Vines for a 1m high wall

[NewGarden]

Hi. We've recently moved into a new build house with a garden. After both of us living in flats our entire lives, this is our first ever garden.

The space is app 18x14 metres but part of this is taken up by a garden room. There is an app 2m slope over the 14m from the house to fence line.

We have a landscaper in at the moment building a retaining wall for a patio that will come off the back of the house. The patio area is large.

6m of the 14m we have. The size kept me awake last night now that I see the foundation bricks in.

The lawn will slope away from the house subtly to allow for drainage. The retaining wall will be app 1m high.

We want to grow evergreen vine over this wall to help it blend in and give the illusion of an extended green area. Does anyone have any suggestions on a vine that've eps colour and foliage all year round, will be ok with a 1 metre high wall that stretches about 5 metres? Worried about root systems damaging the foundation over time as well as the wall.

The landscaper is putting in a garden bed on top of the retaining wall app 8 inches in and 8 inches wide which will sit just flush with the patio to aid in water run off and create a visible boarder to try & stop people falling off. He suggested planting crawling vines in here as well to grown down the wall. Any suggestions on what to use here? Low lying and shallow root systems.

Thanks.

[David E. Ross]

What is the exposure of the wall? That is, which way does it face?

What is your climate? Do you get snow or killing frosts in the winter? Do you get much rain? How warm are your summers? Yes, I know you are in the UK; but the climate can vary as significantly there as it can here in southern California (but in different ways).

[Brooklyn1]

Blue rug juniper works well, so does pachysandra

[David Hare-Scott]

Without knowing your climate or the aspect of the wall any answer you get will be a wild guess.

[NewGarden]

Hi. Sorry all, I did forget to add my location. First forum post in my life... Quite bad.

I live in Edinburgh. It's windy a lot and possibly the most common element. It rains quite a bit but can go months over spring and summer without a drop. Rain is never torrential. We get the tail wind of a hurricane normally about once a year with wind upto 75 miles an hour. The garden is Northish facing. Shaded in winter and sun a lot of the day over summer.

Temperatures range from 1 degree in winter with some nights going lower to 28 or 30 degrees Celsius in summer. We get a dusting of snow maybe two days a year.

The wall will be largely in shadow.

Thanks for your responses so far.

[NewGarden]

Thank you Brooklyn1. They are lovely suggestions. I'll look into them.