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, with no growing, no painting and no trimming. Here is exactly how to do it.
✓ Covers any fence
✓ Fitted in an afternoon
✓ 90–95% coverage
✓ No watering or trimming
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 is far less effort than the alternatives: no painting every few years, no waiting for a climber to grow in, no living hedge to trim.
Instant transformation
A bare or tired fence becomes a lush green wall in a single afternoon.
Hides the fence
Weathered timber, concrete posts, chain-link, ugly panels: the foliage covers them.
Adds privacy
Our 50cm and 1m panels block 90–95% of the view along the fence line.
No upkeep
No repainting, trimming or feeding. The UV-stabilised foliage is SGS-tested for 5,000 hours of UV exposure.
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 is fine for a light decorative touch, but for genuinely covering a fence and gaining privacy, interlocking panels do a far better job.
| Hedge panels | Roll screening | |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | Dense: 90–95% shade coverage | Often thin; can see through |
| Realism | Multi-depth, layered foliage | Flatter, more uniform |
| Fitting | Clips together, fixes flat to fence | Cable-tied, can sag over time |
| Neat edges & corners | Trim cleanly to size | Frays / loose edges |
| Tested performance | SGS UV-tested, 3-year warranty | Varies |
Our hedge panels are 50cm × 50cm and 1m × 1m interlocking panels in UV-stabilised PE (polyethylene). Compare 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 (see sizing below).
- Cable ties (for wire mesh fences and railings) or U-nails (for timber).
- Strong scissors or secateurs for trimming panels to size.
- Tape measure, and a helper for longer runs.
How many panels do you need?
Work row by row so you allow for cut panels at the ends and top:
- Panels across: fence width ÷ panel width, rounded up.
- Rows: fence height ÷ panel height, rounded up.
- Total: panels across × rows. Four 50cm panels or one 1m panel cover a square metre.
Worked example
A fence 5m wide and 1.8m high takes 10 panels across and 4 rows of 50cm panels, so 40 panels, or 5 across and 2 rows of 1m panels, so 10 panels. The artificial hedge calculator works it out for you.
How to fit hedge screening to a fence: step by step
Check the fence is sound
The fence carries the panels and the wind load on them, so make sure posts and panels are stable and well fixed first. Repair or re-secure anything loose before you start.
Clip the panels together
Connect the panels using the male and female connectors on the mesh backing. Build up runs on the ground first, so you are fixing larger sections rather than individual panels.
Fix to the fence
On a timber fence, fix through the mesh backing into the timber with U-nails. On wire mesh, chain-link or railings, cable-tie the panels straight on. Work from one end, keeping the top edge level, and fix along every edge and at regular points across the panel.
Join panels seamlessly
There is no need to stagger or offset the joins. The connectors lock neighbouring panels together so the foliage meets with no visible line between them.
Trim to fit
At posts, corners and the top edge, trim the panels with strong scissors or secateurs. Cut from the back through the mesh; the foliage springs back to hide the cut line.
Finish the edges
Tuck and fluff the foliage along the top and side edges so no mesh backing shows, and fill any thin spots with offcuts.
Covering a brick or rendered wall instead?
You cannot fix directly to masonry, so build a simple fixing frame: screw timber battens to the wall, attach galvanised mesh across them, then cable-tie the panels to the mesh. See artificial hedge walls and the installation guide.
Best panels for fence coverage
For a clipped hedge look see boxwood and topiary panels, or browse all artificial hedges.
Ready to transform your fence?
Tell us your fence dimensions and we will work out exactly how many panels you need and send a tailored quote.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I attach artificial hedge panels to any fence?
Timber, wire mesh, chain-link and railings all work. Timber takes U-nails; mesh and railings take cable ties. For brick or rendered walls, fix a batten-and-mesh frame first, then attach the panels to that.
Will the panels damage my fence?
They are lightweight and fix with cable ties or U-nails. Make sure the fence itself is stable before adding panels, as it carries them and the wind load on them.
Can you see through hedge screening?
Our 50cm and 1m panels block 90–95% of the view when the fence is fully covered, far more than most thin roll screens.
How long does it take to cover a fence?
A typical garden fence run takes an afternoon. Clipping panels together into larger sections first, then fixing them, is quicker than fitting panels one at a time.
Will it last outdoors?
Our artificial hedging is built for years of outdoor use: the UV-stabilised foliage is tested by SGS to ASTM G154 for 5,000 hours of UV exposure, and every panel carries a 3-year warranty.
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