Growing Up

There’s a lot going on with garden walls these days, both horticulturally and decoratively. This laser-cut fern pattern on a galvanised panel was a favourite, but there was no one around to tell me more. I haven’t yet tracked down who makes them, but I’m on the case.

Log walls are fairly commonplace these days, but seldom done as well as this

Log walls have become a favourite in show gardens over the past few years and Wild in the City’s was one of the best I’ve seen.  I’ve no idea how long they will last in a real garden, but presumably if you use a hardwood like oak it will have a fairly long life and will gently weather down to a soft silvery grey, all the while providing a wildlife habitat.

Not applicable to a garden, but an extremely effective way of displaying orchids

I thought this wall of pockets was a perfect way to display orchids, approximating the way they grow in the wild.  I think it was made from a moulded fibrous material, but it would be interesting to see something similar made for outside use.

A wall of heathers - unusual and effective

One of the small gardens featured a wall of heathers. I’ve not seen heathers used like this before, but with a chequerboard of slightly different coloured foliage it had an interesting textured effect.  As the garden was created by the British Heather Growers Association they presumably  believe that growing and maintaining heathers this way will work.

Burgon & Ball's wall pockets are a stylish way to increase the planting area in your garden

Originally wall planters were unsightly plastic pouches that relied on the skill of the gardener to keep them concealed beneath foliage, but Burgon & Ball’s  Verti-Plant wall planters are sufficiently stylish to be on show.