If I understand the plan rightly, the mix of both a 10cm gap from the fence and green mesh might stop the climbers going next door. I should think some chunky plant like pyracantha or a rose would be easier to keep in than a tendrilly clematis which can also reproduce by layering, so might pop up next door. It might be tricky to see what's going on behind the trellis and to check.
I don't suppose most neighbours would mind a bit of a viticella coming through. I think with a shared fence there is usually some give and take and 'live and let live'.
You might well be able to get some cheap/free old scaffolding netting or the like on Ebay/freecycle. Worth keeping an eye out.
If you do get high winds and brutal storms coming through your garden, then climbers might not be the way forward. Even with a 'hit and miss' fence, a wall of climbers might bring it down. Dense mesh might make the problem more acute. Is your garden very narrow? Is it possible to put in shrubbery or hedging instead? A line of mixed native whips is cheap and terrific for wildlife - offering food and cover - hawthorn, hazel, crab apple, rose etc.
Good point re the chunkier plants - I've got a lot of homework to do re plant choice...
Garden is basically a 15 metre square - on one side I've already planted a mixed native hedge but it takes up a lot of space as I've followed guidance on making sure it's a metre wide - that's why Ive chosen the trellis idea for the other 2 sides to save some space.
Hmm, yes that’s going to be very painful for your wallet! I think I would be tempted to plant a selection of hardy small trees and shrubs in front of the fence instead, that you could get to easily to prune if necessary. That would provide excellent cover for birds, plus food if they had berries. Then grow some climbers like clematis up obelisks, arches, over the shed etc.
Or forget the mesh and just choose non-invasive climbers for your trellis - ones you tie in rather than garden-eating tendril clinging neighbour invaders 😃
My issue here is that anything taller than the fence will block light coming from the south and west.
So it is possible to have climbers on a trellis that won't go wandering next door? Is it a case of if you don't tie them in, then they can't travel?
Star jasmine (Trachelospermum) is only hardy to minus 5 Celsius so I guess it might not do too well in Ayrshire, especially in a very windy spot...
Shoot - that's disappointing - as we're right on the coast, minus 5 or 6 is about as low as it can be expected to go (I think). I've never seen lower than minus 6 in the 5 years I've lived in the area but I guess that doesn't mean to say it's not possible to get lower.
Something like pyracantha would not go wandering too much, but you would have to prune it back. I keep mine to just over head height and it doesn't block light. It can be a dense, evergreen shrub but responds fine to being cut hard or trained. I would think that Star jasmine is far more likely to end up in places you don't want it to go.
I'd be concerned that the plastic would turn the fence into a sail, losing almost the whole benefit of it being a hit and miss fence.
It seems to me that the first task you have is to have a conversation with your neighbours - ours, for example, are delighted with our invasive climbers. Spending time and money addressing a problem that might not exist seems unwise. We've developed good friendships with neighbours from initial conversations about changing vegetation on boundaries and addressing everyone's concerns about that.
I think I misunderstood you @boragejohnson . Do you mean you're putting a length of free standing trellis about 4 inches to the inside of the fence which will have the membrane/netting on it? If so, that's what I was meaning - a separate structure. I missed your bit about trellis - sorry. The trellis will need to be good quality too - not that cheap stuff with holes at three inches in size. That's expensive too though. You could make your own structure for a lot less money The added membrane itself will be fine, but if your fence is in good order, and is good quality, it won't really be needed at all. The fence will filter the wind well enough. Good quality is key though. Heavy duty timber from a good source is very different from cheap stuff from a DIY store. I'd also put the trellis a bit further in though - about a foot would be better.
