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Steel Fire escape - which plants

teamgladwellteamgladwell Posts: 2
in Problem solving
Hi,
I have a black steel fire escape  that comes down the outside of the back of my house from a first storey door. it has paving below it. i would like to make it look nicer with plants. I'm not great at feeding and watering plants but could do a bit of it. What would you recommend? Ivy?? Climbing rose? Hanging baskets? Something simple but that would make it look less commercial would be great! 

Thanks for your help!

Michael

Posts

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,140
    I suspect it's not a good idea to block a fire escape with plants and planters on its steps.  How about hanging baskets suspended from the steps.  If you're hopeless at watering you'll need to use drought tolerant plants like sedums and house leeks or else get in the habit of watering daily in the growing season and then you can grow all sorts of colourful plants.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • hogweedhogweed Posts: 4,053
    If you could lift some of the paving, you could plant into the soil which will mean lower maintenance but I have a feeling that any kind of greenery on a fire escape would be totally frowned upon by the fire prevention people. 
    'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
  • teamgladwellteamgladwell Posts: 2
    Just to clarify, it doesnt need to be a fire escape as the room is just a normal part of the house now so the fire escape function is surplus to requirements now. Thanks for your thoughts so far. Any ideas of which plants would grow best?
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,140
    It depends on so many things - which way the steps face, how cold/hot/dry/windy they are, what size and texture of planter you have or plan to buy, the kind of compost used as different plants have different feedng requirements as well as watering needs.

    You are going to have to tell us more.........
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • tessagardenbarmytessagardenbarmy Posts: 346
    It might be worth your time fitting an automatic  watering system like they do for hanging baskets outside pubs.
    I had a redundant  set of steps(6) and placed troughs on each one filled with my favourite heucheras,so colour all year round and added pots of pelargonium in the summer . It was shady first thing and got sun later in the day.
  • hogweedhogweed Posts: 4,053
    Could you not just dismantle it and sell it? 
    'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 8,040
    If you aren't great on watering, any greenery would really need to be planted into the soil at the bottom and trained up the side of steps.  Baskets would need to be watered at least once a day, and more in hot weather.  A fast growing climber of some kind would probably be the simplest way to do it.
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 11,179
    KT53's suggestion of a fast growing climber is a good one. Something like a jasmine, trachelospermum, or evergreen clematis would do well. Apart from the initial planting and some watering if it's dry, the only other thing you would have to regularly is tying the shoots to the staircase. 
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
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