Clamps to put pots on an outside wall - also what plant?

stg123

Hi there,

Extremely new to gardening, and don't know too much about it. Have lots of potted indoor plants I've managed to keep alive, but not done much outdoor gardening.

We've moved house and have a little roof terrace, separated from our neighbours by a brick wall that's only about a foot high, and about six inches wide.

Their roof is a bit of a mess, all sorts of rubbish left around, and to try and make it more separate and private, I thought I'd put a line of plant pots along the wall (which is about 14 foot long). I guess I'm looking for some sort of very thin hedge, nothing that's going to grow too big or be too thick, and that'll hopefully let the light through.

Is there a plant anyone would recommend?

Also - I'm aware if there are tall plants in pots they're just going to fall off in the wind and break - is there any smart way of clamping them on? Any recommendations gratefully received - sorry for being so vague!!

I've taken a picture so you can sort of see what I mean...

valk_scot

You can get sort of rectangular planter things with a bit of trellis attached at the back, usually about three feet tall. You could put them along the base of the wall and put pots of plants in them, to ballast them down.

ETA: This sort of thing.

Having said that is it a felt roof? If so it's not really designed for much wear and tear, certainly not for putting garden furniture down on and having the cocktail parties iyswim. A few pots raised up off the actual felt and nothing too heavy should be okay though.

stg123

Hey,

Thanks for your reply! The planter trellises look really interesting. Our roof terrace is proper cement, but next door's is felt (which I think is why they only use it to chuck rubbish on....

Maybe just a series of planters without the trellis set on top of the wall would work best, I'd still be afraid of them falling off though (the path between the wall and the side of window is pretty tight - I want to avoid putting anything down there if I can.

Are there any plants you'd recommend?

poshchatterbox

i would buy some plastic plant pots and put up frame work and plant some clematis in them, they so easy to grow and look brill

Ash_McCloud

If you're after a hedging plant/shrub that'll tolerate being grown in a tough then

Common box

Common box is a vigorous, evergreen, bushy, upright shrub or small tree. It has small, rounded to oblong, glossy dark green leaves. Its dense habit makes it ideal for hedging or screening and it can be closely clipped into different shapes. An excellent plant to make into topiary, as you can leave a smart finish after trimming. It's best to choose the dwarf form of this shrub for low hedging to create a knot or parterre.

valk_scot

I've never made a roof garden but the first thing I'd do is Google "roof gardens uk", to see what other folk have done in this country. (You need to focus on plants suitable for our climate.) After doing this, dodge all the commercial company adverts and start reading site like this, which give good advice on load restrictions, roof type, watering and such. There's a list of plants too.

I personally wouldn't be putting things on the top of the dividing wall though. Too vunerable to wind. Also using trellis planters would act as wind shelter for the plants. If one side is too narrow for a planter plus trellis how about just trellis, to block the view? You can train something sturdy like a species clematis (avoid the Montana clematis, they're thugs) along from one end to cover it.

ETA> If it were me and after I'd read that list I'd go for some topiary box specimans for height and structure, lavendar for scent and colour, specias clematis for height and some dwarf bulbs interplanted through the main pots for a bit of spring interest. The box might be a bit pricy bit two or three for the corners would be possible, maybe?