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#1
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What climbing vines/flowers to use on pillars at front of house????
Hi all. Long time reader, first time poster.....
I've got a question that I'm hoping the knowledgable people on this forum may be able to help with... At the front of my house I've got 2 steel pillars that support part of the house that sticks out beyond the threshold of the rest of the house. The pillars go into the ground surrounded by paving flags i.e. not into soil or earth. I'd like to effectively wrap large flower pots around the bottom of the 2 pillars, fill with soil/peat then plant some vines/flowers to grow up the pillars and potentially up the house somewhat. Ideally the growth needs to be dense to block out the steel, as I find the steel a bit of an eyesore... Can anyone see any problems with this idea or offer any advice on vines/flowers? Or any general tips? Thanks in advance! Larry |
#2
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What climbing vines/flowers to use on pillars at front of house????
On Jan 6, 5:25*pm, Biglarry
wrote: Hi all. Long time reader, first time poster..... I've got a question that I'm hoping the knowledgable people on this forum may be able to help with... At the front of my house I've got 2 steel pillars that support part of the house that sticks out beyond the threshold of the rest of the house. The pillars go into the ground surrounded by paving flags i.e. not into soil or earth. I'd like to effectively wrap large flower pots around the bottom of the 2 pillars, fill with soil/peat then plant some vines/flowers to grow up the pillars and potentially up the house somewhat. Ideally the growth needs to be dense to block out the steel, as I find the steel a bit of an eyesore... Can anyone see any problems with this idea or offer any advice on vines/flowers? Or any general tips? Thanks in advance! Larry -- Biglarry Depends where you are to some extent. Do you want a flowering vine or just foliage? There are tons of them. Ivy doesn't flower and does well in most climates. YOU could also use Morning Glory or even Peas that would give you flowers and produce |
#3
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What climbing vines/flowers to use on pillars at front of house????
On Fri, 6 Jan 2012 22:25:56 +0000, Biglarry
wrote: Hi all. Long time reader, first time poster..... I've got a question that I'm hoping the knowledgable people on this forum may be able to help with... At the front of my house I've got 2 steel pillars that support part of the house that sticks out beyond the threshold of the rest of the house. The pillars go into the ground surrounded by paving flags i.e. not into soil or earth. I'd like to effectively wrap large flower pots around the bottom of the 2 pillars, fill with soil/peat then plant some vines/flowers to grow up the pillars and potentially up the house somewhat. Ideally the growth needs to be dense to block out the steel, as I find the steel a bit of an eyesore... Can anyone see any problems with this idea or offer any advice on vines/flowers? Or any general tips? You don't indicate in what climate you live so I will assume four seasons. When vines drop their leaves in winter they look very ugly twined around metal pillars. Why can't you remove a flagstone and plant directly into the ground, that way you can plant an evergreen that will hide the steel pillars all year. I would suggest one of the columnar junipers, they're dense and can be sheared. They're also available in several colorations, I happen to like the blue grey varietals. Of course there are other solutions such as painting the metal a color that blends in better, or covering the pillars with lumber to match your house... there are also vinyl columns that can replace or slip around the metal pillars and in many configurations. http://www.columnstore.com/vinyl-columns.shtml |
#4
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OK thanks for the advice guys. I fancy the idea of vines and might pull up the flagstones, would a large flower pot not suffice then? Has anyone tried jasmine or passion flower? These are 2 varieties that appear may fit the bill quite well....
I'm based in Manchester, UK so we have cold winters (doesn't go below -5 degrees C) and summers are mixed.... |
#5
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What climbing vines/flowers to use on pillars at front of house????
On 10/01/2012 21:17, Biglarry wrote:
OK thanks for the advice guys. I fancy the idea of vines and might pull up the flagstones, would a large flower pot not suffice then? Has anyone tried jasmine or passion flower? These are 2 varieties that appear may fit the bill quite well.... I'm based in Manchester, UK so we have cold winters (doesn't go below -5 degrees C) and summers are mixed... You mean wet and very wet? ;-) You haven't said which way the front of your house faces. If it's north, you will be pretty limited in your choice. If it's south or west, you are much better off. Passion flower, if it is happy, will grow like mad. If your soil is fertile, you will get lots of leaf and very little flower. Remember too that no plants will grip smooth steel - they may get up a few feet by twining, but will then slide down. Evergreens such as Trachelospermum jasminoides or Stauntonia hexaphylla give good cover, with the benefit of small highly-scented white flowers. They are both vigorous when established, but perhaps not so much as Jasminum officinale. If you want something in flower when little else is, Clematis cirrhosa balearica would be a good choice. Lots of suggestions he http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/...e.aspx?PID=380 -- Jeff |
#6
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What climbing vines/flowers to use on pillars at front of house????
On Jan 6, 5:25*pm, Biglarry
wrote: Hi all. Long time reader, first time poster..... I've got a question that I'm hoping the knowledgable people on this forum may be able to help with... At the front of my house I've got 2 steel pillars that support part of the house that sticks out beyond the threshold of the rest of the house. The pillars go into the ground surrounded by paving flags i.e. not into soil or earth. I'd like to effectively wrap large flower pots around the bottom of the 2 pillars, fill with soil/peat then plant some vines/flowers to grow up the pillars and potentially up the house somewhat. Ideally the growth needs to be dense to block out the steel, as I find the steel a bit of an eyesore... Can anyone see any problems with this idea or offer any advice on vines/flowers? Or any general tips? Thanks in advance! Larry -- Biglarry Using flower pots around the pillars sounds like a good idea. |
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