"S Viemeister" wrote in message
...
On 9/2/2010 3:21 PM, Jim K wrote:
On 2 Sep, 18:22, wrote:

If this trough is joined to your house wall - which we can't tell
from the pic - with no waterproof membrane between, then the bushes may
actually be keeping the damp out of your house.

or more likely the complete opposite

A cousin of mine had to dig up a lovely plant growing next to the wall of
her house. It's an old crofthouse, with rubble walls, and the roots crept
right through to the living room...

Which rather indicates there may have been some damp in there - perhaps a
weeping pipe - or the house was built where the water table was rather
higher than ideal. In a croft, perhaps unsurprising. Under such conditions
any plant with rhizomes or suckers is going to spread that way. That said:
plenty of old dry stone walls look so much the better for the plants that
have bound them all together over centuries.

Cheers,

S