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Would a clematis grow here?

M0rganaM0rgana Posts: 47
in Garden design
I've never tried planting anything in the edge of this road beside my house. Would it be foolish to? 

I wondered if a clematis would grow up the fence and onto the wall on the other side. 

I'm a very, very amateur gardener! 

The ground on the other side of the fence is yard. 
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  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    If that's the public road I wouldn't plant anything expensive or delicate there. Councils have a habit of spraying roadside verges.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • M0rganaM0rgana Posts: 47
    It's not a council owned road but a track running up the side of our house and round the back of the terraces, so no spraying but I do have a little anxiety about planting there generally. 

    As an alternative, would a clematis grow in a pot from the patio? 
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    edited March 2023
    The space at the base of the wall looks narrow so there might be foundations under there and it could be in rain shadow from the wall/eaves of the house, so it could be a big ask for any climber (except ivy which seems to be able to grow in the tiniest crack). You'd need to investigate before trying to plant anything. If it were mine, I might try something like pyracantha trained in tiers against the wall, starting with small young plants that don't need such a big wide planting hole. That would be a long term project though.
    What direction does it face and how much sun does it get? Clematis mostly like a cool moist root run but some sun on their tops. I'm sure people will be along with recommendations if you can give us a bit more info.
    The smaller spring-flowering clematis (alpinas and macropetalas) are more suited to growing in a large pot than the larger ones, and any clematis will need something to twine around (trellis or a grid of wires - I think the fence boards will be too thick).



    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • M0rganaM0rgana Posts: 47
    Ah, sounds like it might be too ambitious haha... 

    The wall faces West. There's another opposite, quite high, just over a car width away so most of the wall is in shade although that edge beside the fence gets some sun. I've added a photo of what the ground looks like. Taken during rain. 

    I think I might be best leaving it 😂

    I was partly inspired by Monty Don saying everyone should have a clematis in the most recent magazine (I've started reading it to help me learn basic gardening and it's going pretty well so far, but I've stuck to things in the yard!). 


  • M0rganaM0rgana Posts: 47

    Here are a couple more pictures of the ground and some stuff growing in it further down. I might just leave it! 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I wouldn't bother planting anything there @M0rgana! The soil will be dank and compacted, and very inhospitable. It looks as if it gets a bit of traffic too, so you'd be looking at a lot of prep before you could try planting anything, and ongoing maintenance of it. 
    If you want a clematis, plant one in the garden - either potted or in the ground, depending on what conditions you have. As @JennyJ says - many of them are fine in pots if the soil isn't ideal. There are loads of types though, so some more info and a few photos will help with that. The smaller, early ones are ideal for containers though   :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • M0rganaM0rgana Posts: 47
    This is the other side of the fence - North facing wall. I've just removed a pile of old wood that was there (made a stumpery elsewhere - with no plants in it yet!)... so it's not looking very pretty. The wall goes up really high. The gap between the wall and fence is probably just over a meter (at a guess). 
  • M0rganaM0rgana Posts: 47
    Alternatively! I have these spaces at the South facing wall
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    That raised bed in the last pic would be fine for a climber  :)
    You'll need a support though - clematis need trellis or wires to twine around, and if you used that bed, even an obelisk of some kind would do. 
    There are plenty of plants you could have along the fence in the 2nd pic - probably not quite so good for a climber unless you were prepared to train it back and forth along the fence, or guide it towards the wall, where you could have a trellis or similar there for it. One of the other larger flowered clematis would be fine though, and a Group 2 variety needs less attention as they don't need pruned much - just a light tidy up. It means once you have a framework of stems in place, that's about it as they flower on the old wood. A combination of that and some other perennials along the fence area would probably be ideal. The soil will need some attention before you do that  :)

    If you fancied a little bit of DIY building work, the area in your 1st pic between the wall and the fence could be made into a raised bed for all sorts of plants  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    It looks like a very shady corridor so I doubt much would be happy on that wall. In the pic with the fence and the drainpipe there's a dead climber - is that ivy that you've cut off at the base? There's some in the pic of the ground by the wall so left to its own devices it'll most likely find its way up the wall so take it out if you don't want it.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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