If the winds are strong the trellis will end up leaning, especially when climbers trained on it increase wind resistance. We have some exposed to strong westerlies and have had to install guy ropes and wires despite concrete posts and strong supports.
I have deutzia, sambucus nigra (golden and purple leaved forms), physocarpus, philadelphus and buddleia that I've let get to 3m high to give a windbreak to other plants in the garden and have no trouble pruning out dead wood and older stems to keep them renewed except for the buddleia which need an annual shearing. Lots of stuff grows beneath them from spring daffs to perennials to give interest from spring to autumn and hellebores for their winter foliage and early flowers.
Mahonia Charity is another shrub worth considering - evergreen, variegated foliage and early, scented yellow flowers followed by deep blue berries.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
I don't think trellis can lean if it is supported on concrete posts well set in the ground. if you don't like the look of them you could always paint them. Anyway, I think you can get metal trellising, sure to be more expensive but definitely longer lasting than wood and rigid.
Some other points I thought of overnight; any 'quick fix' is likely to become a problem equally quickly - the most important attribute of a gardener is patience; You need your screen, in whatever form you decide, to be a little closer to your house, not directly at the side of the cube, otherwise you will still be able to see it from your house; another possible shrub would be cornus (dogwood) which could give you some autumn/winter colour BUT check the varieties in your RHS book .- some get to be enormous
I'd love to know what you eventually decide to do, and further along the line, how it works out.
I have wire mesh trellis attached to 3m fence posts of which 60cms are buried in concrete boots. Last autumn I put 1m high wind-break fabric along the base of the trellis to protect the fruit bushes in my veggie plot from winter gales and stop frost rolling down the field behind us and into my frost pocket back garden. We had an exceptionally warm and wet winter and, when a serious storm hit in March, all the posts and their concrete boots were blown over to an angle of 45° because the ground was so soft. They are now vertical again after being buttressed with 2m fence posts. Not quite the look I was after.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
The wind here can lift concrete out the ground - it laughs in the face of trellis. It would bend and break easily in the wrong site.
If the site's quite exposed and it's not feasible to put in a sacrificial, filtering barrier of some kind (ie shrub/tree shelter belt) then good sturdy shrubs are the best solution. obelixx has made good suggestions. I'd add Viburnums into the list as well, and I'm sure there are plenty more.
You could also add some sturdy evergreens on the opposite side of your garden to filter that wind a little. Depending on the space you have, a little corner of laurel with some of the aforementioned shrubs in front will help diffuse it. The laurel grows quickly and will get big but you can prune it to the size you want. You'll then get a background which will filter the wind and help protect anything in front of it.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Wire mesh trellis was not what I was thinking of. I think you can get wrought iron or aluminium trellising. From the pic. I think Obelixx lives near the coast (looks like sea in the background) Both Obelixx and Fairygirl seem to me to be talking about extreme weather which can cause damage in a garden whatever you do. Only you, Matteo, will know if you are likely to get weather that extreme. If you go for conifers on the other side of your garden get some good advice about how big they will grow, and be aware that they will block the sun as well as the wind!
My neighbour, on the south side of my garden, planted a row of what he insisted were not the dreaded leylandi. In the space of about 15 years they grew to be as tall as the houses. Their spread at the base is above 1½ metres. They are so close together that the branches overlap and so dense that neither sun nor rain get through. In effect they are a high green wall. I am grateful that their orientation is north to south - at right angles to my garden, but they completely block the sun from midday at the west end of my garden, and the end of the garden to the west of the trees is a desert.
Not sure why I am arguing the case for trellis so strongly when I suggested shrubs in the first place - just keeping your options open I suppose. Another possible shrub of the right dimensions would be ribes (flowering currant).
I am in central Belgium, surrounded by open arable and pastoral farmland and with nothing between us and the Channel or the Urals to stop the wind. Wire mesh, as sold for reinforcing concrete for builders, is strong, light, cheap and usually made with twisted rods so attractive too and dead easy to attach to posts.
