How can I hide a long pipe?

We have just moved into a house in southern France which is situated on the side of a hill. The land is rocky, chalky, with a thin layer of soil on the slope, facing south west and in full sun - it gets extremely hot here with temps over 40C. We are having the sloping area which drops away from the front of the house cleared of ivy, brambles, etc. and this has exposed the septic tank pipes which are approx. 5-6" in diameter. I would appreciate any ideas of how to cover them, as far as possible, either with low planting which will spread or a mixture of plants low growing evergreen, higher growing, perhaps some flowering - anything, really, which will cover the area. We might be able to add some soil in pockets to make it possible to plant a wider variety but we cannot add much as it will get washed away with the torrential rains we also get. Many thanks.

 

Welcome to Gardeners Corner

I'd be tempted to pile stones around it and plant some succulents in the gaps

 

I think I would use large rocks to prop up the pipe in places, and disguise it as much as possible before even considering planting anything. If the soil all just washes away when the rains come, it would be rather a waste of time and money to plant it now.
If you could begin to terrace the slope, containing whatever soil you have, and then improve it with organic stuff, you would create suitable planting pockets, and retain the soil.
I don`t envy you, it will be hard work. Good luck.

Oops...afterthought, welcome to the forum.

 

Hello Pat236, welcome to GC. That's a challenge! As Tetters said above, I'd sort out the pipe first..you don't want it to break/disintegrate, especially once it's buried under plants. How about having a look in Pages Jaunes for 'terre végétale'? It could be worth arranging biggish stones to form low retaining walls, then have a delivery of decent soil to backfill? Low Cistus, Thymes, Convolvulus mauritanicus and prostrate Rosemary would all thrive in those conditions if given some water in the first couple of summers, to get them established.

 

Yes prop it up first. In Turkey they paint any guttering/downpipes with emulsion to prevent the sun deteriorating the PVC/plastic. That said painting it a colour similar to the background would go part way to disguising it.

 

Agree with disguising it with stones and then planting. Prostrate rosemary would look good and will take the heat. I've seen whole hillsides covered in it.

 

She did when I went out with her

 

Naughty naughty Ginger Admin

Pat, have a look too at some juniper varieties - gold ones and blue ones. The ''Tommy Cooper'' types would look great on that bank, with a few tall accent plants in between, once you have made it stable of course.

The Tommy Cooper ones grow 'just like that'

 

Tetters took my words.....the low wide spreading junipers are my choice. I used them to hide a septic tank cover for a friend of mine. Access is still easy
I would also add hardy geraniums like Rozanne, Russel Pritchard or Wargrave Pink.
It really isnt a massive problem