cam wrote:
Hello all,

We have a fairly grim, black wire-mesh fence around our front, north-
facing strip of graden in Edinburgh.

We decided to plant some clematis to climb up this to give us some
colour and screening... Since they were cheap at the local garden
centre, we got 4 Warsaw Nikes and 2 'Miss Bateman'.

I'm interested in opinions as to how suitable these might be for
climbing a tight mesh fence (grid is maybe 1cm x 1cm). Also will they
provide much screening in winter? I know neither of these are
evergreens but do they leave some kind of foliage? I have discovered
via google that different varieties need different pruning methods so
I suppose I'll have to find out which these are... Oh, and how widely
spaced should the plants be?

Other suggestions for good evergreen climbers are welcome, usual
criteria: low maintenance, north-facing, (probably) poor soil,
suitable-for-idiot-gardener...

Many thanks in advance,
cam

Good evergreen climbers, north facing, Edinburgh?

Well, let's see. You have a choice of ivy, ivy, or maybe ivy. And even
then you may find they don't like the cold, easterly wind.

If you have a little more room, then you might like to consider some
evergreen shrubs instead of climbers. The shrubs could be pruned somewhat
to keep them flat against the fence. Alternatively, you could have
something like a beech hedge, which although turning brown in autumn, keeps
the dead leaves on until growth begins again in spring. It's screening of a
sort.

--
Jeff
(cut "thetape" to reply)