I also have wooden trellis panels but this morning I saw that on one panel the central diagonal "woven" panel has detached from its frame and is flapping along with its clematis and 6 more in other parts of the have broken slats and need replacing. Builders wire mesh it will be.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
I'm picturing Rod Sterling...I'm also in central Belgium (almost exactly so) and so obelixx is a neighbour - no, not that neighbour!
So, I'm going to go away and read up on budleia, deutzia, sambucus nigra, physocarpus, philadelphus, lilac, weigela, spiraea, viburnams, laurel and Mahonia Charity.
In that case Matteo you need to get yourself to Wavre market on a Wednesday morning if possible as there are lots of Flemish nurserymen who sell plants there in the square in front of the church that plays the carillon. Some are also there on Saturday. Fairly standard plants but good prices.
I have friends who swear by this nursery near Céroux-Mousty - http://www.letry.be/ for good shrubs and conifers.
There are also plant fairs in autumn and spring where you can get non bog standard plants from specialist nurserymen and women who are happy to chat about what their plants need to grow well and how big they'll get and how hardy they are:-
12 & 13/9 Hex
26 & 27/9 Celles - La Feuillerie
4/10 Kalmthout Arboretum
2 to 4/10 Aywiers, Lasne
9 to 11/10 Beervelde, near Ghent
Google them for addresses and times.
I get my metal trellis grid from Big Mat on the Ch de Tirlemont at Gembloux. It comes in 5m x 2m lengths and they will deliver.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Matteo - obelixx can you give you the best advice here, as she's in the same country! Her 'local' knowledge will be very helpful for you.
Most of us are based in Britain and even here, there are huge regional variations. I'm in central/west Scotland on a hill (about 500 feet above sea level) and my garden is fairly exposed. I've gardened on more exposed sites than that too, so I'm well acquainted with wind and the damage it can do.
It really comes down to the look you want as well. Shrubs will give you a good shelter belt as well as disguising that shed, and careful choices will mean you don't lose your lovely views. Once you have some shelter, you can plant a wider range of perennials, shrubs and so on, according to your own taste.
Good luck with it
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Posts
If the winds are strong the trellis will end up leaning, especially when climbers trained on it increase wind resistance. We have some exposed to strong westerlies and have had to install guy ropes and wires despite concrete posts and strong supports.
I have deutzia, sambucus nigra (golden and purple leaved forms), physocarpus, philadelphus and buddleia that I've let get to 3m high to give a windbreak to other plants in the garden and have no trouble pruning out dead wood and older stems to keep them renewed except for the buddleia which need an annual shearing. Lots of stuff grows beneath them from spring daffs to perennials to give interest from spring to autumn and hellebores for their winter foliage and early flowers.
Mahonia Charity is another shrub worth considering - evergreen, variegated foliage and early, scented yellow flowers followed by deep blue berries.
I don't think trellis can lean if it is supported on concrete posts well set in the ground. if you don't like the look of them you could always paint them. Anyway, I think you can get metal trellising, sure to be more expensive but definitely longer lasting than wood and rigid.
Some other points I thought of overnight; any 'quick fix' is likely to become a problem equally quickly - the most important attribute of a gardener is patience; You need your screen, in whatever form you decide, to be a little closer to your house, not directly at the side of the cube, otherwise you will still be able to see it from your house; another possible shrub would be cornus (dogwood) which could give you some autumn/winter colour BUT check the varieties in your RHS book .- some get to be enormous
I'd love to know what you eventually decide to do, and further along the line, how it works out.
I have wire mesh trellis attached to 3m fence posts of which 60cms are buried in concrete boots. Last autumn I put 1m high wind-break fabric along the base of the trellis to protect the fruit bushes in my veggie plot from winter gales and stop frost rolling down the field behind us and into my frost pocket back garden. We had an exceptionally warm and wet winter and, when a serious storm hit in March, all the posts and their concrete boots were blown over to an angle of 45° because the ground was so soft. They are now vertical again after being buttressed with 2m fence posts. Not quite the look I was after.
The wind here can lift concrete out the ground - it laughs in the face of trellis. It would bend and break easily in the wrong site.
