beautiful fences to protect your gardenbeautiful fences to protect your garden

Wood fencing is a wonderful way to increase privacy and add style to a backyard, even if they do require their fair share of maintenance over the years. If you want to keep the fence looking great, you'll need to make sure that you do the following 4 things.

Redirect Sprinklers

One of the downfalls of wood is that it is susceptible to mildew and mold. You may not be able to keep the fence away from the natural elements, but you can prevent it from getting wet from your sprinklers. Water from municipal water sources also contains chlorine, which can contribute to the wood growing mildew, mold, and fungus if the material gets wet. Simply adjust your sprinklers so that when they rotate, they stop just prior to reaching your fence. For the very same reason, you should be mindful of spraying the fence with a hose when watering flowers or plants near the fence.

Keep Plants and Dirt Away

While a garden bed that is made directly next to a fence may look great, it can cause your fencing to become damaged. While the dirt and various plants are not directly responsible for causing problems, it's the insects that are attracted to these things that you need to be aware of. Insects will easily move between the soil and your fence. The dirt will also contain moisture, which will damage the bottom of the fence that it comes in contact with.

It helps to put an additional barrier between your fence and any garden beds that you have to keep the fence healthy.

Seal, Paint, or Stain Regularly

Wood needs to have a coating applied to the fence regularly to keep it from rotting or deteriorating. All you need to do is apply a steal, stain, or fresh coat of paint to the wood on a regular basis. The protective layer is what prevents damage from occurring when the material is exposed to water and sunlight.

The key to applying a good protective coat to a fence is to make sure it's dry before doing so. Sealing a moist fence will trap the water inside the wood, eventually causing it to become weak

Treat Mildew and Mold

When the fence does start growing mildew and mold, you need to treat it immediately. Your local hardware store should sell a cleaning solution that can remove it from your fence. All you need to do is follow the manufacturer's instructions.

For more information, contact Carter Fence or a similar company.