Our new neighbors on the north are installing a 6’ wooden privacy fence (they have two pitbulls.) We already have a 48" chain link fence around our yard. There’s going to be a strip of “lawn” between the two fences about 9" wide.
My first thought is to cover it in 12" square paving blocks with landscape fabric underneath. What’s a better, prettier, or cheaper solution?
Washed pea gravel?
If you’re thinking ground cover, we need to know where you live and how much sun the area gets.
I was thinking RoundUp. 
I don’t know how things work where you are but in Australia boundary fences are on the exact boundary between properties and are the joint responsibility of both owners. So if your property was here the 48" chain link fence would be the boundary fence and any fence erected 9" to the north of it would create a 9" strip owned by the northerly neighbor and you wouldn’t be able to touch it.
So if I were in your position in Australia I would tell my neighbor he is welcome to replace the existing fence with a 6’ wooden fence at his expense.
Would it be possible to remove the chain link fence along that property line only?
Enginerd: Pea Gravel over landscape fabric might be fine. Would it need confinement edging along both sides to keep it from spreading into the yards? Also half (about 7 meters) of the border is on a steep hill, would the gravel hold position during heavy rains?
Twickster: I’m in St. Louis (Zone 5, I think), and certainly open to ideas for low maintenance plantings.
Ruby: It just might come to herbicides, but would prefer something more confined in effect, and more permanent.
don’t ask: When I installed the chainlink fence I set the posts in concrete. The concrete bases are all on my property and so the actual fencing is about 3" (10cm) in from the property line. The neighbors did the same thing with their bigger wooden posts. Also, they put their posts and cross beams facing our yard, which creates additional empty space between the two fences.
So, I’d say that 3" of the DMZ strip is ours and 6" is theirs, but realistically we’ll be dealing with the maintenance and getting their approval for anything that infringes on their land (they seem quite friendly.) My wife is talking about hanging planters on our side of their fence.
Panache: I hadn’t considered taking down our fence, and now that I have, it’s a good idea that doesn’t sit right. The fence was a labor of love. That may sound strange for a chain link fence, but I primed all the galvanized metal hardware and painted it low-visibility gray-green. The chainlink is coated in green vinyl.
The neighbors are new, and we’re not happy about their choice of pets. We’re not adjusted to the notion that they are really going to be there for the next 20 years.
Maybe in five years they’ll get corgis and can take down their fence. :^)
Or (as my wife told them this morning) the house is very fertile, and the last two couples that live there had kids is short order. Maybe they’ll rethink their pet choice if there are infants crawling on the floor.
Ground cover might be a good idea – will hold the bank better than gravel or landscaping cloth.
Traditional groundcovers: vinca (purple flowers in the spring, glossy green leaves, evergreen – does best in full to partial sun); pachysandra (white flowers; foliage not as pretty as vince, IMHO – does okay in shade).
Other possibilities: daylilies (foliage dies back in winter, though the roots stay put and hold the soil on the bank – colorful flowers in the summer, and if you plant different varieties the bloom season can go for a couple of months); liriope (looks like an ornamental grass about 6" tall, flowers in the spring).
I like the idea of groundcover with something like daylilies mixed in. Easy to take care of with spots of excitement. Be aware though until the ground cover gets established you will still need to weed it. Unless you’re OK with weeds.
Bummer, everywhere I have ever lived it was customar to put the “good” side of the fence towards the neighbors. It might be good if you go with hanging pots from it.
Are you concerned about the dogs, or just not happy that they are building a fence? I’m not sure what problem the dogs will be, unless they bark a lot. I doubt that they can scale a six foot fence, especially since it seems that the pickets will have to be installed from the inside, presenting a smooth surface to be climbed.
Why don’t you introduce yourselves and ask to meet the dogs? You might be pleasantly surprised.
Gravel doesn’t sound like a good choice here - it would require some kind of edging, and probably won’t stay in place on a steep slope, especially in heavy rains.
I’d be reluctant to go with ground cover or anything that might require maintenance, simply because it’s going to be a huge pain in the ass to get to the ground between the two fences. Of the options in this thread, I’d probably go with the paving blocks. They’re tricky on slopes, but they can look nice leveled out and installed in a stair-step pattern. Once they’re in, they’re pretty low maintenance - a broom and some roundup is pretty much all you should need.
Hi Contrapuntal. Pit bull chat has generated a lot of 6 page threads in the Pit, so I’m typing with some trepidation here.
I took my dogger over and introduced him the first day the neighbors were working on the fence. Their dogs haven’t made an appearance yet. They say that the bitch will love to play with our dog, but that the male (“Ronin”) doesn’t get along well with other dogs.
I have no reason to doubt them and they seem like nice people.
However, I question the judgment of people who choose to own extremely powerful dogs that were bred fairly recently for fighting, and that are sometimes used by people as a silent way to say “fuck you.”
There are dozens of breeds that will provide wonderful watch dog service, without the baggage that pitbulls carry.
So, I don’t care for the doubled up fence, I would prefer to live next to less muscular dogs, and I generally question the judgment of people who own pit bulls.
But I’m entirely ready to like the animals and the neighbors.
Justrob: the orientation of wood fencing was something I’d never thought about until this week, but several of our guests have weighed in on the matter over the last few days.
English ivy is what you need.
Also, go and play with the doggies. Most pitties are nice, attentive, if energetic dogs.
If they are segregating one dog from strange dogs because he does not do well with them, and building a security fence before even bringing the dogs to the property, they seem like responsible dog owners to me.
Actually, pit bulls generally make poor watch dogs, as they just like people to much.
I own a muscular dog who comes with a lot of “baggage,” (a Rottweiler.) She was in rescue, confined to a kennel for six months, so I offered to foster her. Eventually, I adopted her. Everyone who meets her says she is the sweetest dog they have ever met. Everyone. She is totally docile at the vet. Her main goal in life is to get as close as possible to a human, and pester that human until she gets enough ear scratches and tummy rubs to satisfy her. As yet, that is a theoretical number.
Cool!
It is difficult to impossible to nail through a chain link fence that is nine inches away from the target. A hammer won’t work. A nail gun won’t work. You can’t nail from the other side; the nail needs to go through the picket and into the cross piece. And, as I mentioned above, it makes the neighbors’ yard tougher to escape from.
I’d recommend that you check for native plants that might strike your fancy. If you have a state university check or a local agricultural extension to see if they have an agriculture department that may have more info on native plants.
Ha! Good point, I didn’t think of that. Thanks.
How in the world are you going to be able to get into a nine inch space to plant anything between the fences? I would think long and hard about planting a vinca or an english ivy groundcover as these will climb given the opportunity. For such a small space, if you really want to plant something, go with a monkey grass or dwarf mondo grass. They have very little requirement for upkeep and will spread out to fill in the space, but will be very easy to control.
If I’m reading you correctly, you don’t like the looks of their fence and are looking for something to cover it. Your neighbor most likely won’t want something that doesn’t belong to them creeping up their fence. If they have to replace a section of it, your plants are going to be ripped out.
I saw one of those gardening shows this weekend. A couple tied bamboo canes to their chainlink fence. It looked pretty good. Otherwise, maybe you can consider planting trees along that side to soften the harsh look of their fence.
Be aware that even with paver blocks or gravel placed over landscape fabric, debris and dirt will blow into the cracks and weeds will sprout and grow. Plus landscape fabric degrades eventually and you’ll get weeds coming up from below.
I don’t think you can plant or maintain plantings in a 9-inch space even if you are very very skinny.
Around here, it’s codified that the ugly side has to be facing in.