A masonry wall, no matter how ugly it may momentarily seem, is an asset to any garden. It does not matter if it is old or new, brick, stone or concrete block. Its very existence is an opportunity for exciting design. If your lot has more than one wall, you are blessed indeed. Say “wall” to your landscape contractors, and immediate associations will be formed: warmth, radiated from whatever sun is available; shelter, from wind and potentially from frost; shade; structural strength, particularly related to developing garden ‘rooms’; vertical growing surface, with potential for espaliered specimens – all these and many more ideas will crowd into the consciousness (and imagination) of your chosen professional.
Let’s take a potentially disastrous situation: a wall constructed of concrete block (it is in fact the garage wall of the property next door), twelve feet high and sixteen feet long, faces north. Six feet away the side of your house runs parallel to this wall, extending beyond it towards the rear of your lot. Presently the ground is covered with mossy grass, as the area receives limited sun. How can we respond to the challenge? The 96 square feet of ground and 192 square feet of wall are about to become a suburban oasis. For construction or landscaping or garden design, the secret lies in breaking up the barren rectangular shapes, and creating focal points of interest. The first such treatment is to install a small raised pond about two-thirds of the way along the wall. The top of the pond is four feet above the ground, it is two feet at its widest point and four feet long. The pond is formed from a shallow polythene bowl sourced from a garden centre, supported on a wooden frame. The framing is disguised by cladding in the same style as the house wall opposite.
To vary the rectangular shape of the ground we construct a circular raised garden bed, two and a half feet in diameter and two feet high; its center is two feet from the side of the house, and one third of the way along the wall.
Next, by way of preparation, we prepare two garden beds. One runs parallel to the wall, and has a scalloped edge, which varies in distance from the wall from twenty-four to thirty inches. The other is a straight-edged plot that runs down the side of the house and is eighteen inches in width. Obviously, one third of the way along its length it merges with and then emerges from the circular raised bed.
Finally, the remainder of the mossy lawn is covered with weed mat. Four wooden two by four posts are laid at right angles to the two garden plots, with the four inch side upward, commencing at the start of the wall and then at distances of five, eleven and sixteen feet. The areas between them are filled with scoria.
Now we can prepare a planting plan. The main constraints are that the area is north-facing and receives limited sun, and at present the wall is a very dominant structure. We choose to fill the plot against the house with a profusion of low-growing, low maintenance shrubs – dwarf evergreen Veronica varieties are perfect for these garden landscaping ideas and give a profusion of white flowers throughout May-July, and varied foliage colour all year round. They grow from six inches to a foot high. Add to these a couple of Euonymus fortunei ‘Blondy’ for winter interest, and either winter-flowering heather or dwarf plumbago. The circular raised bed is reserved for seasonal display – spring-flowering bulbs, primula and polyanthus, perennials such as cineraria: anything that will make a bold splash of color in keeping with the season.
On the opposite side, against the wall, we select for taller plants. Grouped around the pond are a number of ferns: two or three tree ferns, for example Cyathea cooperi or Dicksonia fibrosa; and an understorey of Asplenium bulbiferum, Asplenium oblongifolium (likes shade, but not excessive damp) and Blechnum minus. Beyond this grouping, and stretching to the end of the wall (a distance of some three to four feet) is a grouping of Drepanostachym Khasianum (Himalayan Blue) bamboo. This plant has fine foliage and delicate coloring at the nodes, and can grow to twelve feet in most landscaping and garden situations. In front of these are a selection of ornamental grasses – quaking grass (Briza media), some representatives of the Carex species (perhaps Carex glauca ‘Blue Zinger’ to echo the colors of the bamboo) and two or three Muhlenbergia capillaris ‘White Cloud’. On the other side of the pond are two flowering cherries, with a selection of hydrangeas at their feet: Hydrangea macrophylla normalis ‘Lemon Wave’; the oakleaf hydrangea ‘Snow Queen’; and Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Frillibet’. Against the wall are two winter-flowering honeysuckle plants that will, eventually, cover much of the blank face of ther wall and provide a heady scent during the winter months.
From disaster zone to interest-filled arbour, with year-round color and seasonal points of focus.
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