Garden walls are perhaps the most practical features of your exterior. However, this doesn't mean you need to compromise on aesthetics. Experts have revealed how to use greenery to combine style with functionality, so you can rest in a safe but nonetheless beautiful space.
With a host of plants to choose from, it can be hard to know which will best accentuate your wall – or at least it was – until we picked up some garden wall ideas from the experts to share with you. These are the best flowers and foliage for the job.
‘You'll want to hang a beautiful plant like climbing roses on the wall, which can be trained to grow on your garden wall in any direction you would like,’ explains Zack DeAngelis, Founder of Treejourney.com. He adds that climbing roses will detract from the brick (or any other wall material).
'One of the best varieties of climbing rose is the Lady of Shallot, which complements the color of a brick wall very well due to its orange color.'
If you are interested in fewer florals but more greenery, Paul Knapp, the Landscape Designer and Founder at LandscapeArchitectural.com, suggests attaching a living wall to your structure.
'This live wall would allow you to plant edibles, perennials, annuals, or succulents,' he explains. Sharing his garden design ideas, he recommends planting sedum, pachysandra, liriope, salvia, heuchera, ajuga, and petunia to begin. 'For edibles, you can grow lettuce, herbs, strawberries, and tomatoes as well.'
Alternatively, while you cannot grow or hang larger shrubs like boxwood or arborvitae trees from a hard garden wall, you can still add some vegetative interest by hanging vines in a planting bed behind the structure.
'Perennials such as creeping jenny, bougainvillea, or some wisteria would be a nice option to hang over the edge,' Paul says. Or, you could grow vines at the base such as ivy, hydrangea, clematis, or trumpet vine that will grow up the wall, he adds.
Meanwhile, for an elegant, but undeniably simple addition to your garden wall, Bjorn Kvaale from Hitechgardening.com urges you to invest in a wall trellis or bamboo fence. His top picks include this trellis from Walmart, which you can pair with clematis, vines, or other climbing plants for a striking feature.
These vertical garden ideas will add interest to the most important part of your garden – we only wish we had known about them sooner.
