i would continue a fensce that matches the gate all the way to the property line. just make sure that its the same hsight as the gate and it will look fine.

why not take the same fencing you just got, all the way up (circled in pink?) I'm sure your neighbor won't mind. it would look much better.

where exactly is your properly line, because a portion of that other fence is right in the middle.

could we see the whole not just the fence ...

and lets be honest.. in the dead of winter in the NE.. how much time are you going to be spending at this gate ....??

i like your trellis idea ... and i would probably go with a perennial like clematis ... not a climbing shrub ...

it took me decades to learn that designing for winter is not really necessary in the snowwy north ...

if you will be going thru that gate in winter.. you better lay down a surface that you can shovel .... and worry about the plants in spring ....

ken

I am not able to follow your posting but only have questions.

1.) Where in the NE are you? The zones range from 7b to 4, and there are all sort of evergreen options depending on your zone.

2.) Are you collaborating with your neighbor, if not, how are you going to be planting on his/her property?...Even a trellis would impose itself of your neighbor's property sooner rather than later. It's his/her "ugly fence", not yours. It's not clear where the property line is, but it sure does seem you are doing the landscaping choices for him/her.

Maybe I need to be more clear if you look into the yard past the picket part of the fence you can see a retaining wall. That is the property line so that the first panel of picket is mine but it attaches to the neighbors panel of picket.

So your property ends at the tall picket? Where in the NE are you?

tj

I am in NJ zone 7a I think.

Also to clarify yes, property ends at tall picket section of fence.

Id ask the neighbor if he wanted to go half on installing your new fence the rest of the way.

I think in a perfect world that getting together with my neighbor and installing all the at to the end would be ideal. I only worry about that option because my neighbor uses the house as an income property and could sell at any time. The new neighbor could possibly make me remove the portion encroaching in their property.

I think I was looking for ways of covering the part directly attached to my gate.

if your neighbor who owns the property, cooperates with you, and puts up a fence identical to your, it is you neighbor's fence.

Who maintains the area between the retaining wall and his fence?

How often does your neighbor go into the area between the retaining wall and his fence?

As I see it his has loaned that part of his property to you, and in 20 years, or whatever is the value in your state it belongs to you.

First of all, the fence looks a little skimpy. I would have placed the pieces closer together to give you more privacy.

I would have also (with permission) removed the short fence and replaced with taller fence.

I'm not exactly sure why they put a short gate on one side of my house when they put a 6ft one on the other side. I guess they were trying to match the picket fence panel that is attached. The good news is I have my handyman putting up a panel that matches up with the size of the gate. It will give it a more uniform look as someone mentioned earlier in this thread.

Good idea, that will make it look more cohesive.

I think I would make some kind of wide trellis or arch over the gate, planted with honeysuckle or roses or clematis. Make the gate part of a larger feature.

Why is there a gate into a neighbors yard at all.

The gate is into my yard as is the shorter paneling of picket fence. The tall picket is the neighbor's.

I think you have reached the best solution - replace your short picket with fencing that matches your gate. That makes it very clear where the property line is and makes your gate look like it belongs there.