Covering Utility Boxes

[thingmon]

A friend is looking for a cover for a backyard utility pole.

Some things I found...

[thingmon]

Doubt she'll go for that last one, but...

[thingmon]

The 'pole' is about 8" in diameter and 33" tall:

[onewhippedpuppy]

We had one of those ugly POS installed in our back yard, I surrounded it with a planter and covered it with a Jack Daniels barrel.

[unclebilly]

Either of these would spark a conversation or two…

[thingmon]

Ha. Yes, they would.

[sc_rufctr]

How accessible does it have to be? I like the light house.

Originally Posted by thingmon

The 'pole' is about 8" in diameter and 33" tall:

...

[rockfan4]

A friend's back yard? Not your own?

I'd go with this. I also wouldn't tell him when it was installed.

[thingmon]

That would get me banned faster than an Iran thread.

[Baz]

When I was still landscaping for a living, I would use ornamental grasses to mask them.

Fakahatchee Grass or Dwraf Fakahatchee Grass being my favourite species to use - but there are others like Gulf Muhly Grass that will work well in our area.

Here's one of my projects showing before (4-24-09) and after (9-30-09).

In this case I used 1 gallon grasses so they started out very small but things grow fast - especially in Florida - so they achieved the desired effect soon enough.

If it was a Landscape Architect's plan I was following they would have speced a larger size plant to start with and probably more of them, because they are always after instant gratification. But as a Horticulturist, I understand and respect the actually practicality of plant growth habit.





One thing I learned about Ornamental Grasses from a design POV is you need to space them very far apart to achieve the desired effect. 4' OC minimum and many times i would go 5'-6' OC. It all depends on the property and job how it's done.

[Baz]

Oh - the reason a grass plant works better than a traditional shrub type plant is whenever a utility person needs to access the utility fixture, the grasses bend and flex very easily to the arms and legs and hands for better access without damaging the plant material.

[Zeke]

[thingmon]

Grasses are on the list. The goal is to make that corner of the yard a pollinator garden.

Or a bendy guy... ha.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Here’s what we did. I cut holes in the barrel so it goes over the top of the ugly fiber Internet box, but can still be lifted off if needed. Can’t wait for those SOBs so try finding the box though!

Yes I’m still mad that they destroyed my back yard and then sent two dudes and a shovel to bury the fiber lines through my yard about 1” deep. So if we ever aerate, everybody will lose their internet including me.

[thingmon]

The barrel is a nice touch. And mine is like that too. There are probably 20 cable wires running across my back yard. And now fiber a optic line from another direction. They didn't even bother to bury that one.

[Zeke]

Run a tracer line that can be detected if these are not shielded.