The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Growing => Gardens => Topic started by: Fleecewife on February 15, 2016, 01:22:55 pm
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I live in a cold windy area with frosts which come early in the autumn and late in spring. I have some areas of stone wall to cover (around the front door mainly) with flowering climbers. I'm a bit stuck on roses, clematis and honeysuckle so far, plants I know will thrive here. Things like ceanothus would never survive. I already have Virginia creeper and a huge ivy elsewhere, and anyway I want flowers.
Can you think of anything else to consider, and do you have good colour combinations and timings to try?
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There's a climbing hydrangea, pet- (something)?
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Forsythia, for late winter/early spring colour?
And yes, Mum always used to have a climbing hydrangea (http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/397.shtml)somewhere about the garden, on a north-facing fence usually.
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There's a climbing hydrangea, pet- (something)?
Hydrangea petiolaris I think. We grew this on a north facing wall in our previous home and it did fine. Really bonny lacy flowers.
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That's the one and it works well. Have you considered wisteria? Ours thrives on our windy hilltop.
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Honey Suckle or a climbing rose?
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If it is against the stone wall some varieties of ceanothus will survive as the wall will protect them. I have a ceanothus repens growing up in the wilds here so I'm sure you can find one. Look for varieties with smaller leaves as they are hardier.
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Climbing Hydrangea is a great idea - but for the north facing side of the house as it's too big for round the door. I really like them, although when I tried to grow one before in sunny Norfolk I killed it dead. I was only 15 at the time :eyelashes:
Forsythia is too bushy for the site, but I do have a couple in other places in the garden.
I could try a ceanothus if you think it might survive - there's a little spot around the corner from the front door which is sheltered from the howling easterlies and northerlies, although there are weird swirling air currents in that bit.
So that's 2 other bits sorted, still the front door bit to go. I forgot to mention it's south facing, but exposed to the easterlies.
There's not room for a wisteria unfortunately. One of my DiLs grows one, and a ceanothus, on the east coast at Dunbar, in one of the most sheltered gardens in Scotland and she has great success with them - although she accidentally planted a white wisteria instead of a blue, so after several years of waiting, she was seriously disappointed :(
I expect it will end up being roses and clematis growing through eachother. It's worked well in other parts of the walls, where I also have loads of honeysuckle, which smells gorgeous.
Any hints for clematis and roses combinations which look good together against stonework?
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How big a space is it? Could you fan train a fruit tree or even have a cordon trained up the wall. That way you could pick something yummy on your way in :thumbsup:
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You could also try annuals like nasturtiums, they sometimes leave seeds in the walls and carry on growing year after year, plus the flowers are edible in salads :)
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Any hints for clematis and roses combinations which look good together against stonework?
One of the prettiest roses we've ever had was "Blush Noisette"; saw it at Geoff Hamilton's and planted it against the wall at Longcarse. Dan's folks have three along the front of their house. http://www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/blush-noisette (http://www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/blush-noisette)
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Solanum (potato vine) is a great plant for a wall - it grows like mad and has clusters of purple flowers (like potato flowers really).
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Does it have to be a woody climber? How about an attractive trellis and grow sweet peas, eccremacarpus (?), etc. for summer?
Cotoneaster horizontalis would grow high(ish) when trained against a wall?
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Where we lived before I planted the climbing rose "Zephrine Drouen" ( said to be the sweetest smelling rose ever-and it's thornless) on one side of the front door and a winter flowering honeysuckle on the other.
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What about a Jasmine?
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Snap Devonlady ;D I've just got back from the garden centre, bearing that exact rose :fc: I also bought a Hydrangea Petiolaris so I can plant them on the north side as soon as I buy some half barrels The path comes right up to the wall there, so no ground to plant into direct. I also bought a winter jasmine to plant under a window. I've just seen your suggestion Carse goodlifers, after I wrote that - great minds etc ;D
The front space is quite small, just over a metre on each side of the door, so no room for fruit (although it's a great idea) and the plants themselves will have to be planted around the corner then trained into the positions I want to fill as again there is only path on either side of the door, but plenty of flower bed around the corners.
Blush Noisette does look lovely Rosemary and a scented rose will be lovely next to the door - I'll have an investigation of David Austens site and see what else would suit. I love packing lots of plants together, to flower at various times and climb through each other. When I had to take several down from the wall for the builders to repoint, it took ages to disentangle them from each other - then the slab footed guys just trampled all over them, dumped huge stones on them, parked wheelbarrows on them and dropped mortar all over them. Honey suckle and roses survived that treatment, and a Japonica, but I think they've killed the 3 clematis and my lovely Virginia creeper :rant:
I also grow sweet peas up through all the climbers - it sometimes works better than others. Solanum looks great amongst them all too, although it struggles a bit here. I will certainly include both of those in the melee :thumbsup: Thank you all for your ideas. I knew you would all have lots to think on :bouquet: :bouquet:
I'll try to get pics of where the plants have to go, but right now there's a howling, freezing and wet gale blowing, so I'm hiding indoors.