I have a large flower bed that goes right across the garden apart from
two gaps for paths and a middle pergola/walkway. Behind is the vegetable
raised bed area and i's like to screen but not block the view so that
you can see through and not foreshorten the garden

Could I back this bed with, and train Chaenemoles in cordon formation or
would I be better to get apple cordons ? I did think of bushes or shrubs
but they would be difficult to keep "flat" .

The bed's main colour scheme is deep red/pink and white, some blue but
NO yellow (never get on with yellow)

Should I consider other shrubs? It needs to be about 4 - 5 ft high and
we are on the alkaline side with clay and a LOT of flint.Full sun and
bed faces south, i.e. cordons would be on north side of it.

I also thought of training clematis etc through these cordons so it
doesn't have to bear a crop necessarily.

Janet
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

"Janet Tweedy" wrote
I have a large flower bed that goes right across the garden apart from
two gaps for paths and a middle pergola/walkway. Behind is the
vegetable raised bed area and i's like to screen but not block the view
so that you can see through and not foreshorten the garden

Could I back this bed with, and train Chaenemoles in cordon formation
or would I be better to get apple cordons ? I did think of bushes or
shrubs but they would be difficult to keep "flat" .

Chanomeles would look pretty in flower and have the fruit as well as the
blossom, but it might be almost as bad to try and keep flat. I've got
Geisha
Girl on a wall and it does tend to send out a lot of bottom suckers.

The cordons seem like a lovely idea. You could use pear as well; I've
seen a pear cordon 'hedge' that made a charming semi-open screen.

--
Sue

On 12/3/07 10:25, in article
, "Sue"
wrote:


"Janet Tweedy" wrote
I have a large flower bed that goes right across the garden apart from
two gaps for paths and a middle pergola/walkway. Behind is the
vegetable raised bed area and i's like to screen but not block the view
so that you can see through and not foreshorten the garden

Could I back this bed with, and train Chaenemoles in cordon formation
or would I be better to get apple cordons ? I did think of bushes or
shrubs but they would be difficult to keep "flat" .

Chanomeles would look pretty in flower and have the fruit as well as the
blossom, but it might be almost as bad to try and keep flat. I've got
Geisha
Girl on a wall and it does tend to send out a lot of bottom suckers.

The cordons seem like a lovely idea. You could use pear as well; I've
seen a pear cordon 'hedge' that made a charming semi-open screen.

I like the chaenomeles idea too, though I've never seen in grown that way.
The other possibility would be doing something with willow withies, perhaps?
Those can be 'woven' into pretty well anything you want and cut back once or
twice a year to stop the shape being lost.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/
(remove weeds from address)

"Sacha" wrote in message
. uk...
On 12/3/07 10:25, in article
, "Sue"
wrote:


"Janet Tweedy" wrote
I have a large flower bed that goes right across the garden apart from
two gaps for paths and a middle pergola/walkway. Behind is the
vegetable raised bed area and i's like to screen but not block the view
so that you can see through and not foreshorten the garden

Could I back this bed with, and train Chaenemoles in cordon formation
or would I be better to get apple cordons ? I did think of bushes or
shrubs but they would be difficult to keep "flat" .

Chanomeles would look pretty in flower and have the fruit as well as the
blossom, but it might be almost as bad to try and keep flat. I've got
Geisha
Girl on a wall and it does tend to send out a lot of bottom suckers.

The cordons seem like a lovely idea. You could use pear as well; I've
seen a pear cordon 'hedge' that made a charming semi-open screen.

I like the chaenomeles idea too, though I've never seen in grown that way.
The other possibility would be doing something with willow withies,
perhaps?
Those can be 'woven' into pretty well anything you want and cut back once
or
twice a year to stop the shape being lost.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/
(remove weeds from address)

Sorry to jump in off topic, did you get my email Sacha? I was responding to
a phone message you left, but I have not been able to find you in!
--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collections of Clematis viticella (cvs) and
Lapageria rosea

In article , Sacha
writes

I like the chaenomeles idea too, though I've never seen in grown that way.
The other possibility would be doing something with willow withies, perhaps?
Those can be 'woven' into pretty well anything you want and cut back once or
twice a year to stop the shape being lost.



Oh yes, I fell for this idea two years ago and made two wigwams for the
sweet peas on a day course under instruction from a friend who makes
living hedges etc.
Ha!
The willows did a lot better than the sweet peas and it took me a good
two hours to dig out the roots of the wigwams last autumn



--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

On 12 Mar, 12:16, Janet Tweedy wrote:
In article , Sacha
writes

I like the chaenomeles idea too, though I've never seen in grown that way.
The other possibility would be doing something with willow withies, perhaps?
Those can be 'woven' into pretty well anything you want and cut back once or
twice a year to stop the shape being lost.

Oh yes, I fell for this idea two years ago and made two wigwams for the
sweet peas on a day course under instruction from a friend who makes
living hedges etc.
Ha!
The willows did a lot better than the sweet peas and it took me a good
two hours to dig out the roots of the wigwams last autumn

--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraphhttp://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Instead of using willow, why not use one of the faster growing
Cotoneaster varieties
A few years ago I saw a Cotoneaster arch on a TV gardening programme,
looked very good, so you would have flowers and then berries in the
autumn

David Hill
Abacus Nurseries

On 12/3/07 11:53, in article , "Charlie
Pridham" wrote:
snip

Sorry to jump in off topic, did you get my email Sacha? I was responding to
a phone message you left, but I have not been able to find you in!

Oh blast it. No, I didn't get an email from you, Charlie. My email is
really giving me a hard time lately! I'll email you with the query I have.
We got your phone message but because you said something about Penzance
Show, decided not to pester you until you'd sorted that and your aching back
out! Email will be on its way later. Right now, I have an ill grand
daughter wanting a cuddle and a tv session with Scooby Doo!

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/
(remove weeds from address)

On 12/3/07 12:16, in article , "Janet Tweedy"
wrote:

In article , Sacha
writes

I like the chaenomeles idea too, though I've never seen in grown that way.
The other possibility would be doing something with willow withies, perhaps?
Those can be 'woven' into pretty well anything you want and cut back once or
twice a year to stop the shape being lost.



Oh yes, I fell for this idea two years ago and made two wigwams for the
sweet peas on a day course under instruction from a friend who makes
living hedges etc.
Ha!
The willows did a lot better than the sweet peas and it took me a good
two hours to dig out the roots of the wigwams last autumn


Scratch the willows! ;-)

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/
(remove weeds from address)

In article .com, Dave
Hill writes

Instead of using willow, why not use one of the faster growing
Cotoneaster varieties
A few years ago I saw a Cotoneaster arch on a TV gardening programme,
looked very good, so you would have flowers and then berries in the
autumn

David Hill
Abacus Nurseries



I've done a Pyracantha one at the beginning of my side pathway but at
the back I need a fence structure because it has to back the 80 foot
wide bed, IYSWIM
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk