I wish to plant a vine to hide a chainlink fence, could you suggest a good vine that will not invade the grass nearby?
Answer
I suggest you prepare the ground well with good compost and topsoil which you can get at a garden center. I would plant clematis as it is well-behaved, blooms well in spring or summer and won't overwhelm the space (according to the vatiety you choose). It should be planted in the sun or 1/2 sun/shade and the roots should be shaded. They are just dormant vines in winter so if it is important to you to have evergreen, choose a slow growing type of ivy (some of the variegated ones are slow growing).I don't know how high the fence is but you could espalier a euonymus, holly, juniiper or yew which you may be able to find already espaliered to a frame which you remove and attach to your fence in the same manner. You could even have an espaliered yew with the clematis. Occasionally you will have to prune off a few branches but I have been growing these things on fences for years and they don't require much maintenance, just the early spring pruning back if needed.