Plant advice sought
Discussion
Our neighbours (thankfully) had their hedge removed on our boundary & had it replaced with a 6' wooden fence.
We would like to plant something against the fence to camouflage it & possibly be of interest to birds/bees etc. It would need to be something that required little maintenance as I got fed up of cutting their hedge back, the OH has suggested Wisteria.
Faces east so gets sun until mid afternoon though the large (mainly) hawthorn hedge & copper beech to the rear provides some shade!
We would like to plant something against the fence to camouflage it & possibly be of interest to birds/bees etc. It would need to be something that required little maintenance as I got fed up of cutting their hedge back, the OH has suggested Wisteria.
Faces east so gets sun until mid afternoon though the large (mainly) hawthorn hedge & copper beech to the rear provides some shade!
wisteria is probably too slow growing, it'll take ages to give a good coverage.
I'd suggest a 'mile a minute' type clematis - it'll give good cover after 1 year and the type I have flowers twice, once with single flowers now and once with double flowers late summer so it gives plenty of colour.
i'll grab a photo later when the sun gets round if you're interested
I'd suggest a 'mile a minute' type clematis - it'll give good cover after 1 year and the type I have flowers twice, once with single flowers now and once with double flowers late summer so it gives plenty of colour.
i'll grab a photo later when the sun gets round if you're interested
Thanks for the replies.
Not keen on clematis having ripped a load of it out of our front garden a few years ago, it had gotten out of control & didn't even flower for long.
Not too bothered if something takes a while to establish, the garden has been an ongoing thing for 14.5yrs anyway!
Lavendar sounds interesting, the OH was going to plant some in the pots at the front to attract the bees, would it cover a 6ft high x 25-30ft long fence Ok? Any downsides?
Not keen on clematis having ripped a load of it out of our front garden a few years ago, it had gotten out of control & didn't even flower for long.
Not too bothered if something takes a while to establish, the garden has been an ongoing thing for 14.5yrs anyway!
Lavendar sounds interesting, the OH was going to plant some in the pots at the front to attract the bees, would it cover a 6ft high x 25-30ft long fence Ok? Any downsides?
I would see lavender as part of a broader selection.
I have mine small plant left out the front and that is looking lonely.
However, I am using a good section of the fence to support a vine. That has taken a few years to train and now covers several sections but only leafy in the summer.
I have mine small plant left out the front and that is looking lonely.
However, I am using a good section of the fence to support a vine. That has taken a few years to train and now covers several sections but only leafy in the summer.
Depends on what it is in then. Not exactly going bonkers out the front however when it was in a gravel soil, it did go ape but it was cut right back every autumn.
Black currents, they do well in clay soil, and rhubarb. And a hazel for some reason, religiously kept to 6' and every few years cut right back to the ground.
Black currents, they do well in clay soil, and rhubarb. And a hazel for some reason, religiously kept to 6' and every few years cut right back to the ground.
jmorgan said:
Depends on what it is in then. Not exactly going bonkers out the front however when it was in a gravel soil, it did go ape but it was cut right back every autumn.
Black currents, they do well in clay soil, and rhubarb. And a hazel for some reason, religiously kept to 6' and every few years cut right back to the ground.
Possibly a bit hyperbolic on my part. I did have it in a raised border in various decent composts. I like it, but it did require a fair bit of attention & as you say, needs cutting back in autumn or it does go woody.Black currents, they do well in clay soil, and rhubarb. And a hazel for some reason, religiously kept to 6' and every few years cut right back to the ground.
Hammerhead said:
Climbing roses, azaleas, rhododendrons, jasmine are a few I'd suggest.
Thanks, we have replaced the clematis at the front with climbing roses, they will obviously take some time to establish but that is an option.Won't rhododendrons need a lot of cutting back? Will look into azaleas & jasmine too.
LordHaveMurci said:
Won't rhododendrons need a lot of cutting back?
Depends on the depth of your borders and variety. I've recently planted one where it can grow/spread out (label says a max of 5' x 5'). Lots of different varieties out there from small to monsters, so there should be something that suits/fits the space you have.understand OP re the clematis but it does depend on variety, we've got some at the front which barely flowers and never for long.
but my neighbour stuck up an 8ft fence which I wanted to cover up at least a bit. rubbish pic but this is my clematis on that fence now, its been flowering like this for 3 weeks now and will last into May. Then it will flower again in late summer.
It needs a prune once a year to remove wandering shoots (which I neglected to do this year
)but nothing more.
put some lavender at the bottom as suggested and you'll get a lovely border
but my neighbour stuck up an 8ft fence which I wanted to cover up at least a bit. rubbish pic but this is my clematis on that fence now, its been flowering like this for 3 weeks now and will last into May. Then it will flower again in late summer.
It needs a prune once a year to remove wandering shoots (which I neglected to do this year
)but nothing more.put some lavender at the bottom as suggested and you'll get a lovely border
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff