Screen/Hedge - Need Advice
Hello,
I am looking for advice. I live in cold, blustery Aberdeen and have a small cottage garden. It is raised and looks down over out neighbor's garden. I would like something that will fit in along the side of the lawn that will act as a screen. It is a cottagey garden and i am not so keen on straight lines with hedges. It would also be good to have something that could let through some light. I have thought about putting trellis up and growing plants up it but i don't know what kind. It would need to cover all year and be quick growing (or come quite big already). I would love something flowering but have an aversion to red (pink is fine). I have been looking for the right thing for ages but can't put my finger on what I would like. Any ideas would be much appreciated!
Thanks,
Katie
Posts
You could make a lovely screen out of the Dog Rose (Rosa Canina, a typical cottage garden plant). It has pale shell pink flowers and hips in Winter. It's easy to keep trimmed to whatever height you want. You could let a honeysuckle and golden hop meander through it, mix the planting with Verbena Bonariensis and Crambe cordifolia. Alternatively you could make a screen of different Sages and Rosemary.
Thank you Dorcas, I think that is a great idea! It is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for.
I would be wary of making a hedge of Rosemary and Sage up in Aberdeen, they are not the hardiest of plants.
I have tried growing both rosemary and sage before up here. My sage just dies as soon as it gets cold. Rosemary is ok but can look a bit sparse and twiggy, even more so during autumn, winter and spring (maybe i am not looking after it properly). I like the dog rose idea though.
Hi Katie, have you thought of Holboellia? Its an evergreen twining climber and grows really quickly, mine has yellow bell flowers in early summer and appears to be fully hardy
You might also think of a Clematis Katie 7. There are so many to choose from and although they're not evergreen, you could grow them with your Honeysuckle and Dog Rose. Good luck.
Hi Lady gardener, i have tried growing clematis in my garden before but the plants are still really small after two summers (they have perhaps increased by about 1/8th of the original plant). Do you have any advice on what I might be doing wrong? Thanks, Katie
All I can say Katie 7 is that Clematis are very hungry plants and it often takes them a couple of years to put down their roots, they like to be planted quite deeply, a couple of cm deeper than they were in the pots they came in. Some too grow much stronger and bloom much better than others. Do you know the names of the 2 you have?
Try one of the Clematis Alpinas - they cover quite a decent area quite quickly but aren't as rampant as the Montana varieties. Also they flower in the spring, which will work well if they're followed by a rose.
The dog rose flowers can be quite short-lived - what about the rambler Francis E Lester http://www.classicroses.co.uk/products/roses/francis-elester/ . I have it in my garden and I think it would suit your needs perfectly
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.