Cover for ugly garden wall (pic included)

[Emarosa]

We have an L shaped garden and half of it looks lovely, but the other half is just lawn surrounded by an ugly wall. I just can’t decide what to do with it. Maybe plant some tallish plants around the border of the lawn? Or a climber up the wall?

I’m a terrible gardener and would really appreciate your ideas!

If it was me I’d make a lovely border about 1.5m deep all the way around that and fill it with all the plants I like best, then gradually eat away at the rest of the grass until it was all border. But I love gardening!

If your’e not a gardener then I think it’s quite nice as it is - the curve of the wall is lovely - but if you do plant anything up it or against it make sure the roots are at least a foot out away from the wall or they will dry out, and make sure the grass is kept away from them so they can get the goodness.

Please don’t do a skinny narrow border at the foot of the wall, IMO they look mean and very old fashioned.

As an ex-bricklayer, I can tell you that’s an expensive and well built wall!
Get it cleaned with a pressure washer, a few insect friendly shrubs, will look nice.

I also would do a border, but much smaller, I’d do max eight inches all round as you’re not a gardener, and I’d fill it with cream gravel. I’d then plant some small shrubs in it that take care of themselves.

for the wall I’d plant a rambling rose.

What a gorgeous walk! The curve is lovely.

I too would create a ‘wild’ garden that took over most of the grass, with a path snaking through. I’d have a ‘hidden’ pond to find and sit by and would grow rambling and climbing roses up the wall.

Your blank canvas is my idea of heaven!

I don't think it's ugly at all

If it's a front garden, I would put a couple of climbers to break it up. But I resent spending time in my front garden. I don't spend enough time there to make the effort

That's a rather nice wall.

I'd do a border along the bottom with a range of shrubs and flowers in it. I'd perhaps put a couple of cast iron wall art garden decorations on the wall too.

As far as walls go, that one looks nice to me! Much nicer than the concrete posts and fence panels I have. If it were my garden, I would add a smallish tree with a canopy just above the height of the wall to distract from the houses in the distance. Then do a deep boarder filled with perennials that come back ever year with minimal effort.

That’s a lovely wall. I would do a mix of olive trees and hydrangeas.

What a lovely wall. You're so lucky. I'd do exactly as @LadyGardenersQuestionTime suggests; a decent size border with some climbers and shrubs. That's exactly what I have in my garden. It doesn't take an awful lot of maintenance bar periodic hacking back. I find the lawn requires much more work than the borders to keep it looking good. Good luck!

I’m a terrible gardener and would really appreciate your ideas!
Such a terrible gardener that you have posted this in the property/DIY section rather than the gardening section! You need to take into account things like where the sun falls, what sort of soil it is. We probably need more info before we can properly advise.
Walls tend to retain heat so fruit trees trained (espaliered) against them generally do well.

Thank you so much for all the ideas! I feel a bit mean for calling the wall ugly now. :) it’s just that our living area looks right out at it and I’d prefer to see a little greenery. I definitely agree that pressure washing it will help.

I've got a walled garden. Mine is currently covered with bushes all around though. One day I hope to get rid of them and have a row of pleached trees along some of it. Love the look of plants/trees against brick. So much nicer than fence! Yours will look lovely when done.

That's a lovely wall! You could grow an espalier pear tree along it.

Gorgeous wall, must have cost a fortune to build but boring lawn I grant you.

Be careful pressure washing it not to wash out / damage thr pointing. That will be expensive.

After that, plant a border but that depends on whether the base of the wall faces north, south etc.

Planting ideas and costs here. Crocus also do a "plan a border" service. Depends if you want low maintenance or lots of colour.

www.sotogardens.com

I think that wall would look absolutely beautiful if it had a power wash. As garden walls go, other than stately home types, it's one of the prettiest I've ever seen.

But yeah, border plants, rose bushes, that sort of thing.

It's a lovely wall. If you do a border make it a deep one, it'll be much easier to take care of as anything will need less watering, walls suck up moisture.

I'd put a small tree in the lawn - an amelanchier, or a small silver birch, or an ornamental hawthorn - https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/types/trees/smaller-gardens

It'll need no real looking after once it's gone in, you'll still be able to see the, lovely, wall behind it - pick something with a decent season of interest so that you can watch it change (evergreens are so boring). Flowering cherries are nice this time of year but a bit dull the rest of the time. Silver birch (small one) will give you nice bark in winter.

Then you still have space to put a border in and put bulbs in (very easy), maybe a pittisporum tom thumb, something nice with berries for the birds....

It's a lovely wall. If you do a border make it a deep one, it'll be much easier to take care of as anything will need less watering, walls suck up moisture

but so much more to weed. Personally I’d rather water than weed.☺️

That's a lovely wall!!! I'd be growing a beautiful climber against it, underplanted with some gorgeous planting, and enjoy admiring it from my living room.

Wow ,you're so lucky to have a gorgeous wall like that .Brick walls are rare these days ,it's all rickety fences that need constant maintenance.
If you're not into gardening I think a small tree as Barrelofotters has said is the way to go .A border which as others have said will need to be wide will be a lot of work for you to create and maintain .

The gardening section here https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/gardening will help .

What a beautiful wall. Love brick walls!

Depending on where it is in relation to your house and other properties, I would have a row of pleated trees underplanted with box balls or similar in a border together with Hydrangea Annabelle.

The box provides all-year- structure and interest and the Annabelle is beautiful in flower from around June to late Sept and seems to survive in all sorts of areas. Then, in between the trees, plant climbers, maybe a mixture between evergreen (e.g. evergreen Jasmine) and seasonal ones and perhaps some bulbs and annuals in a border.

Pleached trees, rather. Trees that are trained on supports so they don't branch out forward but stay flat whilst providing privacy.

We’d love a wall like that (misses point 😁)

This then a few well placed architectural plants in a border of good gravel. A Yorkshire stone would look nice. Easy to look after, not fussy, looks good 😊.

I have a similar wall OP and here is a pic of my espallier fruit trees that I am growing in the border. I've planted some bulbs in the rest of it to see how they do and am not sure what to add in next. The trees cost £40 each and we're planted last year, a mix of dwarf apple and pear. They don't take much effort beyond a bit of pruning. I'll remove the canes when they get a bit bigger

I've another wall that I am planning to do similar with next year.

Wow uploading pics is harder than it needs to be