"adm" wrote in message
news:2008042012050416807-adm1@fastmailfm...
Dear All,

I am in the process of erecting an 8 foot high concrete post and panel
wall between my house and the nearby road. Once it's complete, it will
need something to cover it completely as it's not particularly attractive.
I was originally thinking of covering it with closeboard fencing, but then
thought that Ivy or a similar wall climber might look a lot nicer.

The wall runs approximately north to south, the east facing side is
towards the road, but is hidden from the road by a 14 foot high beech
hedge. The westward side faces the house, but the house shades it from the
sun. It does get a bit of sun each day, but is predominantly shady. There
is about 10 feet between the house and the wall, and the area is brick
paved. I intend to take about 1 sq. foot of the brick paving out at the
bottom centre of each fence bay (10 bays, each 6 foot wide) so that I can
root a plant into soil. The soil in the area is mainly clay, although
curiously, we seem to have a fairly decent loam in our garden.

So - what varieties of Ivy would fairly quickly cover the entire wall and
look good? Or is there a similar climber I should think about. Ideally, I
want something that is fully self supporting so I dont have to string any
support wires. I would like it to reach the 8 foot top of the fence, but
then would prune it from going any further otherwise it would interfere
with the top of the beech hedge.

Any ideas? Also, if I go with Ivy, once it is established, could I plant a
climbing Rose with each Ivy plant and let the Rose climb through the Ivy?

All opinions gratefully recieved.

Thanks,


Alasdair


I've inherited loads of ivy from the previous owners, one plant up the back
of the house and the other covering an 8 ft fence. It is VERY aggressive,
and needs constant cutting back and controlling - so I personally don't
think integrating any other plant with it will work, and you'll need to keep
an eye on it to stop it spreading.

I'm not too keen on it, but it does coat boring stuff with green. I have to
keep it out of the window frames and stop it climing up the wall of the
house and into the central heating duct, all round the satellite dish etc.
etc. When it's wet and warm, you can almost see it grow!

Barb

Just my opinion.