A chain link fence is the choice of many homeowners to keep children and pets in the yard.  It is almost impossible to destroy and you really have no upkeep.  We have a chain-link fence in our yard.  It is needed to keep our Pekingese home as they have been known to be explorers.  We have planted Euonymous a 'Fire Ball' to cover up part of the fence as well as Buckthorn Rhamnus frangula 'Ron Williams' (PP14,791) to add a different dimension to another part.

Dressing up the fence with vines or climbing roses is another great idea. The fence is surely strong enough the support any plant materials you would want to grow on it and the is open enough to allow air to circulate around and in between the plants. Another idea would be to use the fence to support small fruit vines such as blueberries.

I was concerned about planting in front of the fence to hide it but using the fence as a trellis makes more sense to me.