical but stylish too.
From security fences to open weave rustic dividers, there’s a fence out there for everyone – just take inspiration from our selection of stylish fence ideas above.
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