Hi,

I am looking for suggestions as to which type of plants would suit my
need to create an obscuring screen of vegatation as quick and easy as
possible. Let me explain:

I have a space on the second floor approx. 6' x 30' in between my apartment
building and the house next door. Because the space is on the second
floor, the height of the house is only about 7'above the space, so it
doesn't block too much light depending on the angle of the sun, but is a
factor to consider. The roof of the house is flat with gravel for drainage, so
there isn't an issue of the shadow from a peak creeping across the area.

The exposure is southwest and receives a lot of daylight from early morning
until late in the day. The only things blocking the light is the small
balcony (4' x 8') about midway of the apartment above and the roof mentioned
earlier.

The screening of greening is needed to reduce exposure from the sun into
my bedroom almost all day. I have put up tinfoil on the window to reduce and
reflect the light, but this becomes redundant when I open it to get some
air. The window is rather large (4' x 6'), so I get a lot of light.

The solution I have come up with is to put up lattice and choose a plant
or plants to grow on it. The question for me is what type(s) would be
best? I would like to have something that grows quickly, that is low
maintainance, and will grow a fruit or vegetable, if possible. The main
priority is protection from the sun during the summer months.

Because the space is elevated, it is well travelled by squirls and
racoons, so they are also to be considered when choosing plants. I have
blood-and-bone meal and the dirt, I just need suggestions as to the plants.

As an aside, I figured that if I am to go to all the effort of setting up
the space for the window screening, I might as well extend myself to
putting in some other plants like herbs and spices. Any suggestions for
low-maintainance/high-yield options that will work in my area.

I am going to the garden centre next week sometime to explore the
selections, so any suggestions before then will be helpful.

I live in Ottawa, Ontario and don't know what "zone" I am in.

Thank you for the time spent reading this missive, and for any possible
suggestions or solutions to my situation.

E. Graeme Smith
--
Never argue with idiots, they only drag you down to their level then beat
you with experience

fast growing, good coverage, brilliant red in fall, drops leaves, vermin proof =
Virginia creeper. I just love Virginia creeper.
http://puregold.aquaria.net/landscape/sit/sit.htm scroll to Late May 2004. I am
letting it take over my little sitting area.
second best is concord grapes. some animals will eat them, some not. but frankly
the best grapes come from well pruned vines. OTOH, I grow mine in the "curtain" form
which is a standard straight up, then arms out to the side and let the vines hang
down from the arms. Ingrid


(E. Graeme Smith) wrote:
The exposure is southwest and receives a lot of daylight from early morning
until late in the day.
The screening of greening is needed to reduce exposure from the sun into
my bedroom almost all day
The solution I have come up with is to put up lattice and choose a plant
or plants to grow on it. The question for me is what type(s) would be
best? I would like to have something that grows quickly, that is low
maintainance, and will grow a fruit or vegetable, if possible. The main
priority is protection from the sun during the summer months.

Because the space is elevated, it is well travelled by squirls and
racoons, so they are also to be considered when choosing plants.
I live in Ottawa, Ontario and don't know what "zone" I am in.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

On 6 Jun 2004 18:11:51 GMT, (E. Graeme
Smith) wrote:

The solution I have come up with is to put up lattice and choose a plant
or plants to grow on it. The question for me is what type(s) would be
best? I would like to have something that grows quickly, that is low
maintainance, and will grow a fruit or vegetable, if possible. The main
priority is protection from the sun during the summer months.

Pole beans of some sort come to mind. Scarlet runner beans and purple
hyacinth beans are both fast-growing and edible. There are many vine-y
weeds that grow very quickly, and if containerized, wouldn't be a
garden nuisance.

A roof-garden sounds terrific. Here's a link you might enjoy:

http://members.rott.chello.nl/ldejag...ex.welcome.htm

wrote in message
...
fast growing, good coverage, brilliant red in fall, drops leaves, vermin
proof =
Virginia creeper. I just love Virginia creeper.

Let me know if you want some. It is a noxious weed around here!.