Need suggestions for hiding backyard fence
 

We recently bought a Veranda home that we love. One of the reasons we bought a Veranda was because we thought we would have more privacy from our neighbors. This is true, however the six foot vinyl fence is 11 feet from our lanai. I first thought that we could create an island with plants to help hide the ugly fence. I just found out that there is a 7 foot variance that prohibits us from doing anything except plant grass. That leaves us with 4 feet of "our" property. The door of the lanai opens into that area also.
We moved from a house with a beautiful back yard and this situation is very disappointing!
We don't want large traditional shrubs crowding our screens. Does anyone have any other ideas?
Thank you!

Did you check with the CDD or ARC to see if you can apply paint or a covering to the fence. If you can do this you might be able to have a pleasing scene placed on your fence. I have seen amazing displays on trucks and cars that are a vinyl wrap material that might be suitable. This all depends on whether you can paint or cover your side of the fence. The only other option I could think of would be some sort of a temporary covering, this would require lots of research.

How about several shepherds hooks with large hanging baskets filled with beautiful flowers? I think they’d block out the fence to some degree and provide color.

Another thought: several large pots that can be moved when necessary. You could plant quick growing shrubs or palms in these. Just wondering...why the 7 ft variance since there’s no neighbor back there. Utilities maybe?

Are you responsible for the maintenance of that fence?

I'm far from a design expert but, I am growing blueberries in pots, reason they need acidic soil and our soil is alkaline. Large pots? I've had several plastic posts simply fall apart due to our sun. Moving a large pot. In my case to a bigger new pot. It is a shock how heavy they are. Also, in a pot the root structure is limited. It is necessary to be sure they are watered. One mistake and they are done for.

Big plants hiding the fence will make the property look smaller. Bushes beyond the screen is the traditional answer. The original poster seems to be against that.

I agree that shrubs behind the screen is the best and low maintenance solution. I’d suggest podocarpus which can be trimmed and don’t naturally (columnar habit) get too wide. Whatever it is, it shouldn’t touch your house.

No, I’d not suggest plastic pots. If you go the potted route, invest in high quality glazed pottery. You can place them on wheeled stands for when it’s necessary to move them and even tap into irrigation so they’re watered automatically.

Hanging baskets would look beautiful but do require daily maintenance. Sometimes you’d need to water twice a day. Ugh!

Two questions: are you positive about a 7-foot clearance? That sounds like a lot. What are your neighbors with this situation doing?

The house doesnt meet your requirements, and never will. Suck it up and move.

Seriously? You seem to have derived quite a bit of information from one short post by someone you have never met.

Before you do anything, make sure you have approval from the Architectural Review Committee (ARC). They have strict rules.

However, to my knowledge, they do not go around looking for violations. I have heard that other people do that. They supposedly drive around looking for violations, file a complaint, and then ARC checks into it.

In your back yard? No one but you are gonna see them. Do what you want to do.

That is fine until a neighbor sees what you have done and complains to ARC and ARC comes by and orders you to remove it.

That is what happened with our neighbors across the street.

Neighbor A planted some shrubs in their yard. Neighbor B did not like it. Neighbor A refused to remove them. Neighbor B complained to ARC and they ordered Neighbor A to remove them.

Maybe something like this - fake boxwood panels that snap together. Of course, get approval.... Here's a link to product idea on Amazon...
Amazon.com

We are not allowed to paint or attach anything to the fences. We are however responsible for the upkeep/replacement if needed.

As I said in my original post, I love my HOUSE, but was asking for help with my fence.
I have no plans to move!

I see from a previous post you cannot do anything with or to the fence, so how about roll up screens on you lanai, we have these on ours and use them for the 2 months out of the year we need to control the sun coming in. You can find lower cost ones at Lowe's and home depot, and much more custom made ones. You may be able to find ones with a nice scene on it.

I think as long as the plants will never go over the fence and the neighbors don’t complain you are fine.

Thank you for all of your great suggestions.

I'm positive about the 7 foot rear easement. I checked with the ARC about putting in shrubs, hardscape and possibly a waterfall before contacting landscapers. I was informed in writing that I would not be allowed to place anything there because the area along the rear fences have a 7 foot property set-back and nothing permanent can be placed or planted there except grass.

I really don't know what my neighbors have done because I moved into an established neighborhood and most of my neighbors are snowbirds.

I've lived in four different heavily restricted neighborhoods and have always submitted landscape plans when needed. I've even served on ARC Boards before, but have never run into a situation like this.

I'm trying to find the most creative and least maintainence intensive solution.

I think you are correct as long as "THE NEIGHBORS DON'T COMPLAIN".

I know of one guy who put a free-standing tool shed in his back yard. His neighbors do not complain, so ARC does nothing.

I know in my backyard I would need to stand on a ladder to see in the neighbors yard and that is not happening. If you can’t see anything from the street the busybodies that drive around to report people will not be able to see it.

