The owners of small gardens need to utilise every scrap of space and they, therefore, must be more selective in their choice of plants. Climbers and wall plants will provide the answer to many problems for they will add both space and height to congested sites and will bring colour to every available wall. However, enthusiasm should be tempered with discreet understanding for there are climbers which love to be baked into brilliance of flower by hot sun, whereas others must be soothed by moist shade.
Some climbers, of which, Actinidia chinensis and Polygonum baldschuanicum are prime examples, will swallow a house completely so quickly do they grow. Others like wisteria or clematis must be carefully pruned and trained, or the gardener is left to contemplate a naked expanse of stem. No matter what treasured climber is planted, the wall will provide a protection not enjoyed by the denizens of the open garden.
Before attempting any planting examine the soil at the foot of an average house wall. Usually it consists of builders' leavings, sub-soil, pot crocks and other aridities, possibly enriched by a few tea leaves. All this must be excavated and replaced with soil from a fertile part of the garden.
Actinidia chinensis will riot over an acre of wall in an undignified scramble. The large leaves, 6 to 8 in. across, and fragrant flowers are recompense enough if space can be provided, but really only a castle offers sufficient wall space and even then, should the drawbridge be left down, it could prove a liability for once inside it would take over the uppermost turret. A. kolomikta is a shrub of feminine complexity. It is incapable of deciding on a suitable leaf colour, the lower half remaining green while the upper half turns white and pink.
I avoid hard pruning for the stems being hollow tend to die back along the whole branch. A thinning of the twigs is a permitted indulgence. A warm south or west-facing wall suits actinidia best.
Although ceanothus can be grown as a bush in the open garden, it is only happy in the colder gardens when given wall protection. However, it is worth all the devotion lavished on it. I remember a very old house in Hurworth, County Durham, which supported an enormous specimen of the variety A. T. Johnson. The brick mellowed by age to a warm buff pink made an ideal background to the blue flowers. See main list for full description.
Some climbers, of which, Actinidia chinensis and Polygonum baldschuanicum are prime examples, will swallow a house completely so quickly do they grow. Others like wisteria or clematis must be carefully pruned and trained, or the gardener is left to contemplate a naked expanse of stem. No matter what treasured climber is planted, the wall will provide a protection not enjoyed by the denizens of the open garden.
Before attempting any planting examine the soil at the foot of an average house wall. Usually it consists of builders' leavings, sub-soil, pot crocks and other aridities, possibly enriched by a few tea leaves. All this must be excavated and replaced with soil from a fertile part of the garden.
Actinidia chinensis will riot over an acre of wall in an undignified scramble. The large leaves, 6 to 8 in. across, and fragrant flowers are recompense enough if space can be provided, but really only a castle offers sufficient wall space and even then, should the drawbridge be left down, it could prove a liability for once inside it would take over the uppermost turret. A. kolomikta is a shrub of feminine complexity. It is incapable of deciding on a suitable leaf colour, the lower half remaining green while the upper half turns white and pink.
I avoid hard pruning for the stems being hollow tend to die back along the whole branch. A thinning of the twigs is a permitted indulgence. A warm south or west-facing wall suits actinidia best.
Although ceanothus can be grown as a bush in the open garden, it is only happy in the colder gardens when given wall protection. However, it is worth all the devotion lavished on it. I remember a very old house in Hurworth, County Durham, which supported an enormous specimen of the variety A. T. Johnson. The brick mellowed by age to a warm buff pink made an ideal background to the blue flowers. See main list for full description.
No comments:
Post a Comment