my new property has a very steep back garden with a 35ft long retaining wall. Could anyone suggest how to make this wall a bit softer and disguise it. I thought about willow screening with climbers, but any inspiring ideas would be much appreciated.
Have you considered a bucket of invisible paint?
I just put a climbing hydrangea near one of my fences. I don't know yet how it will work out, but it's described as what eventually becomes a rather large vine-like shrub covered with hydrangea flowers for a good part of the year.
Personally, I prefer to start small and watch the plant grow. I bought a small 2 ft bush. I expect it will take another 2 years to get going.
There are so many plants you can put by a wall, I think personal taste comes into it.
Think almost any vine, bushes, trees, ornamental grasses.
Make that wall invisible and someone could get hurt. Think of the children you nasty old man.
How high is the wall? Which way does the slope face?
Are you coastal or inland? That is, how severe are your winters? What are your summers like?
If possible, plant prostrate plants on the tops which will drape down the wall and plant climbing plants at the base. Don't plant anything that will become invasion so no ivy.
Here are some examples of prostrate plants which I think look really good:
Exactly so - that's the sort of information required to give relevant answers.
Without that info there's likely to be one in 50 replies that might help - if that many people care more than the OP does....
It would be more informative to indicate an actual location such as a city and offer a topographical description of your land. Often indicating a growing zone is misleading as those maps don't accurately take elevation into account. Where I live in the Catskills elevations change drastically over very short distances, a mere 1/4 mile away the elevation can be 500 ft higher, with winter temperatures 30º lower than in the valleys... and if a location is on the north face of a slope winter temperatures can easily be 30º lower than on a south facing slope. As an example I have a creek that runs west to east, I have both banks planted with bulbs, the south facing bank blooms three weeks earlier than the north facing bank because the sun strikes and warms the south facing bank. If I wanted to plant fig trees here I'd plant them at the rear of my house as it faces south and is much warmer than the front/north facing side... in fact even with six feet of snow on the ground and the temperature well below 0º the snow on south side melts the first day the sun appears while the front of the house will have snow piled well into spring. In fact at the rear of the house the grass is green and growing all winter, the deer keep it well cropped. You might consider building a berm located so you can plant fig trees along the base of its south facing side... the soil will act as a heat sink and will warm the air even at night... even a south facing masonry wall will substantially warm the area at its base. Don't plant too near the wall as in summer the plants will cook.
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