Forum home› Plants
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Help me soften this ugly wall please!

L Plate GardenerL Plate Gardener Posts: 21
in Plants
Hello Gardeners

Would love some advice. I am wanting to create a flower bed and plant some ornamental style shrubs in there in front of the wall. I also thought of interspersing them with seasonal bedding plants. Should I do a row of the same shrub or vary them? I want them to be evergreen shrubs. I like euphorbias, cordalynes, buxus but would welcome any other ideas.

Thanks so much in advance
«134

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Which way does it face and what's the soil like?
    Whereabouts (roughly) are you?

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • L Plate GardenerL Plate Gardener Posts: 21
    Thanks very much for your reply. It is west facing, sandy soil and in SE England. 
  • WaysideWayside Posts: 845
    edited November 2018
    For someone that isn't that keen on it, why the uplighters?  You might have been looking at it too long, it doesn't jump out at me as particularly ugly.  Focus is likely on the tree.  Shrubby old me would go to town shrubbing it up.  But you have rails, and some sun on it, so roses/climbers could be nice, probably look better on the rails than below mind, and that could bring me back to shrubs.    Note I'm just a dreamer.
  • L Plate GardenerL Plate Gardener Posts: 21
    Ah yes the solars were a present and I already had some so just plonked them there temporarily to mask the wall! Of course I do also need to paint it but I would love some shrubs, possibly ornamental/architectural style. What would you do shrub-wise if it was your wall Wayside?  
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    "Shrubs" covers a multitude of options form deciduous with colourful bark in winter to evergreen and fairly static in appearance with all shades and shapes of leaf and flower in between and berries too.   If you're going to hide it with plants there's not much point painting it.

    You'd do well to improve the soil with plenty of organic matter form well-rotted garden compost to manure when you dig out a new bed and don't make it too narrow and mean.

    If you enter west facing, sandy soil and shrubs for a walled bed in the RHS PLant Selector you get 227 possibilities - https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/Search-Results?form-mode=true&context=l=en&q=%23all&sl=plantForm&r=f%2Fplant_soil_type%2Fsand&r=f%2Fplant_plant_type%2Fshrubs&r=f%2Fplant_planting_places%2Fwall-side+borders&r=f%2Fplant_sunlight%2Ffull+sun&r=f%2Fplant_moisture%2Fwell-drained&r=f%2Fplant_aspect%2Fwest-facing

    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)."
    Plato
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I probably would paint that, A dark grey or matt black to knock it back visually, or clad it with fence panels, which you could also paint. A dark colour would show off your chosen shrubs nicely - there will also always be gaps, even between mature shrubs but more so whilst they are still young.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    It looks like concrete render, but I might be wrong.
    The trouble with paint is, that as soon as it's done, it starts to deteriorate. It never looks better than on day 1.
    I'd leave it unpainted and get a good, wide border planted in front of it to disguise it.
    Devon.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    @Hostafan1 ... it has similarities to your terrace and the space in front :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    Dovefromabove said:
    @Hostafan1 ... it has similarities to your terrace and the space in front :)
     
    I see what you mean. Our terrace has brick, but the principle is the same. 
    Make what's in front of the wall attractive , to draw the eye away from the wall itself.
    Devon.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited November 2018
    Gorgeous @Hostafan1 ... that's what our @Lplategardener247 Gardener needs B)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





Sign In or Register to comment.