North Facing Wall

noggy1810

I have a new north facing wall (well shaded) and want to plant a mixture of shrubs and climbers to cover it and add character to my garden. Any ideas welcome but am a sucker for flowering plants, I am not Gerry Daly so a bit of ease and hardiness also a must. Hanks in advance, noggy1810.

looksee

I have a northfacing wall which does not get any sun at all and things that are doing well include ferns, violets, helleborus (christmas rose) - doing very well - bluebells, st. Johns Wort shrub, forsythia, crab apple tree (though the branches are above the wall), berginia. There are other things that will do well in shade, these are just the things I have growing vigorously for several years. You can grow clematis - especially montana - on a shady wall, but it tends to grow up enthusiastically, and then show all its flowers to next door!
Make sure you have plenty of good soil and organic matter where you are planting. Wall bases are notoriously dry, and the soil can be a mix of whatever was stirred up while building the wall. I built up a raised bed to plant in and put in some good soil. Most of the things you would be planting are woodland plants that would have rich woodland compost to grow in.

BlackVillage

If you are looking for something different then you could try a cherry tree called 'Morello' it's a desert cherry and is also sefl-fertile. It does very well against a north facing wall considering that it is a fruit tree. It's a pretty common variety, so you should be able to get it in most garden centres.

fifilarue

Also climbing hydrangea-very pretty, although starts off slowly.

catchup

I'd be careful about a cherry tree near a wall. Their root system could cause havoc with your wall in the space of a few years.

bmaxi

Quite a few of the climbing roses will do well on a north wall.
Zepherin Drouhin is a good choice as it is almost thornless, so, easy to manage. It also has a strong fragrance.
One thing to remember is, for most plants a north facing position is not ideal so they will need some help. If this is a new garden you will need to make sure the ground is well nourished and drained before planting. Paradoxically, a north facing aspect is often quite dry and the footings of the wall will suck moisture from the soil, so don't plant within about 18" of the wall.