How to Hide an AC Unit With Artificial Plants

You can decorate your outdoor space as much as you want, but if you don’t conceal or camouflage your mechanical equipment, you won’t achieve the desired outcome. 

Unfortunately, hiding mechanical equipment is one of the biggest outdoor design challenges, especially when AC units, utility boxes, and pool pumps sit in the middle of an otherwise beautiful space. 

You want them accessible, but you also want them invisible. 

But the good news is that you can hide an AC unit with plants (even artificial ones) without blocking airflow or causing maintenance issues.

Here, we’ll break down designer-approved techniques, placements, and the best artificial plant types to transform a functional zone into an equally aesthetically pleasing part of your landscape. 

Let’s get into it. 

4 Ways to Hide AC Units, Utility Boxes, and Ugly Equipment With Artificial Plants

Outdoor areas often collect the kinds of items you don’t want to see in the open: AC units, wheelie bins, electrical boxes, pool pumps, cables, pipes, storage units, etc. 

While you can’t remove any of them, you can do your best to hide them. Instead of building permanent walls, we recommend using artificial greenery to conceal any unit without blocking access. 

Here are 4 expert strategies our stylists suggest to keep functional equipment out of sight, and your landscaping looking intentional: 

1. Build a green privacy screen 

A privacy screen is one of the most effective ways to instantly disguise your equipment, and it’s probably the first thing you’ll think of. 

However, instead of putting up walls or fences around the unsightly units, you can use artificial hedges, tall planters, and faux green wall panels to create a dense visual barrier that looks beautiful and is maintenance-free. 

This method is particularly useful for trash areas because it makes it easy to use plants to hide wheelie bins or create a secluded corner around pool machinery. 

Because faux green wall panels are installed upright, they also work well as plants to hide electrical boxes, meters, and other components that require easy access. 

Here’s how a recent client of ours used artificial ivy to hide the bulky equipment in their yard: 

2. Create a distraction zone 

Not everything needs to be hidden directly. For some outdoor equipment, especially wall-mounted boxes or awkwardly placed pool fixtures, it’s often more practical to draw the eye away from the object rather than cover it completely. 

Our team recommends grouping a few tall artificial trees, tall grasses, or layered planters of different heights nearby to form an intentional green cluster. 

This technique works especially well when using plants to hide pool equipment that you can’t enclose or for scattering fauxliege around electrical runs you shouldn’t obstruct. 

The plant composition becomes a focal point this way, and the mechanical bits fade into the background quickly. 

3. Use angled plant placements 

As much as the type of artificial plants matters, so does the angle. 

Instead of placing your faux plants directly in front of the equipment you’re trying to hide, position them at a 30-45° angle based on the primary viewing direction, i.e., where people typically stand or walk (like the patio, doorway, or seating area). 

From that vantage point, the equipment disappears behind the foliage, even though the front or the sides are open. 

Here’s an example: let’s say your outdoor AC unit sits on the right side of the patio. Instead of blocking it head-on, place two tall artificial trees at a slight angle, forming a soft V-shape pointing away from the seating area. This way, the unit is fully hidden, but still fully accessible from the side. 

4. Raise the plant composition for ground-level equipment

If your AC unit, bins, or pool system sits low to the ground (or too low for most concealment methods to work), try raising your faux greenery above the item instead of hiding it at its own height.

For example, you can use tall planters, pedestal bases, or wall-mounted foliage to bring the plants upward so they block the view at eye level. Place two planters on risers (even a 4-8 inch lift makes a difference) and “plant” dense artificial grasses to grab the attention instead. 

The goal is to create visual coverage at the height where people naturally look. Essentially, you build a raised plant composition that sits around the equipment (but is raised higher than the unit itself) and blocks sightlines from mid-height and above. 

Best Plants to Hide an AC Unit and Pool Equipment

The right type of artificial greenery can make all the difference when disguising mechanical equipment. 

Here are some of the best options our designers recommend: 

Artificial ivy 

Our artificial ivy panels are one of the most versatile tools in your design arsenal. At Designer Plants, they’re made from ROHS-compliant materials with UV resistance embedded into the material, which means they can last for years without fading. 

When you want to hide an AC unit with plants or cover an unsightly corner in your yard, you can use products like the Artificial Privacy Ivy Roll or an artificial green wall panel. 

Some ways you can use a faux ivy roll include: 

• Creating a green veil and letting the panels drape in front of low ground equipment for self-concealment

• Trimming and shaping the panels around corners or pipes for a smooth finish

• Installing mesh around utility boxes and tying the ivy to the mesh with cable ties

Alternatively, you can create a frame for your panels and install them upright to mimic a permanent barrier, like our client recently did here: 

Faux trees

Tall artificial trees are another excellent type of faux plant to create a freestanding visual screen around bulkier equipment. To get the most out of them, position them strategically so they block sightlines without enclosing the equipment completely. 

In our collection, there are two standout trees that are especially well-suited for this purpose: 

• The Premium Artificial Bright Buxus Tree

• The Premium Artificial Cypress Pine Tree

Our team recommends these faux trees because they’re dense, tall, and provide great coverage when placed in a line. You can group them to make a small “grove” that masks any ugly units, or layer them with other artificial or real plants to make the entire zone read as a green feature. 

Freestanding artificial hedges 

Last but not least, look into faux boxwood and mixed hedges to create structured screening of equipment in both residential and commercial settings. 

Our collection of artificial hedges includes freestanding, realistic faux hedges that can help you conceal everything you don’t like in your yard elegantly. A few ways you can use faux hedges include: 

• Creating a barrier with a particular height of artificial hedges that hides grouped mechanical units 

• Elevating the hedges slightly using planters to align them with the most common line of sight and conceal the unsightly equipment 

• Combining the faux hedges with faux trees or hanging plants to build a well-thought-out display 

We recommend using the Premium Light Green Boxwood Hedge for lower-profile AC units or wheelie bins, and the Natural Boxwood Hedge for dense vertical coverage that can hide entire fences. 

Finishing Thoughts

With the right selection and a discussion or two with our stylists, you can easily hide an AC unit (or other equipment) with plants, while simultaneously creating a low-maintenance outdoor space. 

So, next time you think about landscaping your yard and concealing all the ugly bits, reach out to our team for a free consultation on the best products to fit your vision.

In the meantime, follow our team on social media for inspiration from clients just like you.