EARLIER this week, I spent some time helping a friend to put up some new trellis, on a north-east facing wall of her garden.
The old trellis, which had been covered by a huge Hedera colchica Sulphur Heart', was more than 14 years old and completely rotten. We took the opportunity to prune back the ivy, and the new trellis went up without a hitch.
Fortunately, plain wooden trellis looks quite smart and will help to disguise the wall behind while new climbers establish. Trellis should be fixed onto battens or held off the wall with wooden blocks. This makes it easy to tie in plants, always remembering that vigorous climbers should be deterred from growing between the wall and the trellis, as they will eventually force it off the wall.
Sunless walls are tricky places to grow climbers but there are some plants that relish the cool, shady conditions. Hydrangea petiolaris, with its frothy white flowers, is one of my favourites, while Euonymus fortunei and its various cultivars have bright, variegated foliage.
Wall-trained shrubs can be useful too; try yellow- or orange-berried Pyracantha, blue flowered Ceanothus (yes I know it's supposed to need sun, but I've seen it flowering well in shady conditions too) or Japanese quince, Chaenomeles japonica.
If you like roses, you might try Rosa Golden Showers', R. Alberic Barbier' or R. Maigold', training the stems horizontally to encourage more flowers.
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And if it's large foliage you prefer, then Fatshedera lizei, the tree ivy, should be easy to grow on a trellis.
Now, I know I'm always beetling on about visiting other people's gardens, but it is a good way to get ideas for your own plot. Two new books, out this week, can help you to choose which gardens to visit this spring and summer in your search for enlightenment.
Peter King and Katherine Lambert's Good Gardens Guide, published by Frances Lincoln, lists no fewer than 1,260 gardens county by county, with a starring system for those of exceptional quality. Can they possibly have visited them all I wonder?
Meanwhile, Patrick Taylor has produced the Gardens of Britain and Ireland, published by Dorling Kindersley, listing 300 gardens in much greater detail and sorting them by region rather than county. I think it's more than likely that he has visited all the gardens and that the recommendations carry a personal guarantee. Having said that, it's difficult to choose between the two; the latter is probably best if you're just passing through an area, while the former would be better if you were spending a few days garden visiting. Probably best to treat yourself to both!
News for those of a more competitive naturethe organisers of this year's Holker Festival have announced a patio container competition, with a first prize of £50 and free entry to the show for each competitor on Sunday, June 1. The theme is A Summer Display' and entrants may use any style of container they wish as long as it doesn't exceed 1.2m in height and 90 cm in width.
There are more details on the Holker Hall website or from the show office, tel 015395-58838. Completed forms must be returned by April 18.
Jobs for this week...
Prune forsythias after they have finished flowering, cutting one third of all stems down to ground level. Do not be tempted to give your plant a number two haircut, it will look awful and won't flower so well!
Mulch beds and borders with a layer of garden compost, manure or bark to feed plants, cut down on water loss and summer weeding.
Protect the emerging shoots of tender plants from frosts with horticultural fleece, straw or bracken.
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