Climber for a Northern Wall?

Hi,

I am looking for advice on how best to cover a north-facing wall on my 18th century thatched cottage in (sometimes) sunny East Devon. There is a photo below.

I’ve tried googling and looking on here, but everyone seems to have very different answers. It is also hard to see what large expanses look like – most examples are close-ups.

I have got as far as combining two different plants, with Clematis Montana and Persian Ivy or Wisteria and Clematis Kermesina being the front runners – but am pretty overwhelmed with the amount of choice.

“Best” means:

1. Fast-growing

Something that makes an impact this year, and looks well-established within the next two or three.

2. Won’t savage the building.

It is made of cob, so is especially susceptible to tendrils digging into it. In terms of roots, there are French drains at the base of the wall so something which isn’t too “spreading” would be good. Perhaps even something which could grow out of pots/a raised bed.

3. Native? Or at least traditional – older the better.

Woodbine? Ivy (Helix)? This is part of a general cottage garden design, with the aim being to make it look like this could have been there for a long time.

Clematis?

4. Beautiful!

Subjective, of course! I guess flowers, colours rather than simply a mass of green. Fragrant if possible.

I guess self-supporting would be easiest, but happy to do a trellis or wires if that unlocks the best option!

Help hugely welcome!

C

 

I like it how it looks without anything ... which is probably no help at all.

I reckon you can pick any two from that list ...

Happy to be corrected by others but I am sceptical about Clematis montana and Wisteria doing well on a north wall.

Clematis armandii would definitely be happy on a North Wall, and can grow to cover a large area. But I doubt it will do that quickly. Benefit of flowering in Winter when not much else does (but that may not be the season when you would like it to be "interesting")

 

Try not to get anything that will harm the wall covering

 

How about a Rose ?

 

Ivy is completely out if you want the wall to stay intact.

Re damage to the wall, can you screw vine eyes into the wall for straining wires, or put up a trellis? If you can't, then most climbers are going to be a non-starter; and the ones that don't need it are the ones with aerial roots which are going to dig out the face of your wall.

Honeysuckle will grow anywhere. It's a bit untidy, but it's a good choice for flowers and wildlife.

Various types of solanum would do the job too. Also jasmine, whether that's "normal" or winter-flowering. Neither are native.

For something a bit less common, akebia is happy in shade. They've got pretty leaves and unusual flowers with a strong scent, and they flower in winter or early spring when not much else is around. They're a bit vulnerable to frost, but against a house wall and with a bit of shelter they should be OK. Again, not native though.

Not really a climber as such, but there are ceanothus varieties which are happiest trained against a wall with support. Again they're not native, but bees love them because they're a major early source of nectar. They're all evergreen and they all have blue flowers, but the exact shade of blue and whether the leaves are dark green, lighter green or variegated will depend on the variety. You also need to pick the right variety for size too - they cover the full scale from 1ft dwarf shrub to 5m+ trees!

 

Hydrangea petiolaris will climb and be happy on a North Wall. Dunno if it would damage the wall though.

 

With French drains I would not plant anything vigorous (including Clematis Montana which is ok on a north wall otherwise) as it will eventually block the drains. The same applies if your old cottage has lime mortar in the brickwork; the roots will find a way in.

Honeysuckle or a not too vigorous rose would probably be ok. Dorothy Perkins is a good choice for a north wall but I think I would play safe and stick with honeysuckle or perhaps winter jasmine.