Planting ideas for someone with no idea!

Hi, we've moved into our first house and have inherited a neglected garden. I'm slowly adding some nice plants but am a bit stuck with a couple of areas. I'll try to add a couple of pictures but if this doesn't work the first spot is down a side drive, south facing but shaded by next doors house, bushes and trees. I'd quite like to cover up the wall area as it's a hotch potch of brick work where windows have been filled in but ... we have a pipe coming out from the central heating boiler that I guess needs to be accessible. Thought about a tree or shrub but would probably prefer a wall cover, that has interest throughout the year & grows quick. The other area is a wall as well, west facing but no access to the soil. Will need to be planted in a container & would like something that is again quick growing and interesting all year.
Any advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

Hi and welcome to GC,

It's difficult to give you any help without seeing the situation. Pictures would be welcome, if possible.

 

Hi, thanks for the reply. I'm now in a position to post some pictures so hopefully they should appear below ... !

 

As you will see there are some plants in there alongside the area that we're looking at. These are mainly ground cover, low maintenance plants that dont really flower or require much maintenance. The area I want to cover is the wall as it doesnt look attractive at all! Could also place some similar plants as the ones we have alongside in front of whatever we end up planting. Want to get something in this summer that will grow fairly quickly so we have something nice next year. Help much appreciated

 

If the house wall is your neighbours then you will have to ask their permission to grow against it, especially if you plant something that clings or perhaps a climber that will require attaching something to the wall.

An old favourite is clematis, some more rampant than others, the smaller ones would be okay in a large pot. I think at this stage the best thing you can do is take yourself of to a local nursery or garden centre and see what's available in the climber range. Check out the labels, ask advice and/or take note of the plants you have in mind and then have a chat with us here on GC. We'll be happy to help.

 

Thanks for the reply sheal. It is indeed our wall so no need to seek any permissions or anything.

Took your advice and headed to a couple of garden centres. One chap I spoke to was particularily helpful, suggesting that I buy a planting trough and attach trellis to the back of it. That way, if we ever need access to the pipe we could just move it out of the way.

He suggested lots of different types of plants and said a combination of planting 2 types of climber might be best, in order to give interest all season. He suggested Clematis and another, can't remember the name (got it written down!) Leaves go green to red and has berries.

So, making progress, just got to find some pennies now!

 

I have a trough with trellis attached 1sthouse, I have a perrenial sweet pea in mine. It dies back late in the season and I cut it back pretty much to the soil. When it blooms, which is not far off now, I'll post pics.

 

Hi there, most clematis are deciduous so not all-year interest plants, but clematis armandii and cirrhosa are evergreen. Armandii apple blossom is very nice, i got myself 2 this spring but they're not gonna flower this year. Cirrhosa has nice bell-shaped flowers, very unusual for clematis (some clematises have really ugly flowers IMHO)

Camellias and azaleas are evergreen and have great flowers, some camellias bloom in mid-winter. Azaleas don't grow big tho. Camellias do, and they're meant to be fast growers, too.

Or if you get a big enough pot you could plant several things in them for more interest. I'm sure more experienced folks on here will have some suggestions

 

Oooooh, lovely, a blank slate! What fun you can have!

There seems to be a patch of ground available in the first two pics - I recommend planting directly into the ground wherever possible as the plants will grow far lusher and be easier to care for. You could do with something reasonably big as there is a large space to cover. I would aim for one big, one medium and lots of smaller infillers - I'm thinking of eventual sizes here, not what they will do this year or next.

You could still get some cover for this year by planting or sowing some runner beans/ morning glories/ trailing nasturtiums or suchlike in amongst your permanent planting. Obviously, it's late, but not to late to get some greenery.

I know you're in a rush, but it's worth taking time to consider carefully, especially if you plan to be in the house a while. There are not really any quick fixes in gardening, anyway, as any permanent plant is likely to take 3 years or so to get up to speed. Which is not to say they won't make a contribution right from the start. Also, plan any changes to the hard landscaping e.g slabbing, patio-making, now, otherwise, later on, you may find you've put your plants in an inconvenient spot. I know this from bitter experience! But if you've recently moved, you've probably got other things on your mind......

Where using a planter is the only option, choose the biggest one you can, as a big climber will be hungry for food and water, and a small pot will eventually starve it. You will also need to be watering continuously in hot weather - think about holidays etc.