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small garden
We have a small courtyard area approximately 23 feet by 12 feet surrounded by fencing (6 feet high). We would like to cover the fences with hardy evergreen climbers and fill planters and pots with perrenial plants with long flowering seasons including some frangrant specimens. The area is south facing but most of the area is shaded by the fence.
Any advice please?
Jane
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It's the evergreen bit that is harder. Some clematis does OK in shade.
http://www.taylorsclematis.co.uk/
Some roses are OK in partial shade, like Wedding Day, a small pale yellow repeat flowered rambler from David Austin.
http://www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/english-roses/english-rose-climbers
Several honeysuckles are OK with some shade and some are very scented.
If the pots will be in shade because of the fences then it may be easier to choose plants with good foliage, such as hostas, brunnera and heucheras. Some of the hardy geraniums would be OK. You could plant a few scented annuals too, such as Nicotiana.
But in sunny places there is much more choice. If sunny enough you could plant lavender and dianthus (pinks).
The best climber I ever had was a chocolate vine ( akebia) - it had attractive limey green small pinnate leaves all year ( Cardiff area) and pinky fruit late winter and it smothered the trellis which separated me from next door. However once established you'd have to be ruthless and lop it to keep it to size . I had a clematis growing with it and a climbing rose . Roses are ok so long as they get some sunshine,I found the tiny leaved ones with small roses seem the hardiest.. I had an Alfred Carriere which was hardy and ok in shade but it likes to grow very tall ( 12 feet or more) best to look at a rose catalogue. Roses/clematis/honeysucle all seem troublesome, need to get hardy RHS award winning varieties
Also climbing hydrangea was nice, grows in shade. Loses its leaves but if you grow it with an ivy you'll have evergreen cover and the birds like it.
Ferns-pulmonaria-primroses-foxgloves-bluebells-soloman's seal-shade loving and pretty
I've got a Freckles evergreen clematis doing well in shade. Flowers nearly all year round and its only in a tiny border. Its planted with a summer flowering jasmine which is also tough. ( and doing ok in shade) I am trying a tropical evergreen jasmine this year on my sunny bit of fence. I hear it can get a bit rampant. Hmm.
Thanks for the help I've taken lots of notes already. Will let you know how it goes
Thanks again
We are in Durham so it gets cold although our garden is sheltered.