climbers and trees in pots?

[themagicamulet]

I have just moved house (London) and have inherited an unloved east facing 50 foot garden. There's a roughly 8 feet square patio at the bottom of the garden which is flanked by neighbour's ( encroaching) bamboo on one side, a not very attractive high brick wall at the back and our summerhouse wall on the other. It desperately needs something to cheer it up as it's in our direct sight line from the kitchen. Ideally I'd plant a tree, but I don't really want to dig up the patio as it's actually rather nice and well-laid York stone paving. So no soil...!

Is it feasible to plant a fast-growing climber in a trough or pot and train it over the wall to soften it a bit? What sort of thing might survive? And any suggestions for pretty trees with year round interest that would actively like being in large pots - ideally 6ft plus in height. I've been thinking about acers, , cotoneasters or 'seven son' trees but I don't know how they'd get on in pots. (I have a couple of 6 ft potted standard olives and tried them out down there but they looked a bit weedy - I think it needs to be something more dramatic!)

Any help or suggestions gratefully received!

[PurpleWithRed]

Anything is OK in a pot if the pot is big enough and you look after it appropriately - i.e. water it and feed it with the right kind of food. To be honest it's hard to get true all year round interest in one single thing, but clematis amandii is nice with evergreen leaves and flowers in spring; or a camellia planted with a clematis to grow over it and flower during the summer. Or a lovely acer in a pot with daffodils underneath.

[themagicamulet]

thanks - that's good to know. my local nursery has lots of reasonably large trees in pots but I assumed they would have to be planted.

[florentina1]

In pots I have Acers, Robinia, Pyracantha and a smoke plant.

A good trick to hide a wall is to put the taller plants in front and the smaller bushier ones behind in a staggered pattern. It is something to do with perspective.

For climbers, try Boston Ivy, Jasmine, Virginia creeper and Russian vine.

[themagicamulet]

clematis amandii looks perfect too

[themagicamulet]

thanks florentina - not sure my new neighbours would thank me for russian vina though!

[themagicamulet]

vine

[gingeroots]

florentina - do you know if Boston Ivy keeps it's leaves all year round ? I've been googling and some links suggest it's deciduous ,but others talk about it's leaves in summer and autumn .So is it leafless after autumn .

Sorry I know I sound dense ,I guess loosing leaves after autumn = deciduous .

[florentina1]

Mine loses it leaves around December, so bare through the winter. My summer Jasmine keeps it leaves through the winter. It loses them early spring then the flowers come then more leaves.

euonymus is evergreen. The real problem I expect is that in a pot things won't spread as quickly as They would in The ground. We erected a very strong trellis on our ugly back. We left quite a gap between it an the wall. I have got pot holders from the €1 shop which hook on it. I put ivy and winter pansy in them to break it up in the winter.

Corn us does well in pots. Not evergreen but the striking bark is lovely. I have the ordinary red ones and one called mid winter fire.

My cherry tree and robinia do not keep there leaves but they have very interesting bark and branches. They are in the garden now but they spent about 3 years in a pot before they outgrew it.