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On a personal note, I like the black vinyl coated chainlink fences (4 foot), actually much more than most wood and vinyl privacy fences. I think these privacy fences are almost as unattractive as silver chainlink, but that's me. There are some wood fences, both short and privacy that are to die for, but those are rare. The shorter vinyl fences look "neat and clean" but they also look cheap. Perhaps when they move away from the glossy white plastic and give them texture I would probably change my mind. I know there are several options along those lines, but nothing that really stands out, yet.
As for the article, I can see how in certain applications using vines can be a big improvement over the bare silver fence.
Some of my neighbors have silver chainlink and yes, they are unattractive, but then again, my neighborhood is rather old for this area, and much of the landscaping is over grown or nonexistent, but there are exceptions. Throw that into the mix with these unattractive fences and that brings down home values.
On the other hand, some of the newer neighborhoods are very landscaped and pleasing to the eye, at least at first, but in short time they become invisible to the mind. The reason being is that they are like the big white privacy fences, you see one, you've seen them all. As beautiful as they are, they have no personality.
I've just gotten into gardening and landscaping and it's a joy. When I ride around looking at what other people have done, the yards I enjoy the most are the ones where you can tell that people love it too. Each one is unique and display changes as the seasons change, unlike the newer neighborhoods I mentioned before where their landscape is stagnant from spring to fall.
If you already have a silver chainlink fence, the ideas presented in this article are a great way to add variety and beauty to your yard.
The other thing I would like to mention and I assume that I am preaching to the choir considering the type of people who would read this article, but many yards remain a blank canvas, so to speak, regardless of how long people live there. I have been guilty of that in the past. They throw a bush or tree here or there to fill the emptiness, but that's where it ends. Since I've gotten excited, "yes excited" about my yard I've filled my blank canvas with 9 trees, 18 bushes, and an assortment of perennials and annuals, including vines. All this in the period of 1 year. Actually this is the beginning of the second year. The really cool thing is that when Spring comes, the trees begin to flower, the first one white, then the second tree, a deep pink, then the bushes begin to flower... I could go on, but it's really a thing of beauty, especially compared to the rather bleak landscape that my yard was before. I started on my backyard this year. Well, I did plant a Autumn Blaze Maple and 3 Viburnum Withthru's last year in the back, but now I have added another tree and 5 more bushes. In the near future, when Spring comes, I will be able to sit in my front yard or back yard and have my own personal space full of colors and textures.
The whole point of my story is that improving your yard, as this article suggests, will improve your life in ways that you wont believe.
