Hi, this is my first time here so please be gentle with me!

Ive recently started gardening. I have a very small garden and would like to make the most of the space with evergreens (perennials?), a bit of colour and some veg/herbs. I bought a great book recently which showed tips on how to best utilise small space for veg/plants/flowers.

On one side of the garden is a a white wall measuring 4 x 4 metres. I dont like this white wall and Im thinking of putting up some trellis and having some climbers or something that will be green all year round and flower in the summer. However (and this is why I havnt got into gardening before) Im impatient and want something fast growing so that within the year that wall is covered in foliage. Does such a thing exist and is this achievable? Shoudl I buy a plant that is already well matured? What should I look for when buying trellis or is it all teh same? In my little front garden I have a nice honeysuckle climbing wall, but that goes dormant in the winter. I want foliage all year round.

Thanks
PS
the wall is south facing, but the garden is cold because its exposed and gets battered by the elements.

On Fri, 8 Jun 2012 07:38:48 +0000, dllive
wrote:


Hi, this is my first time here so please be gentle with me!

Ive recently started gardening. I have a very small garden and would
like to make the most of the space with evergreens (perennials?), a bit
of colour and some veg/herbs. I bought a great book recently which
showed tips on how to best utilise small space for veg/plants/flowers.

On one side of the garden is a a white wall measuring 4 x 4 metres. I
dont like this white wall and Im thinking of putting up some trellis and
having some climbers or something that will be green all year round and
flower in the summer. However (and this is why I havnt got into
gardening before) Im impatient and want something fast growing so that
within the year that wall is covered in foliage. Does such a thing exist
and is this achievable? Shoudl I buy a plant that is already well
matured? What should I look for when buying trellis or is it all teh
same? In my little front garden I have a nice honeysuckle climbing wall,
but that goes dormant in the winter. I want foliage all year round.

Thanks
PS
the wall is south facing, but the garden is cold because its exposed and
gets battered by the elements.

First things first - check the wall. Paint (I assume it's painted
white) can hide things like failing pointing. You don't want to cover
the wall with trellis and climbers only to have to chop it all down to
repoint later.

When choosing trellis, avoid the diamond pattern stuff which is
usually weaker. Go for the square pattern. Most trellis I've seen on
sale in sheds and garden centres round here is "dipped" which means
you need to treat it annually with preservative to stop it rotting
(which is not good for evergreens as you need to detach them from the
trellis). Specialist fencing suppliers will sell (they do here anyway)
"pressure treated" trellis. This lasts longer without treatment.

Mount the trellis "off the wall" rather than tight to it - this will
allow plants to twine all around it.

Advice on choosing plants is a little more difficult. It will help if
you let us know where in the country you are (and do you mean
"coastal" when you say "exposed"?) and what your soil's like - e.g.
sandy and well drained or clay and soggy. Plus, patience is a virtue
when it comes to gardening - spending big bucks on a larger plant
isn't always the answer; a smaller plant may not flower this year but
it might be a lot better next year and in years to come.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling from Swansea Bay. Dave's at that
end; I'm at this end. Bill's in the middle.

In article , Sacha wrote:
On 2012-06-08 11:18:04 +0100, Jake said:

Many new gardeners want an instant effect and then regret planting e.g.
Russian Vine. But sorting out that wall and then planting, perhaps
honeysuckle or Holboellia or Clematis will ensure a reasonably swift
coverage within a couple of years. The OP also needs to find out what
kind of soil he has and perhaps nourish it before planting, if the
garden has been neglected. He also has to think about where in the
garden they want a seating area or a swing for children etc. But where
the garden is is extremely important, Jake's absolutely right.

And where he is! In the colder parts of the country, there is
precisely one evergreen climber - ivy, Hedera helix. In the
intermediate areas, there are none that are both reliably evergreen
and have much in the way of flowers (e.g. Clematis armandii gets
very tatty in winter and Holboellia flowers get frosted).

So a better option might be an evergreen climber and annuals for
the flowers (e.g. morning glory). It depends on where he is.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

What should I look for when buying trellis or is it all teh
same? In my little front garden I have a nice honeysuckle climbing wall,
but that goes dormant in the winter. I want foliage all year round.

Thanks
PS
the wall is south facing, but the garden is cold because its exposed and
gets battered by the elements.


Why not make your own trellis.
You can get a couple of packs of tile battens from a builders merchant
and you will have a trellis that will last a lot longer and be cheaper.
Alternatively why not use wire and Screw-in Vine Eyes, see
http://www.lbsgardenwarehouse.co.uk/...sfile=1&jump=0

"dllive" wrote in message
...

Hi, this is my first time here so please be gentle with me!

Ive recently started gardening. I have a very small garden and would
like to make the most of the space with evergreens (perennials?), a bit
of colour and some veg/herbs. I bought a great book recently which
showed tips on how to best utilise small space for veg/plants/flowers.

On one side of the garden is a a white wall measuring 4 x 4 metres. I
dont like this white wall and Im thinking of putting up some trellis and
having some climbers or something that will be green all year round and
flower in the summer. However (and this is why I havnt got into
gardening before) Im impatient and want something fast growing so that
within the year that wall is covered in foliage. Does such a thing exist
and is this achievable? Shoudl I buy a plant that is already well
matured? What should I look for when buying trellis or is it all teh
same? In my little front garden I have a nice honeysuckle climbing wall,
but that goes dormant in the winter. I want foliage all year round.

Thanks
PS
the wall is south facing, but the garden is cold because its exposed and
gets battered by the elements.




--
dllive

Please don't go for something fast growing, the plant with an off switch has
yet to be invented and you will spend 1 year waiting for the plant to fill
the space 1 week with it looking good and the rest of your life trying to
control it!

As a suggestion take a look at Trachelospermum jasminoides, Majus is a good
free flowering form. neat evergreen with scented white summer flowers


--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk