Hi. New to the forum. We've recently moved into a new build house with a garden. After both of us living in flats our entire lives, this is our first ever garden. We are based in Edinburgh in a Northish facing garden.

The space is app 18x14 metres but part of this is taken up by a garden room. There is an app 2m slope over the 14m from the house to fence line.

We have a landscaper in at the moment building a retaining wall for a patio that will come off the back of the house. The patio area is large. 6m wide. Worried we've made an error and it's too big but my other half assures me it's perfect.

The retaining wall will be app 1m high.

We want to grow evergreen vine over this wall to help it blend in and give the illusion of an extended green area. Does anyone have any suggestions on a vine that will keep its colour and foliage all year round, will be ok with a 1 metre high wall that stretches about 5 metres? Worried about root systems damaging the foundation over time as well as the wall. The wall will is shade a lot of the year.

The landscaper is putting in a garden bed on top of the retaining wall app 20cm inches in and 20cm wide which will sit just flush with the patio to aid in water run off and create a visible boarder to try & stop people falling or jumping off onto the lawn. He suggested planting crawling vines in here as well to grown down the wall. Any suggestions on what to use here? Low lying and shallow root systems.

I think I made an error and posted this a few days ago in the wrong section. I went to 'gardening' but replies were from America. My error. Specifically chose a .co.uk site to get uk advice. I read the uk site rules a few minutes ago and the FAQs link goes to a dead page, so I'm really sorry if a post on vines is available there. If so, happy for someone just to point me in that direction for self help.

Thanks.

On 31/01/2015 04:58, NewGarden wrote:
Hi. New to the forum. We've recently moved into a new build house with
a garden. After both of us living in flats our entire lives, this is our
first ever garden. We are based in Edinburgh in a Northish facing
garden.

The space is app 18x14 metres but part of this is taken up by a garden
room. There is an app 2m slope over the 14m from the house to fence
line.

We have a landscaper in at the moment building a retaining wall for a
patio that will come off the back of the house. The patio area is large.
6m wide. Worried we've made an error and it's too big but my other half
assures me it's perfect.

The retaining wall will be app 1m high.

We want to grow evergreen vine over this wall to help it blend in and
give the illusion of an extended green area. Does anyone have any
suggestions on a vine that will keep its colour and foliage all year
round, will be ok with a 1 metre high wall that stretches about 5
metres? Worried about root systems damaging the foundation over time as
well as the wall. The wall will is shade a lot of the year.

The landscaper is putting in a garden bed on top of the retaining wall
app 20cm inches in and 20cm wide which will sit just flush with the
patio to aid in water run off and create a visible boarder to try & stop
people falling or jumping off onto the lawn. He suggested planting
crawling vines in here as well to grown down the wall. Any suggestions
on what to use here? Low lying and shallow root systems.

I think I made an error and posted this a few days ago in the wrong
section. I went to 'gardening' but replies were from America. My error.
Specifically chose a .co.uk site to get uk advice. I read the uk site
rules a few minutes ago and the FAQs link goes to a dead page, so I'm
really sorry if a post on vines is available there. If so, happy for
someone just to point me in that direction for self help.

Thanks.


I'd go with your landscapers idea of just having plants that trail down.
Much easier to look after.

In article , NewGarden.f424a59
@gardenbanter.co.uk says...

Hi. New to the forum. We've recently moved into a new build house with
a garden. After both of us living in flats our entire lives, this is our
first ever garden. We are based in Edinburgh in a Northish facing
garden.

The space is app 18x14 metres but part of this is taken up by a garden
room. There is an app 2m slope over the 14m from the house to fence
line.

We have a landscaper in at the moment building a retaining wall for a
patio that will come off the back of the house. The patio area is large.
6m wide. Worried we've made an error and it's too big but my other half
assures me it's perfect.

The retaining wall will be app 1m high.

We want to grow evergreen vine over this wall to help it blend in and
give the illusion of an extended green area. Does anyone have any
suggestions on a vine that will keep its colour and foliage all year
round, will be ok with a 1 metre high wall that stretches about 5
metres? Worried about root systems damaging the foundation over time as
well as the wall. The wall will is shade a lot of the year.

If by "vine" you mean you're looking for an evergreen self clinging
plant (which tolerates shade) then in Edinburgh, your choice is pretty
much limited to ivy. I'd suggest a yellow/gold variegated one such as
goldheart.

You will struggle to make it grow downwards *and* cling to the wall.
If it's not too late I'd suggest a second planting bed at the base of
the wall/edge of the patio.


The landscaper is putting in a garden bed on top of the retaining wall
app 20cm inches in and 20cm wide which will sit just flush with the
patio to aid in water run off and create a visible boarder to try & stop
people falling or jumping off onto the lawn. He suggested planting
crawling vines in here as well to grown down the wall. Any suggestions
on what to use here? Low lying and shallow root systems.

One of the vincas? They are hardy shade tolerant evergreen have
flowers and will sprawl downward. You could underplant it with small
spring buls such as snowdrop, crocus, the small daffodil FebruaRY GOLD.

(

I think I made an error and posted this a few days ago in the wrong
section.

Take a look at the weekly help post to newcomers, called something like
abc. It will explain all.

This usenet gardening group is NOT PART OF GARDENBANTER so you will
never get the best use of it via their pirated copy of it. It's a bit
like trying to watch a TV program standing on the pavement outside a
shop that sells TVs

Janet (Scotland)

On Sat, 31 Jan 2015 05:58:05 NewGarden wrote:

I think I made an error and posted this a few days ago in the wrong
section. I went to 'gardening' but replies were from America. My error.
Specifically chose a .co.uk site to get uk advice. I read the uk site
rules a few minutes ago and the FAQs link goes to a dead page, so I'm
really sorry if a post on vines is available there. If so, happy for
someone just to point me in that direction for self help.

The link to the FAQ page still works. Maybe from Gardenbanter it's an
old link. This one will work:

http://www.u-r-g.co.uk/urgfaqs.htm

However, I'm afraid that there isn't anything on vines that would be
useful to you. But, as Janet has said, a vine is probably not quite what
you want but rather a variegated ivy.

Best wishes - and welcome!

David

--
David Rance writing from Caversham, Reading, UK

"NewGarden" wrote in message ...


Hi. New to the forum. We've recently moved into a new build house with
a garden. After both of us living in flats our entire lives, this is our
first ever garden. We are based in Edinburgh in a Northish facing
garden.

The space is app 18x14 metres but part of this is taken up by a garden
room. There is an app 2m slope over the 14m from the house to fence
line.

We have a landscaper in at the moment building a retaining wall for a
patio that will come off the back of the house. The patio area is large.
6m wide. Worried we've made an error and it's too big but my other half
assures me it's perfect.

The retaining wall will be app 1m high.

We want to grow evergreen vine over this wall to help it blend in and
give the illusion of an extended green area. Does anyone have any
suggestions on a vine that will keep its colour and foliage all year
round, will be ok with a 1 metre high wall that stretches about 5
metres? Worried about root systems damaging the foundation over time as
well as the wall. The wall will is shade a lot of the year.

The landscaper is putting in a garden bed on top of the retaining wall
app 20cm inches in and 20cm wide which will sit just flush with the
patio to aid in water run off and create a visible boarder to try & stop
people falling or jumping off onto the lawn. He suggested planting
crawling vines in here as well to grown down the wall. Any suggestions
on what to use here? Low lying and shallow root systems.

I think I made an error and posted this a few days ago in the wrong
section. I went to 'gardening' but replies were from America. My error.
Specifically chose a .co.uk site to get uk advice. I read the uk site
rules a few minutes ago and the FAQs link goes to a dead page, so I'm
really sorry if a post on vines is available there. If so, happy for
someone just to point me in that direction for self help.

Thanks.




As others have said Ivy will be about the only plant that will cling to your
new wall and be evergreen. One of the smaller leaved varieties would do the
job but slowly, anything like a large leaved one would cover the wall
quickly but then would need constant cutting back and tend to look untidy
too. Your problem is that it likes to grow upwards, like most plants, so
would prefer to be planted at the base of the wall.
There are lots of plants that will cascade down over the summer months, from
Trailing Pelagoniums (Geraniums) and trailing begonias, basically any of the
various plants used in hanging baskets but they would only be for summer.

This is a Newsgroup on Usenet (one of the oldest parts of the internet which
actually predates the www) which Gardenbanter allows you to view and post to
via their web site. Most of us come here direct.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

"NewGarden" wrote in message
...

Hi. New to the forum. We've recently moved into a new build house with
a garden. After both of us living in flats our entire lives, this is our
first ever garden. We are based in Edinburgh in a Northish facing
garden.

The space is app 18x14 metres but part of this is taken up by a garden
room. There is an app 2m slope over the 14m from the house to fence
line.

We have a landscaper in at the moment building a retaining wall for a
patio that will come off the back of the house. The patio area is large.
6m wide. Worried we've made an error and it's too big but my other half
assures me it's perfect.

The retaining wall will be app 1m high.

We want to grow evergreen vine over this wall to help it blend in and
give the illusion of an extended green area. Does anyone have any
suggestions on a vine that will keep its colour and foliage all year
round, will be ok with a 1 metre high wall that stretches about 5
metres? Worried about root systems damaging the foundation over time as
well as the wall. The wall will is shade a lot of the year.

The landscaper is putting in a garden bed on top of the retaining wall
app 20cm inches in and 20cm wide which will sit just flush with the
patio to aid in water run off and create a visible boarder to try & stop
people falling or jumping off onto the lawn. He suggested planting
crawling vines in here as well to grown down the wall. Any suggestions
on what to use here? Low lying and shallow root systems.

I think I made an error and posted this a few days ago in the wrong
section. I went to 'gardening' but replies were from America. My error.
Specifically chose a .co.uk site to get uk advice. I read the uk site
rules a few minutes ago and the FAQs link goes to a dead page, so I'm
really sorry if a post on vines is available there. If so, happy for
someone just to point me in that direction for self help.

Thanks.




--
NewGarden

The choice of evergreen hardy climbers is (sadly) limited, your best bet
would be something like Vinca planted at the top as it is happy to trail,
evergreen, hardy, easy, cheap and flowers over a long season go for one of
the Vinca majus cultivars.

Most climbers will try and grow back up, and would also require a lot more
root space than has been allowed for

I took this picture this winter
https://www.flickr.com/photos/89219640@N04/15932822710/


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

In article ,
Charlie Pridham wrote:

The choice of evergreen hardy climbers is (sadly) limited, your best bet
would be something like Vinca planted at the top as it is happy to trail,
evergreen, hardy, easy, cheap and flowers over a long season go for one of
the Vinca majus cultivars.

Limited is an understatement; in the colder areas of the UK, it
means just Hedera helix; in most of the UK, it means that and
H. colchica; only in the warmer areas are there any others.

Here in Cambridge, there are several other hardy 'evergreen'
climbers, but none are reliably evergreen. Clematis armandii
does pretty well, and Lonicera henryi even better, but I can't
call them either reliably hardy or reliably evergreen. All of
the other 'evergreen' ones I grow are effectively deciduous.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 01/02/2015 11:15, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Charlie Pridham wrote:

The choice of evergreen hardy climbers is (sadly) limited, your best bet
would be something like Vinca planted at the top as it is happy to trail,
evergreen, hardy, easy, cheap and flowers over a long season go for one of
the Vinca majus cultivars.

Limited is an understatement; in the colder areas of the UK, it
means just Hedera helix; in most of the UK, it means that and
H. colchica; only in the warmer areas are there any others.

Here in Cambridge, there are several other hardy 'evergreen'
climbers, but none are reliably evergreen. Clematis armandii
does pretty well, and Lonicera henryi even better, but I can't
call them either reliably hardy or reliably evergreen. All of
the other 'evergreen' ones I grow are effectively deciduous.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Lonicera Henryi Never, I have it growing over 30 ft up into an oak
tree, and the OP only wants 1m in height.
There is always Euonymus fortunei which against a wall becomes a
climbing shrub

"David Hill" wrote in message
...
On 01/02/2015 11:15, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Charlie Pridham wrote:

The choice of evergreen hardy climbers is (sadly) limited, your best bet
would be something like Vinca planted at the top as it is happy to
trail,
evergreen, hardy, easy, cheap and flowers over a long season go for one
of
the Vinca majus cultivars.

Limited is an understatement; in the colder areas of the UK, it
means just Hedera helix; in most of the UK, it means that and
H. colchica; only in the warmer areas are there any others.

Here in Cambridge, there are several other hardy 'evergreen'
climbers, but none are reliably evergreen. Clematis armandii
does pretty well, and Lonicera henryi even better, but I can't
call them either reliably hardy or reliably evergreen. All of
the other 'evergreen' ones I grow are effectively deciduous.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Lonicera Henryi Never, I have it growing over 30 ft up into an oak tree,
and the OP only wants 1m in height.
There is always Euonymus fortunei which against a wall becomes a climbing
shrub

I think that the planting space is at the top of the wall, in a milder place
I would have suggested one of the trailing Rosemarys, its very hard to get
climbing plants to trail, and most are if at all happy much to vigorous.

I think the suggestion someone made to go with summer hanging basket type
planting is a good shout, but I do have a soft spot for Vinca (and it is
hardy and evergreen)

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

In article ,
David Hill wrote:

The choice of evergreen hardy climbers is (sadly) limited, your best bet
would be something like Vinca planted at the top as it is happy to trail,
evergreen, hardy, easy, cheap and flowers over a long season go for one of
the Vinca majus cultivars.

Limited is an understatement; in the colder areas of the UK, it
means just Hedera helix; in most of the UK, it means that and
H. colchica; only in the warmer areas are there any others.

Here in Cambridge, there are several other hardy 'evergreen'
climbers, but none are reliably evergreen. Clematis armandii
does pretty well, and Lonicera henryi even better, but I can't
call them either reliably hardy or reliably evergreen. All of
the other 'evergreen' ones I grow are effectively deciduous.

Lonicera Henryi Never, I have it growing over 30 ft up into an oak
tree, and the OP only wants 1m in height.

Oh, I never said they would be SUITABLE - merely that they are
the only two non-ivies that are even approximately evergreen!
If anything, Clematis armandii is worse, because it hates hard
pruning.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.