Beautiful new trellising so would like something dainty growing there

[EllenParsnips]

Hello
~We've just had a beautiful hardwood trellis installed (so don't want to hide it all). What can I grow that wouldn't take over the trellis? We just want something to soften it - not hide it.

Complete novice here

Hahaha! Spinal Tap Stonehenge moment! Don't worry - I've done that myself, most recently, when I was explaining to a friend how the patio at the end of my garden was 6 feet by four and housed a greenhouse and shed. He very politely suggested it had to be a very small greenhouse!! (I meant metres, of course!)

Now, this 30 x 60 cm space - is this in front of the trellis? Is it where you're thinking of putting the acanthus, foxtail lily and trachylospermum? Because the acanthus alone gets to about 1.5 metres wide! So it will be far too big!

I think I might be tempted to go for something featurey and very simple- a non-invasive, clump-forming bamboo, or a bit of topiary, or even a statuesque acer (one that gets pruned carefully into a shape, not one of the shaggy ones that droops all over). Those will all get their roots under the adjacent paving.

I like the black phormium, but I wonder if it'll look a bit lonely and odd all by itself - it's hard to judge without seeing a picture, but it sounds as though this is more of a 'feature' kind of space??

I suppose it is a feature space. It's a "barrier" between us and next door neighbour and meant to give us some privacy. I didn't expect it to look so nice (posh wood) (did I tell you that?). So it's in the driveway, which is quite wide so the car is not next to it.

I would like something architectural and vertical and I'd love some colour. Maybe I should go the clumping bamboo route (root). We don't like topiary and can't have an acer as it needs to keep on our side of the trellising.

Would none of my rocket type flowers grow do you think?

You might have mentioned that it looks pretty cool! It does sound lovely.

Here's the problem: it's a really small space. 30 m x 60 cm is enough for one large plant, or a couple of small plants, or a climber and something in front of it. So you need the plants you choose to 'work' for you all round the year.

I think your Eremurus would grow pretty well - but I also think they would give you interest for about 3 weeks. The flowers are out and gone - and that leaves you another 49 weeks of blankness. Now you could just put up with that. But I would suggest - and it is only a suggestion - that these foxtail lily type things are better in a herbaceous border where they can be magnificent for 3 weeks but where you also have plenty of other interest over the flowering season. Also, the leaves of Eremurus aren't that attractive, so a larger border will conceal this better - your space is very 'exposed' visually.

An alternative might be to put in something like a grass that 'stands' all winter. This would give you architectural + vertical over a longer season of interest. I've just walked past a stand of Calamagrostis × acutiflora 'Karl Foerster', about four plants in a straight line. They are very nearly perfectly vertical, and they go from silver to a wonderful golden colour in the autumn. In a sheltered spot, they will stay like that all winter. They can be underplanted with spring bulbs like allium 'Purple sensation' to great effect.

Oh - that grass looks beautiful, I don't think I've seen it anywhere before. Stunning. I think the grass or the bamboo is the answer. It says I have to cut down the grass in February. Do you know how long it would be bare for - I can't find the answer anywhere?

New shoots will start coming through in March/April, but it'll be a whole before the new seedheads start to come through. You could underplant with spring bulbs (single colour crocuses, early daffs, late daffs, alliums) to cover you from Feb to May.

Thanks shovetheholly, much appreciated and I feel much more confident of what to do now (either bamboo or that lovely grass)

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to chat about it! I do like the sound of your trellis very much - it sounds gorgeous.