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Covering a South-facing bare fence - ideas for plants/decorating

Paul165Paul165 Posts: 97
in Garden design
HI all

Our south facing wall is also the one which borders our patio area. As you can see from the photo, it's bare and ugly, save for a few old crappy lights. It gets light for most of the day, until the hedges block out the light in early evening/late afternoon. 

I'd like to "pretty" it up and ideally grow some plants up/along it.  However, there are no beds to grow from adjacent to it.  I'd need to grow from a pot/several pots, but without taking up too much seating space.

Could anyone provide me with any ideas for how I might get it covered up and looking a bit nicer?  I'm only interested in the section from where the patio starts and bed ends.  Already working on climbing plants for the other sections!

I'd prefer plants rather than paint etc - I also don't mind it being a longer project in terms of climber growth - if there's an option to buy more mature climbers and fit straight in, that is obviously better. 

Any advice greatly appreciated!  Never really grown anything from pots so don't know where to start, or if it's even feasible. 


Posts

  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    There are various clematis that you can grow in pots so long as the pot is big enough and you keep them fed and watered.
    Have a look at this site for ideas https://www.taylorsclematis.co.uk/search.php?mode=search&page=1&keep_https=yes
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • Dinnerplatedahlias🌸Dinnerplatedahlias🌸 Posts: 99
    Rambling roses would look beautiful and I think would grow ok without any trellis however would need to be quite a large pot. Bakker.com had some lovely ones. 
    If it’s south facing you could also hang some trellis and grow all sorts of climbing veg....cucumbers, runner beans, grape vines lots of options. 
    If you want it purely for aesthetic then I’d probably just go for a few different varieties on Clematis.
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    @Paul165, Is it your fence? If it is, no problem, you could fix some lightweight trellis to it and grow clematis in pots, or get hold of a long rectangular trough, which would take up less space. I wouldn't go for a rambler rose, they would be too vigorous for that spot and a container. Or you could grow various grasses or tall perennial flowers - up to you.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • Paul165Paul165 Posts: 97
    Thanks guys - yes, it is our fence

  • SuesynSuesyn Posts: 664
    This is the container my OH built to go along the side of our very hot south facing conservatory. It has 4 legs and cross member  supports for the base and the outside is made from decking boards. It is about 5 years old so is standing up well. As you can see we have bamboo in it as we wanted the height but you could also put a clematis (or 2) or compact climbing rose in a container this size. It's about 60cm x 120cm and 50cm deep. Cost roughly £20 and he's a very amateur carpenter. 
  • Paul165Paul165 Posts: 97
    Love that Suesyn!

    My only trepidation about using a rectangular planter is that the patio is already quite small, so it would take quite a lot of seating space by encroaching inwards.  

    If we were to use two pots for clematis, but one at each corner/end of the patiio and fence area, could we train both to go inwards only to meet in the middle?  Or do we only need one large container for an area of this size?
  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831
    If you don't want to put pots/troughs on the patio, you could attach pots directly onto the fence (and perhaps paint the fence in a bolder colour).  Be prepared though that you would probably need to water them very regularly, depending on whether your fence gets full sun, and what you put in the pots.


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