Help please! Bank planting

gareth bristow

I have a bank just outside our back doors I'm not sure what to do at the top 

It is quite exposed and gets alot of wind at times 
Gets full sun for the most part of the day 

I don't want to clad it or put up fence panels as this will spoil our view 

Had thought on planting rambling roses? 
Is this a good idea or does anyone else have any ideas? 

Loxley

I would plant grasses, masses of them; probably mainly a mix of short Miscanthus varieties (around 90cm tall).

Or you could mix a grass like Stipa tenuissima with perennials such as Salvias, Nepeta, Perovskia etc 

gareth bristow

Very nice would the cows and sheep in the fields go nuts for them though? 

Dovefromabove

Cows and sheep will eat most things … including roses … at least ours did … 

Loxley

Don't think the sheep would be able to reach them because of the fence, cows might be an issue though!

Dovefromabove

Sheep push their noses through the squares of ‘sheep netting’ to reach what’s nearest to the fence … having eaten that they push with their not inconsiderable weight … the netting stretches and they can reach a bit more … when they’ve eaten that they push they’re whole heads through the netting to reach a bit further … they may well get stuck there and damage to the garden is done as they try to free themselves … then someone comes along and cuts the wire fence to free the sheep and it’ll take a few days to make the fence secure again … in the meantime a sheep has pushed through the fence and then been joined in your garden by her pals … having eaten your garden while you’re at the dentist they all proceed down the lane, over the bridge and into the churchyard where ‘sheep may safely graze’ until they’re spotted by the vicar who sends the verger to find you …  and you have to get a small @WonkyWomble and her slightly bigger brother to help you round up the sheep and herd them all back to their meadow, and then you spend the rest of the day strengthening the fence … again. 

Yes folks … I was that smallholder … 🤣 

Fairygirl

Whereabouts are you - roughly? That will also affect choices.
When you say a rambling rose - do you mean along the fence? I doubt very much that would work, and would get eaten too. Sheep are very persistent   
How poor or healthy is the soil?
You could try Cotoneaster, but I have a feeling sheep will eat that too. I can't remember though- @Dovefromabove will be able to confirm one way or the other.
I think you may need to accept that, unless you have a solid, physical barrier well inside the fence, so that the sheep can't reach far enough inside, it'll be pretty difficult.

A hawthorn hedge would work, but you'd need to maintain it at the height you want. Some would get nibbled, but hawthorn isn't used as a stock boundary without good reason 

Dovefromabove

Hawthorn only works for sheep once it’s mature and has been properly laid to make it stock proof. While it’s a young unlaid hedge sheep will push between the stems/trunks of the individual plants at the base of the hedge and browse the young shoots so it can’t thicken up … it needs to be protected from them by a sturdy fence some distance from it for the first several/quite a few years so they can’t reach through as described in my earlier post. 🙄 

Fairygirl

Ah- fair enough @Dovefromabove. I suppose I've only ever seen it when already in situ, and in conjunction with the sheep fencing.
I think a physical barrier inside the existing fence is the only way to successfully get any other planting established @gareth bristow. Sheep regularly push through the metal netting all the time, as you say. I'm always finding/seeing them strolling around where they shouldn't be...

Buttercupdays

You could try windbreak netting as a secondary fence inside the stock fencing, so the sheep can't see what's on the other side so well, or break through so easily. It has worked reasonably well for us for a good while along my veg garden, though when it was re-fenced recently we used a smaller mesh wire netting for the inner layer. The netting might help with the wind problem, some kinds are less unattractive than others, but the grasses suggestion made already would mask it well and be in keeping with the open feel you want.

Fairygirl

I'm slightly confused now [no change there I hear you say!] because I'd assumed it was only the top of the bank the OP wanted to plant up - the rest looks as if it's already been planted. I'm not sure a row of grasses would look right, but maybe I'm misunderstanding.