This S (N facing) fence is the least well covered of my boundaries. It is also very windy, as the west wind funnels down the gap between my house and my neighbours’ to the S.
The golden hop is good in summer, but dies right down in winter. The ‘Gloire de Morengo’ ivy will be good in a few years.
The acer is pretty robust. This is the first year it was scorched by a very high wind a couple of months ago, even though it wasn’t very cold.
Possible shrubs to go here:
Aucuba japonica ‘Crotonifolia’
Cotinus coggyria ‘Royal Purple’
Euonymus
The abelia doing well in a pot at the front could go in the middle of the patch of persicaria, although the RHS says it needs a ‘sheltered, sunny position’.
Large flowered clematis from original garden is really good this year. I wonder what variety it is. I need to think about pruning, perhaps after first flowering.
This is said to produce flowers, and possibly fruits, but I’ve never seen either. It’s a bit overshadowed by the solanum and the summer jasmine, but good at this time of the year.
This is grown for the silvery bloom which develops on the stems over winter. The stems from the year before last were brown and uninteresting. I cut everything right back. I’ll try to train it sideways a bit more this year.
I had five 2′ x 2′ x 2′ bins, a total of 40 cu ft = 1,130 litres. They worked well, and didn’t really take up any space because I could put pots on them. They were made of treated sawn softwood, and lasted about 15 years. Getting rotted compost out was slightly inconvenient, but made easier because they were on concrete. This is not recommended by the experts, but it never gave me any trouble. I never bothered to turn the compost, just returning anything that hadn’t rotted to the newest bin as I was extracting compost.
New garden
After removing the Daleks
I started with one large and one smaller Dalek-style plastic compost bins in this 1 meter wide gap between the N wall of the house and the boundary fence. They were difficult to use, and not really of sufficient volume. They were both full when I transferred their contents to bags before taking this picture.
After boarding and before fitting the battens
Empty bin with some slats removed
Detail of the front and back board stacks
Carpet cover
I lined the end of the gap with treated boards and added battens so loose boards can be inserted to enclose the open side. Four boards at the front allow compost to be removed from the bottom of the heap without disturbing the boards behind which allow fresh green waste to be added to a height of about 2 meters. There’s a stop to keep the rear stack at the height shown. After returning all the compost from the bags the bin is slightly less than half full, so I’ve more than doubled capacity in less space, and the bin should be much easier to use. Dimensions are .8 x .87 x 1.73 m, so capacity is 1.2 cu m = 1,200 litres. Also the compost should stay warmer and rot better because it’s all in one volume.
There’s nearly 2 meters of paving which will allow compost to be got out without making a mess on the gravel. There will also be much more space for resting pots etc.
10mm synthetic hemp rope is stretched between the NE corner of the house and the fence along the N side of the back garden to allow Clematis montana and Rosa ‘Albertine’ to reach the house. Simpler and less obtrusive than a pergola. They shouldn’t be visible in a year or two
Both my clematis montana plants are looking good. I’ll put up a few more wires on the front wall, and some ropes at the back so the plant can climb onto the back wall. The back clematis seems to have survived the heavy pruning last autumn.
No flowers at all this year. The leaves are nice and the birds like it, so I won’t take it out even if it never flowers again. The ghost bramble is looking good, and It should cover the lower part of the fence. I might move one of the zebra grasses which are doing rather well somewhere in this area.
