In message , Clive in
Kent writes
Hi all!

Down here in deepest Kent I'm looking to cover an ugly north facing concrete
garage wall. It does get some sun late afternoon / early evening but is in
shade most of the day. Ideally I'm looking for something that is fairly
drought tolerant, self-clinging with some spring and / or summer flowering
and a fairly vigourous climber. Am I asking the impossible or do I have to
compromise? Any suggestions will be gratefully received & acknowledged.

TIA

My garage is a concrete sectional one, with a sharp pebble-dash finish
you wouldn't want to fall against! The wall faces North East.

I just fastened some trellis to it, with nails which jammed into the
cracks between sections. It was enough to hold the trellis, and then
I planted two Honeysuckle shrubs, which became self-supporting after a
short time. Last year I had the garage re-roofed, so I had to hack the
very woody honeysuckles to a 6" stump, and planted two more adjacent to
them in Autumn.

The funny story is that the "dead" stumps have thrown up vigorous growth
again, so I needn't have "replaced" them.
I sometimes wish I'd planted Ivy, which would have probably attracted
nesting birds.
--
Gordon H