Decorative Ways to Hide Electrical Poles

The surest thing to ruin an appealing landscaping project is a less than appealing object that you can't move or remove from your yard, like an electrical pole. The one thing that you can do, though, is use decorative ways to hide it. You can decorate it to blend in or become an integral part of your exterior design. For legal and safety reasons, contact your local electrical company or city department before attempting anything.

Depending on the composition--wood or metal--of the electrical pole you want to hide, your local home improvement or paint store should have an outdoor paint you can use. A town in Wichita City, Kansas is utilizing this method with local artists to combat graffiti on city poles. The Wichita program involves murals on relatively large bases. But even a simple solid coat could make an electrical pole blend into the rest of your landscape design. For obvious safety reasons, do not paint poles that have exposed live wires.

The energy department of the Imperial Irrigation District in California states, "When planting trees near electrical poles, allow a 40-foot distance between the stump and the pole. Trees should be trimmed to allow a 10-foot clearance between the leaves and power lines."

Many plant catalogs sell plant collections suitable for surrounding lamp posts or mail boxes that will distract the eye away from the pole itself.

If you plant shrubbery or other plants as a decorative way to hide an electrical pole, avoid vines that could potentially travel up the pole and cause a hazard or any type of thorny bushes that could get in the way of maintenance. Make sure to keep all of your landscaping trimmed and kept up as well.

Blocking the entire pole from view is another way of decorating electrical poles, without having to touch them at all. Talk to your local electric company or city about building regulations and rules, such as distance recommendations and height restrictions. Place an outdoor gazebo or shed in front of the pole in the direction it is most often seen from. Create a whole courtyard around it, especially if you painted it artistically, so that it is at the center of your landscape. Sometimes the best decorative ways to hide electrical poles are ones that turn them into a focal point, instead of an eyesore.