On Sun, 17 Nov 2002 12:41:33 -0000, "ellio" wrote:

hi all

one of our kitchen windows looks directly at next doors wall, approx 2m gap,
what I'd like to do is attach trellis to that wall (I have permission) for
some sort of climbing plant.

this area gets very little direct sunlight, basically the last couple of
hours before sunset, but plenty of wind and rain, so I need something that
can survive in those conditions.

can anyone suggest a suitable climber that's child friendly (ie: no thorns)

Someone else has recommended an ivy (Hedera). That's good and
evergreen but as it is self clinging, if the wall is at all uneven,
creviced or crumbly it could be destructive to the building sending
roots into any areas of, say, bad pointing.

If the wall is sound it should not cause any problem however. You
wouldn't need a trellis though.

To turn the wall into something rather more special you could grow an
ivy and have a deciduous twining climber crawling through the trellis
which with this alternative should be held out to about 3cm from the
wall with spacers.

There are two which are quite unusual and tolerate deep shade but must
be kept moist. Also if your soil is very calcareous you would
probably be advised to dig a deep(ish) hole before planting and put in
a lot of humus. Their natural habitat is, you see, damp woods in
Japan.

Schizophragma (either hydrangeoides or integrifolium) These grow
(slowly) to 12m.

I wouldn't get this one for myself as it has a similar habit to ivy
and would need encouraging to stay against the wall as it also makes
very good deep shade ground cover.

The one I would go for is
Schisandra
There are three species: chinensis, henryi and sphenanthera
Plants climb by twining around supports.
The fully dormant plant is hardy to about -17°c, though the young
growth in spring can be damaged by late frosts.
The flowers (spring and summer, delicate and pretty red) are sweetly
scented and the leaves are also aromatic.
Any pruning is best carried out in the spring. It will eventually grow
to 30' (they say).

Unfortunately the plant is dioecious which means that there are male
plants and female plants. If you had room for two, one of each sex,
you would be able to harvest fruit from it.

The climber I myself have for a North facing shady wall is the well
known Akebia quinata. This too is dioecious and with too plans has
fruits. It looks a little tatty at this time of year and although it
is very vigourous I would, if I had known better at the time, have
bought a male and female schisandra.

Actually, looking at RHS "Plants For Places" there are some other
rather voluptuous alternatives:
Aconitum hemsleyanum - a twining perennial with glossy violet flowers.
Codonopsis clematidea - beautiful twining herbaceous with mauvy bells.
and if your soil is acid: Asteranthera ovata which looks very exotic
indeed but not too hardy in very severe winters. Is there a bitter
gale blowing through your passage?

Enough

with respect

Hussein
(PS I can give you some pointers as to where to get these plants as I
don't think garden centres will have those which are less common)