Get some taller ornamental grasses to break up the out line of the fence.
Can you get Pampas Grass in US?
Clump, I repeat clump forming black bamboo is also grass, and easy to control.
All should be in obeyance of deeds.
Grass come in many forms, we have about eight different species in our garden in UK. ranging from 1" to 8-10 foot.

plant a bamboo privacy hedge on your portion of the property, as it spreads it will move towards the fence and you did not plant it into the area that it spreads. it is very difficult to control, however, but very nice to look at.

Another thought - trellis
 

We had a similar problem up north in our restricted community. Nothing could be attached to our side wall. I put up trellises a few inches from the wall with morning glories and columbine. I have seen lovely flowers here on trellises that may meet your needs. Good luck.

One idea, sell.

BAMBOO! :boom:

It’s your yard ,lol

That is for ARC to decide.

Ornamental grasses can be pretty. They can also get out of control here. Work with a knowledgeable nursery person. You might think about a combination of tall grass and podocarpus for a variety of texture and color. The grasses will get wide. If they’re strict about the 7 ft. Setback, there’s not much space and it may be a challenge to prevent plant material from encroaching.

I honestly don’t know how you’re going to avoid plants very close to the screening if I’m visualizing this accurately. I once had a similar situation. I used Robellini and viburnum, always trimmed so as not to touch the house. I never loved it but adjusted to it. Congratulations on your new house! There are no perfect ones.

Maybe I missed something....did you not find this out before you bought your house that you love?? I know that finding out after is like closing the barn door after the horses ran out but...... I would look around your area for similar houses (not necessarily your neighbor/snowbirds) and ask those folks what they did. It seems that between ARC and your tastes, the solutions are limited.

I think this is your key. You should be able to put pots or other planters in the space. You may be able to cover the area next to the fence with gravel, and then put the planters on the gravel. Or, put big pavers down and put the planters on top of the pavers - so they don't sink into the grass.

"Permanent" doesn't mean it has to be easy to move, just that it is not dug/grown into the ground.

Find a landscaping company familiar with The Villages and ask them. There are lots of Verandas and I'm sure many other people have the same restrictions and landscapers have figured out solutions.

Ignore those telling you to flagrantly break the rules and hope you don't get caught. That can become very expensive - as numerous people in TV have learned.

Color me confused. Was the home purchased sight unseen?

I have friends that put a beautiful waterfall in their back in front of their courtyard villa wall. Since you don't need to "dig" to put this in, it might be OK with compliance.

Seriously? No house is a perfect match for anyone. We always have to compromise on some details. Why would someone move just because there is a possibly fixable thing they don’t like about their house? The OP came here for suggestions on how to do just that. Not helpful!

Podocarpus gets BIG. Although a good screen, which you do not need because you have a fence, you will be trimming it constantly. Think sky pencil (you will need a male and female plant), dwarf crepe myrtle (which blooms beautifully), they grow to be about 6 to 8 feet and need little care or trimming. A little on line research may give you other choices that can work for you. I am surprised at the stipulation INSIDE the fences but not much you can do now.

I agree with natureboy. "Permanent" is the key word. Nothing is permanent.

I would think two or three sections of nice redwood/cedar trellis with flowering Vines would look terrific. I would make them 5' tall so they're not easily seen.

Are they permanent? Nope, easily removable. (No concrete on the posts)

Just a suggestion. :)

I recently got ARC approval for a planter on the side of my house. They warned me that there is a 5’ easement and that I would be responsible for repairs to my new stuff if they had to do something in that easement. I’m willing to take that chance. Nothing about my planter would be expensive to fix and I’m going to plant vegetables.

How terrible would it be if you planted vegetables there and one year they got ruined because some utility had to use that easement for something? You could put in trellises and grow peas or some other vines on them.

Hire a landscaper

Just to ensure you do have a 7 foot variance for Plants..
 

Just to ensure you do have a 7 foot variance, take a good look at your Home & Property Prints that you received at closing. You should see a build line distance for sure; I thought the typical plant distance was 3 feet. We called and found out that we had confused the build line with the distance to place plants. 7 foot variance on the inside of the fence sounds high.

Grass is grass, just as the restrictions state.
No need for ARC at all.

That idea with the hanging shepherds pots and beautiful flowers sounds like a great idea but based on the deed restrictions climate which has caused all sorts of vehement discussions, and the anonymous reporting system, I would suggest that you check first to see if the hanging plants could also become a deed violation. QUOTE=Villageswimmer;1974848]How about several shepherds hooks with large hanging baskets filled with beautiful flowers? I think they’d block out the fence to some degree and provide color.[/QUOTE]

I’d be interested in how is this easement area used for and under what conditions? It doesn’t sound to me that that part of the property belongs to you.