On 30/08/2019 17:55, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Fri, 30 Aug 2019 17:35:14 +0100, Roger Tonkin
wrote:


One suggestion was to dig out a narrow strip of the lawn and
replace is with gravel/stones. We do have this elsewhere but I
find the stones get onto the grass and could damage the mower.

I think you are worrying unnecessarily about the health of the mower
unless it is a cylinder one. The worst that happens is a stone gets
catapulted out from under the cutting deck at high speed. I had a chip
in a window that resulted from one such stone encounter.

The alternative, preferred by swmbo, is to make a narrow (max
9"-12"). But what to grow in it that will not expand into the
mower area/ The fence is 6ft+ high and faces W.N.W. There are
houses on all the other sides, so the bed would only get
limited summer sun from about 1pm to 5pm.

Swmbo would like something tall to mask the plainness of the
fence, but I'm not sure that anything tall would stay upright
and not expand sideways?

Any ideas please?

If you put 6x1 tannalised timber along the edge of the lawn then it
keeps the grass from straying into the bed. I'd probably use a slate
type gravel - its angular shape discourages weeds more.

Follow your wife's suggestion of a narrow bed, and plant climbers in
it to clothe the fence. The bed will need attention from time to time,
to remove weeds and stop the lawn encroaching into it, but it won't be
demanding. Lots of climbers will cope with that aspect, and there's
plenty here to chose from. http://tinyurl.com/yxqkvlw3 Some of them
are self-clinging, but others may need tying in. Shouldn't be a
problem though.

Passiflora and variegated ivy stay close to the fence. Hydrangea
petiolaris will eventually get wider but does so very slowly.

Perpetual sweet pea is another perennial climber that is almost trouble
free but might pull a weak fence over with its vigour.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown