“Good fences make good neighbours?” If you apply this famous old saying to creativity and original decorative ideas, of course it is true! Fences in yards or gardens do much more than just separate different areas or separate people from one another; they add to the aesthetic quality of a garden and can make or break the design of a landscape. Fences should link parts of your landscape; fences should complement the style of both your garden and your house and fences should provide decorative borders.

This is why it is crucial to choose your fences wisely and to determine what you will place in front of them. The following are the best choices of fences for gardens and tips on how to make the most of them. Picket Fences are indeed those short, mostly white fences made of wood, but they have become much more meaningful and are being made of vinyl and even wrought iron when people try and recreate a Tuscan style. These fences work best when you use tiny or short shrubs and flowers in front of them or, when their pickets are very close together, they can very successfully co-exist with tall flowering bushes. They work well themselves right in front of carefully pruned shrubs.

Then you will find Stone Fences, which can be very creative and intriguing. Stone fences can be made very high or very low and this is why it is the most flexible of all. They can also easily be contoured and become artworks within your garden. Stone fences are frequently used as borders and people use flowers, bushes and trees to complement the stone. Stones are found in different colours, so if you, for example, choose to place a white rose bush in front of the stone fence, choose stones that are dark brown to black so the roses will stand out.

Maybe you want to add a post or rail fence! These are extremely easy to install and can be used to either stand out or blend in. The great thing about this fence is that it can start in the middle of nowhere and stop or start just where you like it. If you have a natural rail fence, use lots of wood in front and around it for a natural look and keep brighter colours to a minimum. If you want a more modern and flower-filled landscape, paint the fence white and use bright colours in front of it to add charm and make both the fence and plants stand out. These also work well around driveways.

The last fence is the Live Fence, where the plant or the bush of your choosing makes up the whole fence. Here you can use bushes, hedges or even bamboo to create a natural fence. This is most appealing to those who want to help the environment as best they can and you will never have to worry about the fence blending in with changing conditions in your yard. You can add any flower or vine to this kind of fence, but try to steer clear of bulky, dense bushes, because then it will look overgrown and overpower the area.