27 Brilliant Ways Help You Get Rid Of The Eyesores at HomeShrubs hide ugly air conditioner units while adding color and texture to your yard. Planting near an outdoor air conditioner unit is challenging, because it requires shrubs of certain sizes and shapes that won't block the air flow or cause damage to the air conditioner. The shrubs you choose must also be heat-tolerant to withstand the hot air blown from the unit while its running, but you do have several options for shrubs that can thrive in hot environments. Shrub Selection Tips When planting shrubs near your air conditioner’s outdoor unit, take several factors into consideration. First, an air conditioner blows out hot air as it cools your home, and this heat can kill shrubs that aren't heat-resistant. Another important factor to consider before planting is the mature size of the shrub and its growth habit. Choose shrubs that aren’t likely to grow or spread to an unmanageable size and avoid plants that produce messy berries that may fall into the air conditioner unit where they may cause problems.

Evergreen Options Evergreen shrubs add year-round color and those with an upright growth habit form a screen for an outdoor air conditioning unit. Cape leadwort (Plumbago auriculata), which is also called cape plumbago, is a small evergreen shrub that grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 through 11. This South African native grows to between 1 and 3 feet tall and wide and thrives in hot, dry conditions. Bluestem joint fir (Ephedra equisetina) gets its name from its finely textured blue stems. It grows in USDA zones 4 through 9 and grows to 3 to 6 feet tall and wide. Bluestem joint fir is extremely heat- and drought-tolerant, and its small size and moderate growth rate make it a good choice for planting near your air conditioner. Flowering Shrubs Flowering shrubs that tolerate heat can add color to your yard while hiding eyesores like air conditioner units. Candelilla (Euphorbia antisyphilitica) grows in USDA zones 8 through 11, and grows in an upright clumping form.

This heat-loving shrub produces tiny cream and pink flowers during warm weather, particularly after periods of rain, and grows to just 1 to 3 feet tall with an equal spread. Esperanza (Tecoma stans) is a flowering shrub that works well for larger yards. This shrub thrives in full sun and reaches a mature size of 10 to 15 feet tall with a spread of 5 to 10 feet. Esperanza grows in USDA zones 8 through 11 and originates in the hot, dry deserts and forests of northern Mexico. Maintenance Tips Once you’ve established which heat-resistant shrubs are right for you, narrow the choices down by considering the amount of maintenance each will require. When planting, allow enough room for the shrub to grow to its mature height and spread, while allowing for an additional 18 to 36 inches between the shrub and the air conditioner unit. This ensures there will be adequate air flow for your air conditioner to operate efficiently. Prune overhead branches to maintain 4 feet of clearance between the top of the unit and the branches and clear the ground around the air conditioner unit weekly.

Make sure you leave a gap for maintaining the air conditioner unit, too. References Landscaping Network: Hiding Garden EyesoresUtah State University Extension: Planting Trees for Energy Conservation: The Right Tree in the Right PlaceUniversity of Florida IFAS Extension: Florida-Friendly Landscaping Ideas: Top 5 Drought-Resistant ShrubsMissouri Botanical Garden: Plumbago AuriculataFine Gardening; 10000 btu window unit air conditionerEphedra Equisetina (Bluestem Joint Fir)Fine Gardening: Euphorbia Antisyphilitica (Candelilla)U.S. Department of Energy: Maintaining Your Air Conditioner Photo Credits Comstock/Stockbyte/Getty Images Suggest a Correctionhome ac repair tallahasseeThis is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Freedom Outdoor Living. ac unit buzzing noise

All opinions are 100% mine. We have a pool heater, pool filter and two air conditioning units on the side of our home.  They are along the sidewalk that everyone uses to walk around our home, and there is nothing pretty about it. Even my flowers could not make that ugly pretty. I was excited to partner with Freedom Connections Decorative Fencing and fence everything in!  Freedom Connections™ is a flexible, decorative fencing product available exclusively at Lowe’s. It’s easy to install with materials you can find at Lowe’s (requires no hardware or glue), and can be reconfigured as your needs change. It can be installed without digging holes, which is often the toughest part of installing a fence. The vinyl fencing is available in three heights, three decorative panel options and a two-sided solid panel that can be mixed and matched, stacked, staggered, used in straight runs or joined to form corners.  For my project, I used 10 3-tier posts (you always need one more post than panels to finish your design).

I also used 20 plain panels. And finished the fence with 5 circle panels. To begin, you take out the stake stored in the post and pound it into the ground. I marked off the halfway point on the stake, and we drove them in to the line. The stakes are put 37 1/4″ apart.  It’s very important you get the link of stakes and straight as possible. Once the stakes are down, you can add the posts.  Then, you simply begin sliding the panels in. The bottom panels require removing the top. I used two solid panels and finished with the decorative panel. Once the side was complete, we worked on the the other side repeating the process. Until we realized our mistake. The fence went beyond the house which meant this panel until would be set back further than the other side since it had to be in front of our house. So, I pulled down the panels we had just installed (which was really easy), and I began working on the other side first. We had trouble with the wall being unlevel on our first attempt, so I leveled the ground before I installed the panels this time.

Steve was gone, but I was able to install everything completely on my own. Unfortunately, we have tend to have high winds in Indiana, and there is no wind break coming from the field behind us.  After a storm and some higher than normal winds, on of the panels end stakes bent. We added a 2×2 to the end post of both sections of the three paneled fencing. We made sure the post was level, and my husband drove it into the ground and secured the fencing post to the 2×2 with screws. If you need to reinforce the fencing, an easier option I just discovered is the Blue Hawk Steel rebar, available at Lowe’s in a .75″ X 36″ Size that would be long enough to support three Connections panels. The rebar is available in stores for $4.88 per stake. Lowe’s also has a Blue Hawk Steel rebar that is even stronger and it is available online. This fencing is really easy to install (one person can do the installation), and the sides which only have two panels are very secure.