Ideas for back area of the garden

Hi,

I have recently cleared the back of my garden and had a new fence put up. The fence is North West facing and the soil is very clay like and tends to get pretty dry. Obviously this is what you see when you look immediately out of the back window and I wanted to get something to grow along/up the fence and also plant some more brighter things in front of that.

Does anyone have any recommendations on what I could plant? The fence is about 18ft wide and 6ft tall, so quite a wide area. I have planted clematis before but I don't like the way that dies off ... so I guess I wanted something a bit more permanent but also something colourful?

Thanks for your help.

 

It would be a good idea to improve the soil before you plant anything - if it's clay then dig in some organic matter such as compost.

In terms of planting - for climbers (which will need some support in the form of trellis or the like attached to the fence), try Clematis Armandii or Lonicera Henryi (honeysuckle) which are both evergreen.

For planting in front try something like Rhododendrons or Camellias (they like acid soil so mix in lots of ericaceous compost around the root balls and feed with an appropriate feed during spring/summer). Rhodos especially are quite slow growing so you will be able to see the top half of the fence where the climbers are.

There are other evergreen shrubs which don't get too high such as sweet box.

Have a look at the plant finder on the www.crocus.co.uk site for some useful suggestions.

 

Thanks a lot for your advice ... are there any non clematis plants you would recommend? Although I do like the sound of evergreen clematis, I was also thinking about planting a tree but I think it might look a bit odd on its' own!

 

I just dug a patch of ground that started off as solid clay this time last year, until I put loads of spent mushroom compost in, and then grew spuds in it (and got the best crop in terms of quality and yield per plant ever). I've just dug it again for the first time this year and its lovely. Proper dark crumbly stuff and full of earth worms. Of course manure or compost will do the trick too, but the old mushroom compost is nice and cheap.

 

I have some golden ivy on a north-west facing wall which is slow growing but gives background colour all year, I also have some evergreen honeysuckle and a clematis. In front of the ivy I have a camelia which has creamy coloured flowers.

 

Do you mean climbers which aren't clematis, or other stuff which you can plant in front of the fence? A small tree or large shrub which can be grown in a tree shape would look lovely (one each side with smaller plants in between). There are some lovely evergreen shrubs which would look good all year round if you want some recommendations

 

Yes please ...

 

All of the following will tolerate shade (but require different soil pH levels so you would need to check that first):

Camellias and Rhododendrons (spring flowering). You would need to mix in some ericaceous compost and keep well watered until established.

If you want to plant a companion tree (ie which likes the same soil), then go for one of the acers.

Alternatively, something like Sarcococca Confusa (sweet box) has a gorgeous fragrance when it flowers in Feb/March and is pretty tough.

Have a look here for some other choices.