24+ Landscaping Ideas To Hide Utility Boxes

Last Updated on June 6, 2021 by Kimberly Crawford

Bulky utility boxes in our curb or along the landscape are a sight for sore eyes. They litter the area and reduce the coziness of the landscape you are building.

Fortunately, you can hide them through landscaping and if you are looking for ideas to do just that, here is a roundup of landscaping ideas to hide utility boxes. 

24 landscaping ideas to hide utility boxes

1. Wood screen

Wood never falls short of purpose and in this one, repurposed wood is made into a slatted screen for the utility box. As you can see, it is custom made with cleats. To access the box, all it needs is a little pushing.  

2. Attaching planters

Another wood project to hide utility boxes is attaching pallet planters on the electric box. Aside from encasing the box, you are also adding to your curb appeal with the flowering plants you put there.

Just make sure that the plants you put there are not water hoarders. As a matter of fact, you can just put artificial flowers there for aesthetic purposes only. 

Related: 61+ Stunning Vertical Garden Ideas That Will Brighten Up Your Yard

3-4. Lattice casing

If you are working on a bulky AC unit, you would benefit from ornate casings like lattice designed boxes. This type of utility box needs constant airflow and the lattice design could be a functional take to make sure it gets that. 

You can also make the AC casing more modern with this large, jenga like design using scrap wood. However, it is more intricate and might require more wood skills. 

5. Louvered screens

To make it more inconspicuous and contemporary, you can opt for louvered screens to encase either your electric box or your AC vent. When installed at a strategic angle in the landscape, you can build your design tones around this screen. 

6-7. Outdoor cabinet

If you want a more functional hiding place for the electric box, you can create a multi-tiered outdoor cabinet. The first level could encase the electric box and the lower shelves could be used for storing gardening items such as hose, mulching, or even outdoor cleaners. 

This one on the other hand was custom made to encase the power box alone. The wooden touch to it gives it a classy vibe which is aesthetically beneficial for the curb especially if you have a wood-based landscape design nearby. 

8. Matching paints

If you are keen on creating an electric box shed along your landscape, work on a cohesive design by matching the side yard shed with the home’s paint. You need to make it look as neat as possible and this design proves to you that simplicity is beauty. 

9-11. Simple picket fence

If the utility box is near the driveway or the street, you can install a simple white picket fence and surround it with shrubs and plants for it to still be in uniformity with the landscape elements of your home like this one. 

If it is a bulky AC vent you are trying to hide but would love to have a wooden picket fence to do that, here is something that you can try. 

Here is another wood casing that you can go with. It is enforced with mesh iron for more safety. This one is used for large AC vents. 

12. Angled wood fence on a floral bed

An angled wood fence can do more than just boxing an electric box. For one, you could etch your house number there for easier identification. On the other hand, you can also set up a floral bed edged with stones and covered with mulch for more curb appeal. 

13. Go Low

If there is an extra space below the patio stairs, might as well close the gap by making a low cabinet there to encase a transformer or a pool pump. Make sure that the paint and material used are in uniform with the stairs’ material and paint too like this one. 

14-16. Leave it to the flowers

Maybe, you do not even need a casing at all. Sometimes, all you need is a dense thicket of shrubs and flowering plants placed around the electric box and just make a bushy casing out of these plants. 

Related: 35+ Best Mailbox Landscaping Ideas

Or how about trimming a wall hedge to box in the main power grid of your home like this one. 

And if the utility boxes are smaller than usual, you can grow low growing plants around them too. Here is an idea of what you can do. 

17. Think outside the box

To maintain the rustic vibe of the yard and the home overall, this idea incorporates the use of a small carriage stacked on top of the transformer.

It is edged with brick stones and an assortment of plants form a dense planter out of the carriage. This is definitely a one for the books kind of hiding a utility box in your yard. 

18. Faux rocks

Yes, they exist. And they only require you to dig a shallow trench around the utility box for the faux rocks to fit. This is a hassle-free covering of utility boxes in the front yard. Other than that, it adds to the natural tone of the landscape. 

19. Privacy fencing

If you want to really put up privacy walls around the electric box to make them totally unseen, you can literally spruce the space up by using taller shrubs that will 100% cover the utility boxes. Arranging the shrubs, however, is key to maintaining the beauty of the yard. 

20. Bi-fold screens

If you have a scrap bi-fold screen panel out there, you can install it easily around the utility box. Preferably, wood bi-fold screens or metal ones would be versatile screens to use around the concealed utility box. 

The screen could just even be a simple, moveable one that complements the color of the home and the overall vibe of the yard like this one. 

A sliding cover made of fabric or wood lifted to the rafters could also become a total sweet feature in the yard. These ones clearly do not disappoint. 

Here is another one to work with. It is a wood slatted, sliding cover, raised to the rafters. 

24. Line in the pots

If the box is near the home’s corners, you can use tall vases or pots to keep it concealed in a manner that is like how hedging would have concealed it. This is one idea to take note of if you are thinking of going down this route. 

FAQs

To get to know more about hiding utility boxes through landscaping, here are some FAQs that you should keep in mind. 

What are the utility boxes in my yard?

Most often than not, the utility boxes in your yard would be composed of power grids, a pad transformer or pool pumps. Other utility boxes in the yard also include the following: 

• Sewer caps
• Cable boxes
• Old transformers
• AC vents
• Plumbing boxes

How close can you plant to an electrical box?

By rule of thumb, a 10ft distance between the planter and the front of the electrical box should be maintained. When planting on the sides of the electrical box, at least 4ft should be the distance observed.  

Can you plant around an electrical box?

Yes. But as have been previously answered, there are access zones around the electrical box. Just make sure that you are following the right measurements to ensure safety.

Nonetheless, you would find that hedging and raised soil beds encasing the electrical box do not follow the rule of thumb. Perhaps, consulting with your electrician could help before doing this. 

Conclusion

Most of the utility boxes in our yards are built-in and cannot be transferred. To cover them up, we must resort to creative ways. One of these ways is to make them a part of the yard landscaping.

Within landscaping alone, you can already have numerous ways to hide them but for safety’s sake, you must determine which sides can be accessed and which ones should be left untouched.