Home›Artificial Hedges›How to Cover a Fence with Artificial Hedge Screening

How to Cover a Fence with Artificial Hedge Screening

A tired, weathered or boring fence is the easiest thing in the garden to transform. Artificial hedge screening turns a bare boundary into a dense, evergreen wall in an afternoon — no growing, no painting, no maintenance. Here's exactly how to do it.

✓ Covers any fence ✓ Fitted in an afternoon ✓ Full, solid coverage ✓ Zero maintenance

Shop Hedge Panels Get a Free Quote

Why cover a fence with artificial hedge screening?

Fences are practical but rarely attractive — they weather, fade, warp and date. Artificial hedge screening fixes the look instantly while adding privacy, and it's far less effort than the alternatives: no painting every few years, no waiting for a climber to grow in, no living hedge to trim.

Panels vs roll screening: which covers a fence better?

Most "artificial fence screening" sold online comes on a roll — and many of those products openly admit you can still see through them to some extent. That's fine for a light decorative touch, but for genuinely covering a fence and gaining privacy, solid interlocking panels do a far better job.

Our hedge panels are 50cm × 50cm and 1m × 1m interlocking tiles in UV-stabilised PE (polyethylene), made to give full, solid coverage rather than the partial screen you get from a thin roll. See the full range.

A tired timber fence transformed with dense artificial hedge panels.

What you'll need

• Artificial hedge panels — enough to cover your fence area (see sizing below).
• Cable ties (for wire/mesh fences and railings) or a staple gun / U-nails (for timber).
• Strong scissors or secateurs for trimming panels to size.
• Tape measure, and a helper for longer runs.
• For brick or rendered walls: timber battens, galvanised mesh and screws to build a fixing frame.

How many panels do you need?

Measure the width and height of the fence you want to cover, in metres, and multiply for the square-metre area. Then:

• 50cm × 50cm tiles: 4 tiles cover 1m².
• 1m × 1m panels: 1 panel covers 1m².
• Add 5–10% for trimming and overlap.

How to fit hedge screening to a fence: step by step

1. Check the fence is sound

   The fence carries the weight of the panels, so make sure posts and panels are stable and well-fixed first. Repair or re-secure anything loose before you start — it's far easier now than later.

2. Clip the panels together

   Connect the panels to each other using the male and female connectors on the mesh backing. Build up runs on the ground first where you can, so you're fixing larger sections rather than individual tiles.

3. Fix to the fence

   On a timber fence, staple or U-nail through the mesh backing into the timber. On wire mesh, chain-link or railings, cable-tie the panels straight on. Work from one end, keeping the top edge level — run a string line if you want it perfectly straight.

4. Stagger the joints

   Offset the vertical joins between rows like brickwork rather than lining them up. This hides the seams and gives the most natural, gap-free finish.

5. Trim to fit

   At posts, corners and the top edge, trim the panels to size with strong scissors or secateurs. Cut from the back through the mesh; the foliage springs back to hide the cut line.

6. Finish the edges

   Tuck and fluff the foliage along the top and side edges so no mesh backing shows. Stand back, check for any thin spots or visible joins, and add offcuts to fill if needed.

Covering a brick or rendered wall instead?

You can't staple or cable-tie directly to masonry, so build a simple fixing frame: screw timber battens to the wall, attach a layer of galvanised mesh across them, then cable-tie the panels to the mesh. This spares you drilling dozens of holes and gives a strong, even surface to fix to. The panels themselves attach exactly as they do on a fence.

Best panels for fence coverage

Jumanji Green Wall Panel

A bold, dense jungle-style panel in a large 100cm × 100cm size — ideal for covering a fence fast, with fewer pieces and a lush, full finish.

Ginseng Green Wall Panel

Broad, lush leaves give a rich, textured cover — a fuller, more tropical look for a fence you want to feel green and established.

Browse these and more in our hedge panel range, in 50cm and 1m sizes.

Frequently Asked Questions