If the site's quite exposed and it's not feasible to put in a sacrificial, filtering barrier of some kind (ie shrub/tree shelter belt) then good sturdy shrubs are the best solution. obelixx has made good suggestions. I'd add Viburnums into the list as well, and I'm sure there are plenty more.
You could also add some sturdy evergreens on the opposite side of your garden to filter that wind a little. Depending on the space you have, a little corner of laurel with some of the aforementioned shrubs in front will help diffuse it. The laurel grows quickly and will get big but you can prune it to the size you want. You'll then get a background which will filter the wind and help protect anything in front of it.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Wire mesh trellis was not what I was thinking of. I think you can get wrought iron or aluminium trellising. From the pic. I think Obelixx lives near the coast (looks like sea in the background) Both Obelixx and Fairygirl seem to me to be talking about extreme weather which can cause damage in a garden whatever you do. Only you, Matteo, will know if you are likely to get weather that extreme. If you go for conifers on the other side of your garden get some good advice about how big they will grow, and be aware that they will block the sun as well as the wind!
My neighbour, on the south side of my garden, planted a row of what he insisted were not the dreaded leylandi. In the space of about 15 years they grew to be as tall as the houses. Their spread at the base is above 1½ metres. They are so close together that the branches overlap and so dense that neither sun nor rain get through. In effect they are a high green wall. I am grateful that their orientation is north to south - at right angles to my garden, but they completely block the sun from midday at the west end of my garden, and the end of the garden to the west of the trees is a desert.
Not sure why I am arguing the case for trellis so strongly when I suggested shrubs in the first place - just keeping your options open I suppose. Another possible shrub of the right dimensions would be ribes (flowering currant).
I am in central Belgium, surrounded by open arable and pastoral farmland and with nothing between us and the Channel or the Urals to stop the wind. Wire mesh, as sold for reinforcing concrete for builders, is strong, light, cheap and usually made with twisted rods so attractive too and dead easy to attach to posts.
I also have wooden trellis panels but this morning I saw that on one panel the central diagonal "woven" panel has detached from its frame and is flapping along with its clematis and 6 more in other parts of the have broken slats and need replacing. Builders wire mesh it will be.
I'm picturing Rod Sterling...I'm also in central Belgium (almost exactly so) and so obelixx is a neighbour - no, not that neighbour!
So, I'm going to go away and read up on budleia, deutzia, sambucus nigra, physocarpus, philadelphus, lilac, weigela, spiraea, viburnams, laurel and Mahonia Charity.
Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions.
In that case Matteo you need to get yourself to Wavre market on a Wednesday morning if possible as there are lots of Flemish nurserymen who sell plants there in the square in front of the church that plays the carillon. Some are also there on Saturday. Fairly standard plants but good prices.
I have friends who swear by this nursery near Céroux-Mousty - http://www.letry.be/ for good shrubs and conifers.
There are also plant fairs in autumn and spring where you can get non bog standard plants from specialist nurserymen and women who are happy to chat about what their plants need to grow well and how big they'll get and how hardy they are:-
12 & 13/9 Hex
26 & 27/9 Celles - La Feuillerie
4/10 Kalmthout Arboretum
2 to 4/10 Aywiers, Lasne
9 to 11/10 Beervelde, near Ghent
Google them for addresses and times.
I get my metal trellis grid from Big Mat on the Ch de Tirlemont at Gembloux. It comes in 5m x 2m lengths and they will deliver.
Thanks obelixx once again.
Hmm..."Le Try" we've tried them and have ended up swearing about them. We bought a few plants from them (twice) and a good number died.
Wavre and those fairs sound good though.
Matteo - obelixx can you give you the best advice here, as she's in the same country! Her 'local' knowledge will be very helpful for you.
Most of us are based in Britain and even here, there are huge regional variations. I'm in central/west Scotland on a hill (about 500 feet above sea level) and my garden is fairly exposed. I've gardened on more exposed sites than that too, so I'm well acquainted with wind and the damage it can do.
It really comes down to the look you want as well. Shrubs will give you a good shelter belt as well as disguising that shed, and careful choices will mean you don't lose your lovely views. Once you have some shelter, you can plant a wider range of perennials, shrubs and so on, according to your own taste.
Good luck with it
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...