To be honest, I think I would just put gravel (fairly big pieces and a thick layer) behind the wall to minimise weed growth and make it easy to pull out any that seed in there, and have some plants in large pots on the patio side to break up the wall line and slightly mask the sloping fence (I think it's an optical illusion but my eyes are seeing it as a sloping wall!). I'm assuming the missing slabs are ones that are going to be cut to fit rather than planting pockets, although that would also be good if you have topsoil underneath and not the hardcore.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
To be honest, I think I would just put gravel (fairly big pieces and a thick layer) behind the wall to minimise weed growth and make it easy to pull out any that seed in there, and have some plants in large pots on the patio side to break up the wall line and slightly mask the sloping fence (I think it's an optical illusion but my eyes are seeing it as a sloping wall!). I'm assuming the missing slabs are ones that are going to be cut to fit rather than planting pockets, although that would also be good if you have topsoil underneath and not the hardcore.
Yeah this was a mid way progress picture, all the hardcore you can see if now paving. There will be pergola at the back with a dining area and a seating area nearer the house, there will be pots all around the patio to break it up a bit but I really wanted something to detract from the fence which to be honest, bothers me! I can't really do anything about it though as like I said it's shared with my neighbour and his side is still sloping.
Windowbox or trough-type containers to stand in the gap sounds like the best solution (make sure there are drainage holes). They could be plastic to reduce weight so you could plant them up and then lower into place behind the wall. You could use bricks or something similar to raise them to the right height if you wanted. It would limit you to plants that don't need much root space, maybe spring bulbs followed by summer bedding, but it sounds as if the width of the space itself would be a constraint anyway. Keeping it to spring/summer planting would also mean that you don't have plants against the fence during the winter when the weather is more likely to be wet.
I think you're right Jenny. My husband might be able to fabricate some brackets which we could fix to the block side of the wall and sit some planting troughs in, just above the ground level, keeping everything a few inches away from the fence. I will stick some weed membrane down the gap and put some gravel over so it's a bit neater / prettier. I can then plant some of the bigger things in the top bit which has soil already in and use these troughs / boxes for the spring and summer planting and then lift them out at the end of the season. I planned on having some nice dahlias which will need lifting anyway as it's quite exposed here on the moors!
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