It's not frosts that will necessarily be a problem with the jasmine - it's wet, wind, and generally cold conditions. Don't bother with it - there are plenty of better choices. Pyracantha is a great windbreak - not a climber as such, but will stand alone against the fence, and is self supporting. You might be better using a few shrubs like that, and any climbers will climb on those too - that's how clematis grow naturally. You could add honeysuckle to your mix too. The aspect of the fence will be a factor, but I'm guessing it's roughly east facing if you're wanting a windbreak, as the bulk of the weather comes from the west and SW
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Fire,of course both roses and pyracantha are thorny,we have both to deter anyone who might fancy climbing our bottom fence,and a New dawn rose,up trellis which pokes through a lot and needs frequently tying up. One thing I haven't found on here,is: does the fence "belong to you". I don't know if the rules are different in Scotland. Here in England,you are not allowed to attach/allow to climb anything on to fence/wall/boundary belonging to/or responsibility of neighbouring property Have a bone of contention going on regards to this issue. Assuming this has been established,I would recommend some of the Honeysuckles. Ours do eventually reach 2 MTs high,then they get a haircut, none have sent tendrils into neighbours garden
My concern about a structure creating a gap between it and the boundary fence, is the likelihood of creating an area which is difficult if not impossible to weed … all sorts of plants will appear in that gap courtesy of birds that perch on the fence … ivy, blackberry and rowan are just some of the plants that regularly appear at the foot of our fence, not to mention Goosegrass, Dog’s mercury, stinging nettles, thistles, willow herbs and goat willow etc etc etc that drift in on the breeze or arrive in some unknown way.
You’ll need to be sure that you have adequate access to regularly weed that gap, otherwise the problems of weeds spreading from your side of the fence into your neighbour’s garden will be far worse for neighbourly relations than a few climbing roses and clematis could ever be, believe me 😱
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Nice to see another fan of The Butterfly Brothers - I've known Jim for a few years - they're great. I also wanted to recreate the fence mentioned in the book but as far as I can make out it's impossible with an existing fence (not my side) with concrete gravel boards, as I couldn't fix trellis posts into the ground without disrupting the existing concrete. Would love to hear/see what you end up doing @boragejohnson !
As Fire says, roses and pyracantha won’t wander and invade. They don’t cling and you control their growth by how you tie them in and prune them. A group 3 clematis, which you chop down to near the ground every year, is much more controllable than, say, a wandering monster montana which may well weave it’s way through the fence, invade over the top and probably being the whole fence down. So it’s all about right plant choices.
Aside from the mega cost, access for weeding and fence maintenance with the mesh/trellis arrangement would indeed be very difficult and personally I think the whole thing is overkill. If you are fixed on climbers, I would forget the whole mesh/trellis combo and just use the traditional vine eye and tensioned wire support direct on the fence and plant well-behaved climbers. That way you have easy access to snip off anything that is tempted to sample next door. A halfway house would be to stretch mesh directly on the fence then attach the vine eyes and wires, just cut out the trellis. Ideally pick a colour that blends in with the colour of your fence and make sure it’s robust enough to be stretched and battened into place.
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Shoot - that's disappointing - as we're right on the coast, minus 5 or 6 is about as low as it can be expected to go (I think). I've never seen lower than minus 6 in the 5 years I've lived in the area but I guess that doesn't mean to say it's not possible to get lower.
The added membrane itself will be fine, but if your fence is in good order, and is good quality, it won't really be needed at all. The fence will filter the wind well enough. Good quality is key though. Heavy duty timber from a good source is very different from cheap stuff from a DIY store. I'd also put the trellis a bit further in though - about a foot would be better.
It's not frosts that will necessarily be a problem with the jasmine - it's wet, wind, and generally cold conditions. Don't bother with it - there are plenty of better choices.
Pyracantha is a great windbreak - not a climber as such, but will stand alone against the fence, and is self supporting. You might be better using a few shrubs like that, and any climbers will climb on those too - that's how clematis grow naturally. You could add honeysuckle to your mix too. The aspect of the fence will be a factor, but I'm guessing it's roughly east facing if you're wanting a windbreak, as the bulk of the weather comes from the west and SW
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Have a bone of contention going on regards to this issue. Assuming this has been established,I would recommend some of the Honeysuckles. Ours do eventually reach 2 MTs high,then they get a haircut, none have sent tendrils into neighbours garden
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Aside from the mega cost, access for weeding and fence maintenance with the mesh/trellis arrangement would indeed be very difficult and personally I think the whole thing is overkill. If you are fixed on climbers, I would forget the whole mesh/trellis combo and just use the traditional vine eye and tensioned wire support direct on the fence and plant well-behaved climbers. That way you have easy access to snip off anything that is tempted to sample next door. A halfway house would be to stretch mesh directly on the fence then attach the vine eyes and wires, just cut out the trellis. Ideally pick a colour that blends in with the colour of your fence and make sure it’s robust enough to be stretched and battened into place.