How to hide a generator with landscaping is a great skill as they may be too big and bulky for indoor storage. Also, if you decide to keep your generators outside, leaving them exposed to all passersby can take away the beauty of your yards.
If you are powering your home or some other machine using a generator, you should consider concealing it with landscaping. For more creative landscaping ideas, you should kindly make use of this article.
Contents
How To Hide Your Generator Using Landscaping?
Hiding a generator using landscaping can be done by using readily available shrubs, small trees, ornamental grass, fence, and decorative rocks. Whichever way you execute it, the generator should be well concealed. However, there are factors that you need to consider before creating the concealment.
– Create a Plan
Before taking any action in hiding your generators, you should draft a plan first. Some generators can be too big and noisy, and you would not want that to affect your neighbors. Therefore, you should choose the best location that will not affect the well-being of both the generator itself and the neighborhood. Some landscape structures are hard to move so, you should find a perfect spot where you will not need to relocate the generator anytime soon.
Also, put into consideration the conditions that enhance the maximum performance of the generator. Make sure that the plan that you choose allows proper airflow for ventilation. In certain instances, there may be a need for emergency attention to the generator so make sure it is easily accessible.
– Consider the Generator Clearance
Generators need a certain amount of free space to operate efficiently. The general rule of thumb for generator concealment landscaping is to keep it at least 18 inches from the wall of your house and a clearance of 36 inches on either side. Additionally, these measurements give a maintenance professional adequate room to access the generator.
Also, look at the size of the generator that you have. This should give you the specific measurements and size of materials that you shall use for concealment. Smaller generators should do well with relatively low-lying plants, rocks, and other similar objects that you can use
– Fence the Generator
You can use a fence to hide generators. You can use a picket fence to disguise bulky generators. Just make sure the fence gives you easy access to the generator in the event of an emergency. Remember, the height and length of the fence matters in the appearance of the landscape.
The size of the cage should be proportional to the size of the generator. You can also consider using a lattice enclosure fence and add some decorative features like creepers to create an eye-catching view. You can grow creeper veggies like beans and peas to give the fence some extra functionality. Any other suitable climbing plant species that need supporting structures should suit the task well.
Another option that you can consider is adding a privacy fence to conceal the generator completely. You can paint the fence to match buildings and other structures in your home. This should conceal the generator completely while adding beautiful coloring to your yard. Whichever way you choose to cover your generator, it should not affect its mechanical functions.
– Using Shrubs and Plants
At times, you do not need to create a cage for an outdoor generator but just conceal it with vegetation. Hiding generators using plants is one of the easiest methods of concealment. You can use nature to hide your generator in different ways. If you are not constructive in mind, we recommend you to try surrounding your generator with flower beds and see how it goes.
– Plant Small Trees or Shrubs
Since vegetation can be permanent, you should perfectly select the best position for your outdoor generator. Now, plant tall shrubs or small trees in rows making sure that the generator is in the middle. Choose plant species that are unobstructive and shallow rooted so that they cannot interfere with cables below the soil’s surface. Also consider the size of these plants when mature to keep and maintain enough space between them and the generator.
Boxwood or arborvitae is one of the best options you can go for. You can also consider Camellia, alba plena, and Nuccio’s Bella Rosa are also some of the best shrubs to hide generators. Remember, concealment should be paired with beauty so flowering, evergreen varieties are the best options. As these plants grow, they need maintenance that include pruning.
Some plants may end up outgrowing their spaces thereby interrupting the plan that you had. Regular pruning will keep the landscape beautiful and the desired appearance. Kindly note that generator emissions can lead to the collapse of certain plants which calls for you to consider planting hardy varieties for this purpose.
– Plant Ornamental Grasses
Ornamental grasses are tall, wide, and dense which makes them perfect for generator concealment. They are more preferred to generator hiding in the sense that their height can be easily lowered compared to shrubs and small trees. If your generator needs maintenance or change, you can cut them down a bit and you should not worry as they can bounce back in no time. Just like small trees or shrubs, you should consider the hardy varieties for this purpose.
If you choose to plant grasses that are slow growing, you can leave a gap that you can use as a passageway to the generator. Just ensure that the passageway is situated at the blind side of your yard to keep the idea of concealment successful. When giving maintenance to the grass, just try to be more careful especially, when watering them. Splashes of water can cause malfunctions to your generator.
– Use Potted Plants
You can make a container garden to hide outdoor situated generators. You just need to get potted plants that are tall enough to conceal the generator. Remember, there is no digging involved here which may end up destroying underground cables involuntarily. You just have to place potted plants around your generator in such a way that it cannot be seen by a passerby.
Another advantage of using potted plants is that you can change them anytime without any hustle. If you want to give some attention or maintenance to the generator, you can simply move two or three pots aside and place them back thereafter. If the current setup or landscape design is no longer appealing to you, it is very easy to change it using the same pots and plants or change them all.
Keep in mind that larger pots are more effective for concealment but they are heavier which makes them difficult to move. We recommend that you mix large and lightweight pots for convenience. However, this does not apply in the case of a portable generator which you can easily lift in and out of the landscape structure.
– Use Decorative Rocks
Using rocks is another alternative to conceal your generator. You should use small portable rocks that are more decorative. If you have landscapes in your yard, you can add a real or faux rock garden with the aim of hiding your generator. A good advantage of using rocks for concealment is that they do not require any digging or construction which may be destructive to underground cables.
All you need to do is to place the rocks around the generator strategically. You should consider adding some potted plants to the landscape to fully conceal the generator and beautify the structure as well. Make sure that sufficient ventilation is available so that the generator functions properly.
Painting the rocks using a color that matches the structures in your yard gives them a finesse touch. Remember, rock structures may not be easy to move or transform which means that you should leave an opening to use as an entrance to the generator. Just make sure that the opening is strategically positioned to keep the concealment concept meaningful. You can add some flowering and climbing plants to the landscape for uniqueness.
Conclusion
As shown in this guide, there are several generators hiding ideas. You can also add your own decorative touches to the ones that we have given to you. Let us take a look at some important highlights of this guide.
- Hiding a generator using landscaping can be done by using shrubs, ornamental grasses, small trees, fences, and decorative rocks.
- Before taking any action in hiding your generators, you should draft a plan first. Some generators can be too big and noisy, and you would not want that to affect your neighbors.
- Since some vegetation can be permanent, you should perfectly select the best position for your generator.
- Boxwood or arborvitae is one of the best options you can go for. You can also consider Camellia, alba plena, and Nuccio’s Bella Rosa for generator concealment.
You should not let generators take away the beautiful outlook of your space. Apply the “hide generator ideas” that you learned from this article and keep your homes and workplaces appealing!
- 25 Kalanchoe Types and Colorful Varieties for Your Garden - October 3, 2023
- 17 Hawaiian Flowers That Grow and Thrive in the Hot Summer - October 2, 2023
- Watering a Poinsettia and How is it Done Correctly? - September 30, 2023
