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Building a new walled garden
charlie.roper
Posts: 2
My wife and I are moving to Northumberland where we plan to renovate a house that comes with a good plot of land. Whilst I am pretty new to gardening I used to live in a coach house growing up that was attached to a walled garden and I have always coveted one. I now find myself in a position where building one is a real possibility but I can find little/no literature about building one from scratch. My questions are therefore quite fundamental and I was hoping I could use the wisdom of the crowd to guide me!
1) Wind turbulence. The primary motivation for a walled garden would be for growing food and to provide shelter/warmth against the Northumberland climate. I am concerned though that solid walls will create turbulence on the leeward side that will render those benefits useless. Is there a height the walls need to be to prevent this?
2) Alternatives. Would planting thick hedging (beech for instance) provide a better wind barrier for growing and does this provide any heat benefit at all?
3) Size. Without professional assistance what kind of size walled garden is it reasonable to expect 2 people (with small children!) can maintain to any standard?
4) Layout. The site in question would allow the back, long wall, to be south facing but the wind comes from the west so will this create a wind alley if built in this rectangular orienation?
5) Materials. Are there any differenet/more modern alternatives to brick that might make for an interesting design?
6) Viability. Is this really just folly? I think it is affordable (purely looking at the cost of wall building online and the price of a greenhouse) but will the impact on growing conditions/look&feel be all that great compared to building high hedges?
Sorry for such a long post and thank you so much in advance anyone who can shed any light!
1) Wind turbulence. The primary motivation for a walled garden would be for growing food and to provide shelter/warmth against the Northumberland climate. I am concerned though that solid walls will create turbulence on the leeward side that will render those benefits useless. Is there a height the walls need to be to prevent this?
2) Alternatives. Would planting thick hedging (beech for instance) provide a better wind barrier for growing and does this provide any heat benefit at all?
3) Size. Without professional assistance what kind of size walled garden is it reasonable to expect 2 people (with small children!) can maintain to any standard?
4) Layout. The site in question would allow the back, long wall, to be south facing but the wind comes from the west so will this create a wind alley if built in this rectangular orienation?
5) Materials. Are there any differenet/more modern alternatives to brick that might make for an interesting design?
6) Viability. Is this really just folly? I think it is affordable (purely looking at the cost of wall building online and the price of a greenhouse) but will the impact on growing conditions/look&feel be all that great compared to building high hedges?
Sorry for such a long post and thank you so much in advance anyone who can shed any light!
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Posts
Hope other posters can help more, perhaps @chicky and @Fairygirl?
@GardenerSuze I am indeed a member! Issue I have is that most of these are victorian/established so I could get an idea of what there's is like to copy but I would love to understand the principles (plus I'm not sure I can quite stretch to one the size of Alnwicks!)
One wall faces south which I thought would be a huge bonus when planting. In practice climbing plants that fix themselves to the wall are an issue it is just too hot in the summer months. In the winter it is too cold for anything that likes the heat. In the south west corner I can grow Melianthus Major successfully so that is good.
The other wall faces east .There is a thread on here 'Breeze Block Wall' which I think shows the limitations of planting on an East facing Wall.
This is only a small piece of information and my own experience but I am sure you will be doing lots of research. The RHS do have various resources and information that you as a member are able to access.
Yes, a solid wall would lead to turbulence on the leeward side. This can be prevented if you break the flow of the wind. I don't know what's the best option - some kind of spikes, a structured surface, or just plants growing over the wall?
For preventing the wind alley effect, you can just place some windbreak (trellis, some shrub).
Maybe a combination of hedging against the prevailing winds and walls might work? I would think a south-facing wall would be an asset to espalier fruit trees against as most do not need winter warmth. Many actually need winter chill.
One idea to break up wind turbulence is broken walls. Say you use brick, it can be solid at the bottom then upper courses laid with gaps in between for a kind of trellis on top effect. If you go for an all-solid construction you can still break up wind tunnels with garden layout, strategically placed trees and shrubs and the creation of mini microclimates within the larger one.
I would think in terms of construction materials, the first place to start is the era/style of the house and available local skills. You then need to decide whether to go with the traditional local vernacular, if such a thing exists, or go for a contemporary contrast.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.