Suggestions for fast-growing evergreen climbers or hedging for a sheltered garden

[AprilMizzel]

Suggestions for climbing or hedge plants.

We have a sheltered south facing though shaded by walls and back neigbours huge fir trees - so partial to full sun and as down a hill fairly sheltered. Next door who only had a small yard left due to extentions have put in a huge temporary building - it side and roof open lovely for them but it towers over the 5ft walls and dominates our garden space.

So I was hoping a hedge/climbers down that side of garden would soften that. So made a bed - it's clay soil but put about 2 ft of well rotted garden waste in bed.

I'm hoping for suggestions that are fast growing ever green and if possible strong smelling - and cat safe as possible as have indoor cats with catio and who walk in said garden (and are daft round plants).

I've made a start buying a Trachelospermum jasminoides Evergreen Star Jasmine Climbing Plant - but was hoping for some more suggestions.

Watching as have similar 😀

How wide is the bed?

Small trees will help to break up the outline of the wall and make it seem less overbearing and could be something for stuff to climb up. Maybe an amelanchia because they dont block ligbt out too much? And a crab apple or cherry blosaom because they are beautiful. Amelanchia and cherries also have great autumn colour.

I would train a magnolia grandiflora up part of the wall and i love rambing roses so would add a rambing rose in too and a clematis. You can get clematis which flower in every month of the year.

Clematis and passion flower are very fast growing.

Tetrapanax Rex is fast growing once established, has enormous leaves and an interesting trunk. The plug plant I planted three years ago is now 3-4m tall.

Sambucus nigra might also work, the dark foliage is lovely and it can be pruned to whatever size you want it to be.

That you so much for all the suggestions they've got me thinking much wider than I was.

The bed is not huge at moment - 2ft width - but benefit of it happening now is the whole garden can be reworked - the decking previous owners put in that makes garden feel smaller than it is all needs taking up due to sagging.

I had ruled out trees - but I realised I could put them in and would help with the previous attic extenion from same side that also made the garden look overlooked much more.

I had thought about Clematis and passion flower and honey suckels which we'd had in previous house but ruled out due to the cats. I'd also ruled out clumping bamboo - mainly due to neigbhour at back having insisted on checking all surrounding gardens for bamboo blaming their old shed falling down and bamboo invaidng from somehere else.

I love the look of Sambucus nigra but it's toxic to cat and dogs - the neigbour sturcture is right next to the wall but it opens at side and roof and they have dogs. However the research led me to a pet friendly hedging page - which is throwing up many more options.

The amelanchia looks lovely and could work towards end of the garden. I was thinking climbing roses near the house and catio so will look at magnolia grandiflora as well.

Thank you for all the suggestions.

Jasminium Beesanium might work. It’s evergreen in warm sheltered gardens and really easy to care for

Climbing bluebells and climbing hydrangeas - although I've struggled with the former to get them going in pots. Also Chilean potato plants - grow like the clappers and smell lovely like tomato vines.

Jasminium Beesanium gone on my list thank you.

I haven't heard of any of those IMakePointsWhichHoldSignificance so I will definitely have a look thank you.

Amangowa cherry trees. Upright and hide a lot.

I have a dog, and sambucus nigra- the dog has been known to chew on it with no adverse effect whatsoever 🤷🏼‍♀️. I think you need to exercise judgement on the toxicity of plants - I have many, many plants in my garden that are “toxic”, including brugmansias and Ricinus (which is supposedly deadly). Dogs don’t pay any attention to them - we had 5 dogs in the garden yesterday, none of them so much as sniffed at them.

I do take your point about toxicity but unfortunately the indoor cats we have eat anything green if they can- but we do have plants away from the unsupervised catio that previous owners put in that are listed as toxic - I just think if we are buying it's an extra thing we can avoid - it's not like there aren't non toxic options we do like.

I do appreciate all the suggestions - so thank you.