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Show Cr;j F oneo OauoG 0rS9 Fo? Plcnls By PATRICK DENTON Copley News Service Every year I like to undertake under-take at least one improvement in the garden some change that will make the garden more pleasant and easier to care for in the years to come. THIS YEAR, we undertook the whopping job of installing a new fence around the property. To decide on the type of fence we wanted, we visited a local lumber yard where several types of sample fence were displayed. In the end, we chose for the fence between ourselves and our neighbors a five-foot solid cedar fence, each board attractively at-tractively tapered at the top. For the fence facing the road, we chose a model called a "good neighbor" fence, in which vertical boards are placed alternately on either side of the two horizontal boards. THE POSTc ire painted itn a wood preservative stain in a dark barn brown, and the boards are stained in moss reon. I never woultl have believed that a new fence would have changed the appearance of the yard so much. The property all of a sudden seemed so much larger, for one thing. Also, we suddenly felt urgently inspired to lay down new flower beds against the new elegant picture frame background. The far corner of tht property where the fence had to be built around a large, old tree all of a sudden seemed a natural for a tree house for the kids. THIS, OF course, necessitated necessi-tated the moving of the garden gar-den shed and a hundred other major structural changes throughout the entire yard. Ant to top off the entire effect, I found a fabulous buy on low white plastic fencing to border all the, beds. So now, because of a new fence we have ended up witn an almost 'entirely new garden. This year we have discovered dis-covered numerous advantages advan-tages to having a substantial fence around the yard. We have enjoyed the privacy im- mensely. AROUND the patio area, hanging planters bolted to the fence posts add much to the aesthetic beauty of outdoor living. We found bright and splashy plants like begonias, geraniums, marigolds and petunias set off nicely with hanging plants like lobelia and thqngbergia. Even herbs like basil and parsley, or small vegetables like Tiny Tim cherry tomatoes and patio pa-tio pot cucumbers make good subjects for these fence plant containers. We have also found the fence bordering the main garden plot to be a marvelous mar-velous space saver. Trellises, wire, or string supports sup-ports established against the fence can support any number of flowers and vegetables vege-tables anything that can be persuaded to grow upwards instead of sprawling over the ground taking up great masses of space. IN A lightly shaded spot against the fence, sweet peas are a natural. Protected against the fiercest summer heat, they will yield their fragrant blooms all season. In a sunnier place against the fence, morning glory vines will grow up any type of support sup-port to produce a solid bass of greenery and blooms. Scarlet runner beans are another treat to eye and palate that can be grown in sun against a fence, given some support. Their bright red flowers and attractive, delicious beans make them a double value in the garden. WE FOUND that whatever we grew against our new fence was made doubly beautiful beau-tiful for the picture frame effect ef-fect the fence gave to the planting. |