I am putting up a fence. A small Dogwood tree is right exactly in line with the house where I want the fence to go. I don't really want to chop down the tree, so I'm considering running the fence around it. Any creative ideas how to do this and make it look good? I'm considering zig/zagging around the tree but don't want to have to dig 3 or 4 extra holes just to go around it, and to angle slightly past it would look funny. The tree is too big to move, I don't have the resources to move something that would require that big of a rootball to be dug up. Any ideas?
No ideas here. First you say it's a small tree then you say is't too big to move. Fences and trees do not mix. Trees can be moved or even replaced.
If that tree is in the way of your fence then you cut it down and dig up the stump. I hope that's creative enough for you. If you are worried then plant several replacment trees right away. That way your concience over this one tree can be soothed and the project can proceed.
If you like the Dogwood- lovely trees that they are- just dig those extra holes, an extra bit of exercise will be just right! For you to consider and actually give credence to the tree, thereby accomodating its position will make you a rare character in the world of people and trees. Good for you. You could, perhaps, alter the height of the fence to accomodate the roots of the dogwood, ie. raise the panels in the relevant area, perhaps plant a small shrub to cover the gap. Are you using (concrete) gravelboards?
stop the fence at the tree, and continue after, so that the tree fills the gap. -- 0 -- or you can use a flexible wire fence around the tree to fill the gap if security is a concern (from kids and animals, not robbers!)
nail the fence to the tree (but trees grow bigger).
Is it a boundary fence? If you zig zag around it you will probably need to consult your neighbour.
Why not stop the fence before the tree and then take it up after the tree. Fill in the gap with something flexible and adjustable - chain wire perhaps. Defines the boundary and gives the tree a chance to grow on.
It will look cute. The bench around the tree will also look cute.
I probably like the second better, even though it requires one more post.
I have a fence, a 40" high picket fence, and then a tree started to grow next to it. Outside the fence are some woods, so this was the natural spread of a forest.
I figured I had at least 10 or 15 years before it interfered with the fence, and I figured when that time came, I could cut progressively longer sections out of the picket fence, nailing the stubs to the tree, or conceivably putting in two more posts to hold the stub ends, and then just cutting off an inch of fence beyond the new posts every time the tree grows an inch closer. Although I don't really feel like putting in fence posts, especially with the fence and tree in the way.
The fence is decorative, to keep in the dog that visits 3 or 4 weeks a year, and to keep kids and neigbors from taking a short cut through my yard. But one hole would not a short cut make unless the path outside my fence were impassable. My gate has no latch nor springb and is often partly open but no one walks in.
There had been a rose bush in this spot, but it had died, and maybe there wasn't any grass to interfere with the "embryonic" tree.
It was about a foot high when I was sure it wasn't a weed. 10 or 15 years later it's about 20 feet high. The trees right next to it are
30 or 40 feet. I think mine is a poplar.
During its first year at 1 or 2 inches above the trunk moved an inch or two farther from the fence, probably looking for light. I think that gives me another 5 or 10 years. Maybe more. After 10 or 15 years the radius is about 3 inches. The tree has no branches on the woods-facing side of it.
Putting nails into trees in never a good idea, never a good reason to do so, either. The bench is a wonderful idea, it will minimise the overall maintenance of the fence and surrounding area.
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