When you search Google or Pintrest for garden ideas to feature your air conditioner, pages and pages of DIY ideas come up on how to hide those ugly a/c’s in the garden. From rock walls to lattice enclosures, everyone seems to be looking for a way to hide the outdoor unit. I’d like to take and suggest a different approach. From my background in our family’s HVAC business and my personal love for garden and décor, I say why not feature these beauties in our gardens? Ok, so I’ll be honest and say today’s air conditioners are still not the most attractive appliance to have sitting alongside your home. However, with the right ‘accessories’, I think we can really embrace the look of this necessary piece of equipment.
Rather than try to cover up or hide the outdoor unit, build your garden around it and feature it as a valued part of the home. You paid enough for it! Picture it with small tree, some low lying shrubs and some tall flowering perennials. Maybe even add a flagstone path to the air conditioner with some icicle pansies meandering around it. Sure, the flowers become the feature on the garden but this will allow the air conditioner to look like it’s really a part of the home. Typically those cover up projects like boxing around the a/c end up looking so out of place anyways. Also, anything built too tight around the a/c can restrict air flow and cause problems.
Let’s face it, we don’t want to live without air conditioning, especially on those 30 degree days that are definitely ahead. So let’s embrace the a/c and make it part of the home and garden. Send me your pictures when you are all done!