This is my take on what you've done... you're an excellent woodworker, I like your work very much, and a nice idea, but you should forget all about planting anything in those planters, it's too much trouble and won't work in any case... very easy solutions present themselves when I look at your whole picture... and I see something I could do easily in about an hour..
Where I've put the red lines, I would remove those strips of turf, they're not necessary, you've got plenty of lawn... dig it over a bit... where I've got the blue arrows plant your vines or whatever directly into soil and start training them up the posts.. a slight reservation about the right hand side, as a tree seems to case some shadow, but no bother..
For your attractive planters, which are not planters, I would put hard core, or bricks in them to just below the top, then top off with decorative stones, using a touch of artistry to make them look nice... no soil.. no maintenance..
I would also plant some scented annuals like Nemesias along the red edge either side of your vines to accompany them, where the turf has been removed, as I see seating areas there, and you want some scent to waft a bit..
Thank you all so much for the replies, I won't put vines on the outside of the planters though as for me it'll ruin the aesthetic of the pergola and also a pain to cut the grass, the dog will also pee on them all the time ha ha! To finish I can still have some trailers that are shallow rooted and will be ok in the planters in 30cm of soil and gravel?
The big problem is simply that the planters aren't big enough. Then, not having the bottom open to the surrounding ground, compounds the problem. No climber will survive long term in such a shallow medium, apart from maybe ivy, and even then...
Is there no way you can remove the concrete bases? If you want climbers over that pergola, you'll either need to plant into the ground as suggested, or redo/enlarge the boxes in some way.
I have a similar set up with a screen, but the posts are in the corner of the 'boxes' which the screen is then attached to, and my boxes are far bigger, and open to the ground. I have apple trees in mine at the moment, and I grow sweet peas in them in summer, and have various other things in there for now as I'm waiting for other plants to mature.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Would it be possible to drill some drainage holes around the sides at the bottom so that at least some trailing variegated ivy could grow there .... !or what about trailing ivyleaved pelargoniums in the summer at least. There’s enough room for those and I think they’d work with the general aesthetic ... and then in the autumn the could be planted up with the variegated ivies again.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I think I'll just have to put annuals in, I can't really extend the box sizes as I can't really reduce the area and thoroughfares from the house and the side of it (house), the concrete base at the bottom of the planter can not really be removed without an awful lot of effort ie taking the whole structure down, drive post holder in and put it back up again, I like the idea of bulbs now and then some shallow living annuals for the summer. I may make a larger planter flush to the wall so I can train a vine or ivy that way.
Again many thanks for all your responses, I really appreciate it.
If you do make a new planter for a vine, make it as big as you can - minimum 60cm square and as deep as you can and with drainage holes. For a vine, the best thing would be a planter placed on grass or soil so the roots can get down and go as deep as they want and so you don't have to worry about drainage or trails of excess water across your terrace as it will be stained like strong tea form the compost.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
It's a real shame miff, as you've made a lovely job of that, and I know how much work it takes. There will be plenty of planting you can put in, but making some nice BIG [ ] containers for climbers will pay dividends, and allow you to cover the pergola nicely. If you'd just brought them another foot or so into the grass, and left the bottom clear enough, they would have been fine As Dove says, if you can drill some drainage holes just above the level of the concrete, that will make a huge difference, and allow you more scope for planting. You could even have a row of matching small evergreens - hebes, small conifers or yews etc. That would break up the severity of it all, and you can have bulbs and annuals etc in with them.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Grape vine roots need lots of space ... in a vineyard they frequently go down 15 to 20 feet below the surface, or even more. They are one of the deepest rooting plants for their size. They rarely do well in a container unless the base is removed so they can reach down.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Me being totally anal about things it would have messed my head up with the planters not being square, as you all say a practical solution would be just that but I guess I'm not practical ha ha! Wooden battens or more of them for now to cover the sun!
Posts
Where I've put the red lines, I would remove those strips of turf, they're not necessary, you've got plenty of lawn... dig it over a bit... where I've got the blue arrows plant your vines or whatever directly into soil and start training them up the posts.. a slight reservation about the right hand side, as a tree seems to case some shadow, but no bother..
For your attractive planters, which are not planters, I would put hard core, or bricks in them to just below the top, then top off with decorative stones, using a touch of artistry to make them look nice... no soil.. no maintenance..
I would also plant some scented annuals like Nemesias along the red edge either side of your vines to accompany them, where the turf has been removed, as I see seating areas there, and you want some scent to waft a bit..
Job done as far as I'm concerned...
To finish I can still have some trailers that are shallow rooted and will be ok in the planters in 30cm of soil and gravel?
Is there no way you can remove the concrete bases? If you want climbers over that pergola, you'll either need to plant into the ground as suggested, or redo/enlarge the boxes in some way.
I have a similar set up with a screen, but the posts are in the corner of the 'boxes' which the screen is then attached to, and my boxes are far bigger, and open to the ground. I have apple trees in mine at the moment, and I grow sweet peas in them in summer, and have various other things in there for now as I'm waiting for other plants to mature.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I may make a larger planter flush to the wall so I can train a vine or ivy that way.
Again many thanks for all your responses, I really appreciate it.
If you'd just brought them another foot or so into the grass, and left the bottom clear enough, they would have been fine
As Dove says, if you can drill some drainage holes just above the level of the concrete, that will make a huge difference, and allow you more scope for planting. You could even have a row of matching small evergreens - hebes, small conifers or yews etc. That would break up the severity of it all, and you can have bulbs and annuals etc in with them.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.