How to disguise a reaaaalllly ugly fence

[superschwein22]

At the front of my property, I hadve a 60 ft long metal fence that is extremely unattractive. It is somewhat elevated from the street since my house sits up on a small hill. I was thinking about planting either some kind of vine or something else that is low maintenance and flowering. I was thinking that if I could find something that grows in between the fence it would disguise it nicely.

If I could do it myself, I would probably just replace it but since it is at such a weird angle I don't trust my own abilities and, quite frankly, would not really want to pay big bucks to have somebody else do it.

Does anybody have any suggestions? My husband really wanted Forsythia but I fear that it would not really cover up the fence.

[superschwein22]

Oh, I forgot to mention that the area gets a good four to five hours of direct sunlight and then is in partial shade.

[WildcatNurseryman]

Five-leafed Akebia is semi-evergreen and can be interplanted with a more showy bloomin vine like clematis or cardinal vine to make a really beautiful living fence. I combined these two (Akebia and Cardinal Vine) at a shopping mall here in town and it has been really tough and has done a good job of hiding a bad view.

[applestar]

Do you want annuals or perennials?

Annuals would require cleaning up the dead vines after each season -- how accessible is the fence?

Perennials may take longer to get established, but will more than likey need pruning after it takes off. Some perennials will still need dead (more woody and tough) vines to be cleaned up since they will winter kill and grow new shoots from the ground each year.

Also, how confident are you about the ability of this fence to hold up heavier more vigorous vines in strong gusty winds, and to hold up masses of woody perennial growth?

[Yellowsnow]

Forsythia would work well in a hedge blocking the fence after years of growing and pruning. Leyland Cypress trees are evergreens and would be very low maintenance and grow pretty fast for a tree. For a vine on the fence that flowers will probably involve some maintenance. Wisteria could work, but could damage the fence over time. Sounds like a good place for some grape vines. They would grow on the fence and provide some good fruit.

[superschwein22]

I was definitely thinking perennials because it's an are that I don't want to have to work on excessively every year again and again. It's a part of my yard that I consider annoying to deal with, lol.

The fence could hold up a lot of weight, really. Gusty winds would definitely hit it because it's totally exposed which makes me want to plant something there even more since it would kind of protect the rest of the yard from wind a little bit. It's totally accessible from the side of the house. The street side is elevated from street level so I wouldn't be able to get there unless I use a tall ladder.

The grape vines sound good, really. I have no experience with them but it might be fun trying it out.

[WildcatNurseryman]

Japanes Beatles are a problem on grapes here in KY.