When it comes to natural fences the posibilites are endless. We had some serious thoughts on de fencing of our house. The basic point of view being that walls are ugly, but some protection is required in the harsh reality of today. We do not want to live in a prison, so the brick wall becomes or last option. Ideally, a slow growing natural fence would be best, but we have to make some compromises as we need it NOW.
Natural fencing
I am a huge fan of natural fencing. You can use trees, (spiny) shrubs, or bamboo.
Anything that grows.
We found several plants used by locals and got us ourselves seedlings to start growing these and apply in our fencing. Later on we will publush this, but I thought it would be interesteing to share the othere options we have for fencing…
Mixed forms of fencing
In practise, we use a mixed form, with chain link fencing or a wire fence as a basis structure and let plants such as maracuja and hedera take it over from there.
Chain link fence
This alternative will keep people out to a certain extent. In order to have something that keeps children away from the building site, and delay thieves and other scum from entering. We use this fence type too. The cows stay out too.
We have our doubts on the durability of the concrete posts. These tend to break and collapse after five or ten years, depending of what we see in our surroundings.
It is the most economical alternative. logically we did not want to spend too much on separations with adjacent lots. If a brick wall arises here anyway in future, why invest in something nice? In the meanwhile, plants start to form a natural barrier. We hope it will stay that way.
Powder coated metal fence
We opted for this type of fence in our building project as it blends in with the surroundings and give us the option to grow plants against it. Supposedly the fence is maintenance free because of the powder coating. Finger crossed.
Metal fence
Metal fencing can be a durable and beautiful solution at a medium cost. The downside is that it requires maintenance. We see out neighbours painting their metal fences within two years of installation. It may have something to do with the tropical conditions too. Sooner or later rust kicks in.
Wooden fence
Nice. Very popular in Dutch suburban neighbourhoods. In the humid tropics these kind of garden separators will rot away in months.
Brick wall
Prison here we go. The most expensive and in my opinion the ugliest way to go. Putting a brick wall around your house is literally blocking off all interaction with your surroundings.
Sure, there are some variants with openings, and nice patterns on stone laying techniques.
Worse is when it gets covered with plaster. Imagine the environmental impact of all the cement that goes into that. In the end these walls become magnets for graffiti. Not the most pleasant alternative at all.