PLANTS
Just
a little something to wet your appetite for plants.
Climbing
plants
Fast growers for quick cover - Clematis
Montana is the fastest growing of
all the clematis and also one of the easiest to
grow. In perfect conditions it can grow
to a height of 12m (40ft). If it is cut
back by about one third after the first flowering
this will encourage vigorous growth. Montana
prefers alkaline soil and the roots and main stem
need protecting from direct sunlight.
Virginia
creeper is a hardy climber with
warm red foliage in Autumn. Ideally should
be given a horizontal support.
Honeysuckle
comes is several varieties which are vigorous
and hardy, with strongly scented flowers ranging
in colour from pale creamy white to bright orange
red. They prefer a lightly shaded spot, well drained
soil and plenty of compost.
Russian
Vine is probably the fastest wall
cover of all, but can easily get out of hand as
it can grow 5m (16ft) in one season.
Akebia
quinata is a creeper with fragrant,
deep purple flowers which will happily creep up
any support on a warm, sheltered wall.
It quickly reaches a height of 4.5m (15ft) with
a spread of 1.8m (6ft) and could eventually grow
as big as 6-9m (20-30ft).
Annual creepers - if you just want
a splash of colour during Summer, here are a few
suggestions:-
Sweet
Peas are a beautiful, perfumed,
dainty climber, available in a huge range of colours.
They also have the added bonus that if the blooms
are picked for indoors this encourages more flowers
to appear on the plant. They are easily
grown from seed outside, reach a height of approximately
1.8m (6ft) but do need support.
Nasturtiums
do come in climbing varieties, available in yellows,
reds and oranges and are ideal to cover a hedge
or left to scramble over banks etc. They can be
grown from seed outside and will spread about
1.8m (6ft)
Black-eyed
Susan is suitable for milder regions
and has light orange flowers with deep brown centres.
It can be grown from seed germinated indoors,
needs a sunny sheltered spot or greenhouse and
will grow to about 1.8m-3m (6-10ft) in a season.
Morning
glory again is most suitable for
mild areas. Available in blues, rich scarlets
and purples, easily grown from seed germinated
indoors and will grow to about 2.5-3m (8-10ft)
high in a season.
Plants suitable to hide a wall - if
you need to disguise a wall or would rather look
at a plant than bricks, here's come help.
Firstly,
decide which way the wall in question is facing
as this is imperative to know when selecting the
most suitable plant.
North
facing walls - the ground in front of a north
facing wall will suffer from dampness and lack
of sunshine. Some suitable varieties could
be Clematis hybrids, climbing Hydrangea, Ivy,
winter Jasmine or Roses (e.g. 'Gloire de Dijon',
'Mme Alfred Carrière' and 'Mme Grégoire Staechelin').
South
facing walls - as these get plenty of warmth and
sunshine dry soil could be a problem. Try Honeysuckle,
Passion Flower or annual climbers mentioned above,
such as Nasturtium and Morning Glory or Ceanothus,
Mexican Orange or Myrtle which are more tender
plants.
East
facing walls lack sunshine and sometimes suffer
from cold winds. Flowering Quince and Forsythia
should be suitable and most Roses would be O.K.
West
facing walls are probably the best site of all
and, therefore, decorative shrubs and climbers
such as Magnolias, Camellias, Wisteria, Honeysuckle
or Clematis Montana would be ideal.
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