Climbers or shrubs to disguise fence?

Posts

• GardenerSuze Posts: 5,692

  3 March

  Your border faces east. I would avoid growing things on the fence instead go for shrubs.
  Most climbers take at least a couple of years to put down roots before they start to climb. By the time they get to the top of the fence they will have probably broken it!
  One I can recommend however is Cotoneaster Horizontalis. Plant approx 18 inches from fence you will need to put in some tension wires as it grows. Any forward growing branches cut back. When the fence panels need to be replaced you can balance it against the wire whilst you do so. Not evergreen but creates nice fan shapes for winter interest. Flowers in spring. In summer a plant of interest can be used to brighten things up . Autumn berries and firey red leaves.

  I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.

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• Fairygirl Posts: 55,117

  3 March edited 3 March

  I have to disagree - there would have to be something very very wrong with the quality of the fence if a climber damaged it by the time it reached the top, unless it was a totally unsuitable, very heavy climber like one of the big hydrangeas or parthenocissus. 
  You would need supports for a climber - either wire and vine eyes, or trellis. You could even just use roofing battens attached horizontally to the posts, then add wire etc. They look like concrete posts, so you'd need the appropriate fixings for that.
  There are plenty of clematis which will suit, and they don't all like the same conditions, and I expect some roses will do well, but someone else would need to advise on roses as I don't like, or grow them. Those 2 species are the most versatile in terms of climbers. there's also honeysuckle, but they're better for scrambling over buildings rather then on a fence.  
  Cornus are shrubs really, and get very big, likewise Sorbus, if it's a Whitebeam as opposed to Mountain Ash, so you'd need to bear in mind that they'll create more shade as they mature. 
  Clematis naturally grow through shrubs and trees, so you could do that rather than have them on the fence, but you'd need to choose accordingly, as there are many different types, and you'd need to make sure the ground is well prepped, before planting a little distance away. You could have one for spring flowering, and one for later, going through to autumn. You can then add perennials and groundcover etc, to fill in any spaces for the periods when trees/shrubs/climbers are dormant or not in flower. 

  It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
  
  
  
  I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...

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• Plantminded Posts: 3,580

  3 March edited 3 March

  I would use a combination of climbers and shrubs, as per my response to your previous thread on this subject. 

  Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.
  
  
  

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• GardenerSuze Posts: 5,692

  3 March

  I have just read your previous thread. There is alot of good advice hopefully you will now be able to make progress. If you would like to post your suggestions, if you decide to go for climbers, I am sure there will be other forum members who grow them and recommend there suitability.

  I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.

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• Busy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043

  3 March

  I agree with @Plantminded and @Fairygirl, shrubs and climbers. Clematis are hardly going to break the fence. I grow Etoile Violette and Kermesina on a fence, both of which flowered in their first year and a lot more in their second year.
  
  I love roses so I would choose them too. I have just planted Purple Skyliner on a fairly shady fence. It's a small rambler, 6ft, which repeat flowers a lot. Peter Beales Classic Roses recommended it. I also have Ghislaine de Feligonde and Narrow Water on a fairly shady fence.
  
  There are loads of shrubs, maybe someone else would advise you. I like fairly common ones such as Weigela and Philadelphus. I have both in a partly shaded bed.

  Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.

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• GardenerSuze Posts: 5,692

  4 March edited 4 March

  I have seen Hydranga petolaris, Honeysuckle halliana, Clematis montana , Fallopia Hedera and Humulus lupulus used to disguise a fence. They do the job in that you certainly won't see the fence but they are all too strong growing.

  I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.

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• Fairygirl Posts: 55,117

  4 March

  I also have C. E. Violette on a fence - along with two other early clematis @Busy-Lizzie. I also split that a few years ago, and it's on my screen with a newish white one on the other side of it, and another one at the other end that replaced Niobe which had succumbed to wilt.  EV isn't too fussy as to aspect either. Rouge Cardinal is another one which isn't fussy - both are very reliable clems. I've had montanas on fences too, several times - and there are lots of gardens round here with them. 
  A mix will be the best solution, but if that Sorbus is a rowan, it won't appreciate being dry long term, so bear that in mind too @stephroberts_morgan. The more planting you put in, the drier the soil can get, so adding that good organic matter frequently will also help.  If you're keeping the lawn, it could be worth getting that shaped first, so that you have a more settled shape and size for that border too   
  
  

  It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
  
  
  
  I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...

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• stephroberts_morgan Posts: 16

  4 March

  Thanks for your responses.  
  
  1.  I have now decided against the Hydrangea Petolaris as I think it will be too heavy for the fence, but I may plant a few clematis and have a couple of spare trellis that they can grow on.  
  2.  Think I'll also get Pyracantha and train on wires.
  3.  Roses - I may consider the Narrow Water as it's recommended for shade 
  4.  As the lawn gently slopes down to the right, it should remain somewhat moist, and with added organic matter, hopefully will be lovely conditions for several trees/shrubs.
  5.  The Cornus is cornus kousa which hopefully I can keep in shape and size.
  6.  Yes, weigela and philadephus - I had both of these in my previous garden and are very reliable.  I think Hydrangea will be fine in that border too.
  
  
  
  

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• Fairygirl Posts: 55,117

  5 March

  Just bear in mind the final sort of sizes of all the shrubs and climbers, and the differing types of clematis [in particular]  and their needs. Not all of them like rich, wetter soil.
  It can also spoil the natural shape if you're constantly pruning shrubs to keep them smaller. The cornus is a prime example 
  I'm slightly confused about the slope of the grass - you said earlier it was the left hand side that it ran towards and was wetter there. 

  It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
  
  
  
  I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...

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• stephroberts_morgan Posts: 16

  5 March

  
  @Fairygirl - yes, I realise I provided wrong information.. slope does run from left to right.. border is on the right hand side.

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