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macgregor_gw

Need Idea Help for One End of Potager with Concrete Wall

macgregor
12 years ago

Hi Everyone,

I am asking for ideas anyone might have for redoing an area in front of our basement exterior wall, which lines up perfectly across the paver walkway from my potager.For the sake of clarity in my post I'll call this area the "potager annex!"

Until now I have had a 3-part trellis in the front of the annex, hiding the rest of it, which is overgrown with hosta and weeds. There is a nice daylily bed in front of the trellis, and a low rock wall stacked in front of that. I also have a mandarin honeysuckle vine growing on the trellis.

I would like to keep the rock wall, and perhaps the lilies, but want to open up the area and maybe put the trellis on the left, to make a sense of enclosure on that side. The hostas are beastly, look like the hostas that ate Manhattan or something - so I'd like to ditch those (maybe give them to someone).

The fence from the potager continues into the right side of the annex, offering some sense of enclosure on that side.

I thought I could have the center gravel path from the potager go up across the paver walkway, into the annex, to give a sense of continuity to the potager. Does this sound like it would look alright?

Also, any thoughts on what to do with the concrete wall and the area surrounding it? I would say the garden area is about 10-12 feet wide and 8 feet deep up to the wall, and the wall is about 8 feet high.

Any ideas will be MOST welcome! This area has been bothering me for years, and I hope to take care of it in an attractive way that doesn't look like I threw it together.

Thanks friends!

Comments (7)

  • ali-b
    12 years ago

    Can you reach the concrete wall from the path? How about an arbor bench with some morning glory nestled against the wall?

  • macgregor
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks, ali-b 6, for your idea. I have a metal arbor that is not being put to its best use - and using your "arbor bench" as a search term for images on the web, found a terrific photo of an area that (maybe, fingers crossed) mine could become, with the arbor I have and perhaps seating with it. Your idea was a tremendous help!
    I am actually excited about redoing this eyesore next to my potager! Thanks so much -

    I will post a photo when I get this done -

  • ali-b
    12 years ago

    Glad to hear it! I'm looking forward to seeing the revamp.

  • macgregor
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Just wanted to follow up on the "eyesore" garden with the big concrete wall, across the path from my potager. I have been trying to figure out how to 1) make it NOT an eyesore, and 2) make the area part of the potager across the walk, with some feeling of continuity.

    The first thing I had to do was get in there and clean this little garden area up. This meant pulling tons of daylilies (they'll be back) and big weeds, and raking to leave the area so that I can put mulch in. So now there are patches of daylilies on the left and right of this garden(instead of randomly all over it), and the weeds are mostly gone.

    Once the daylilies were cleared out the hostas that I was going to ditch looked pretty nice, so they are staying, and our birdhouse on a post stands out among them.It's amazing how different an area can look once you have cleaned it up!

    Next we purchased two more white vertical trellises (square hole type, framed)to put close in front of the ugly concrete wall, connected together with the other three in a panel, with the trellises on each end curving inward, to sort of frame the garden area in the back. I'm going to transplant a mandarin honeysuckle to the back and train it up these panels.

    In the meantime, I got a dwarf yellow delicious apple tree at half price (what luck), and I put that in toward the front of the garden. It is aligned with the two similar trees we have down the side of our potager, so hopefully this will provide some continuity from one section to the other. We have an old (but functioning) copper birdbath that would go well in the garden, and I found a sweet bunny sundial that is little but will be a nice addition I think.

    I haven't decided yet whether to put a path into this new garden area; I will definitely post some pictures when this is done, so by then I will know!

  • lpinkmountain
    12 years ago

    This year I got three trellises, two against the back brick wall of my garage. I'm loving them! Also you could drill into the concrete wall and hang some pots or wall ornaments. I have concrete inside my garage and shelves mounted on the wall so I know it can be done. Even a little fountain if there's electricity nearby. I have a big honkin' raspberry along one of my trellises. It's untidy, but every time I go to pull it out it bears fruit, lol! Roses are great if you get a rugosa with those big fruity hips. Is it a shady area? Sounds like it with hostas growing there. That does limit you somewhat.

  • macgregor
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Lpinkmountain,

    Thanks for writing! Another trellis person!

    This weekend I put the trellis panels up - only four, and they look better braced straight across the wall and a foot in front of it, and just four cover the wall! I had thought about hanging a flower shelf up on the wall but no need, it's set now.

    The mandarin honeysuckle is in, it is recovering from the transplant. I've added three small lambs' ears spaced across the front, near the rock ledge that goes around the garden. I'll see how those do and add more if need be. Those are pretty tough little plants that can take the sun and don't wither as soon as it's a little dry.

    Do you have a rosa rugosa? I've always wanted one but haven't had the perfect place for it (they are the roses that are all over where we vacation on Cape Cod in the summer, very sentimental to my family). So now maybe I have a good spot! It would be easy to make soil amendments in this area, too.

    Although the plants that need sun do fine in this area, so do the hostas. Go figure! At least they look a lot nicer now when they're not part of a jungle.

    Thanks for writing, I appreciate your ideas -

  • peachymomo
    12 years ago

    I am another fan of trellises, mainly because I love vines. I think they are such interesting and beautiful plants, are you going to have only honeysuckle or are you going to mix in some different vines?

    I think you should definitely put a gravel path in the new garden area, I like paths as much for their looks as for their usefulness. And if I were you I would want to sit on the new bench and see what the view is like before I finished, it might be improved by the addition of a focal point or something.

    I don't have any rugosa roses yet but at some point I really want to add the rugosa 'Topaz Jewel' to my garden, it's a beautiful soft yellow and has a clove fragrance that is really wonderful.

    Now I'm getting excited about your project! Please post pictures soon ;o)

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