How to take this garden to the next level

Hello. This garden used to have a patchy lawn and an ugly orange fence. The lawn has gone (replaced with gravel) and the offensive orange paint has been replaced by green paint.

A couple of raised beds were added - the shady one is OK (full of geraniums and ivy climbing up the white wall). However the raised bed in full sun (pictured below) currently is pretty empty other than an Acer, Hebe(?) and a couple of Salvias. Any ideas as to what I could plant in here to hide some of that fence - maybe some kind of climbing rose?

Any other suggestions in terms of what I can do to take this garden up a level? To give it the 'wow' factor. I'm still not sure how to add height and how to hide the walls/fences. The images below were taken in March 2020.





This border by the curved brick wall has a bit of an empty feel to it. You can see here a few campanulas alongside some small ceanothus shrubs and a camellia (planted April 2019) - neither have experienced much growth!




View from eye level






A view from the terrace looking down

 

I'd be looking at espalier fruit trees on the south facing fence, myself.

Raspberries do well in semi-shade, so they're an option along the west-facing fence. Blackberries and raspberries will try to send out suckers, so having them in pots or a raised bed is good for keeping them under control.

I'd be wary of that ivy on the north facing wall. Apart from the damage ivy does to everything it touches, it's also a very dark plant. White walls are really effective in keeping a space feeling bright and open, and you might lose that with the ivy there. I do have to say I'm not an ivy fan though.

 

OK thanks, I googled espalier fruit trees - good shout and is an option to consider.

I planted the ivy myself last year - thought the white wall would look too bare without something climbing up it. And someone told me it will "start to look like a garden when you can no longer see the walls and the fence".

 

I think you have the garden hard landscaping looking very well and its just a matter now of getting the plants to mature into the space available to them. I do think ivy can get a bit vigorous and may need to be trimmed back in time but it is great for wildlife with good late season flowers and fruit for the birds over winter. Here is a short video clip of some ivy at the entrance to my own garden that was actually humming with pollinators on a sunny day. It's also good as it is evergreen so helps the garden to continue to look alive over the winter. The wall it is on looks solid enough to be undamaged by the ivy but I would cut it back if it is starting to grow into the fence as it could expand any gaps it might start growing through.

The main suggestion I would make is to add some plants with some striking foliage colour that could brighten the flower beds up a bit when your other plants are not flowering. I have a couple of variegated pittosporum with one having a nice bright white edge to the leaves and another having a dark purple leaf that stays on the shrub all year and provides good contrast to the plants near to it. There are also some variegated hebe shrubs and even some types of holly or coprosma that might be worth considering but it would be down to personal taste as to which ones you like to look at. Some evergreens that flower when the rest of your plants are out of season might also help to brighten up the garden for more of the year. Mahonia, sarcococca and viburnum tinus might help with this and as an evergreen groundcover with early flowers ajuga might be worth considering. Curry plant(Helichrysum) is also nice for contrasting colour to its leaves even when not flowering.

 

I definitely get where you're coming from on not being able to see the walls and fence. At the end of the day it's about what you like. I agree with Macraignil that ivy is pretty good for wildlife - just that it has downsides too.

Fan trained fruit trees are the other option on a fence - a similar idea to espalier. On fruit trees, I should mention that I *love* peaches. Never mind that the fruit is great - they also have the most amazing display of pink blossom on bare branches. I used to have one in an earlier house which I was growing as a small bush. I don't yet have anywhere to put one at my current place, but it's on the list. If you pick the right variety, it should be fully hardy, especially in a sheltered garden in a sunny spot.

Oh, and the pink flowers has just reminded me. Lilac microphylla. It only grows to about 3-4" high, it's got better scent than other lilacs with more tasteful flowers, and it keeps flowering on and off all year. It's a brilliant shrub for a small garden.