Plants to screen fence on allotment

Broomstick

Our allotment site can get pretty windy and I am thinking about planting tallish perennials, shrubs... whatever, down the length of an 18 metre long, metre high chicken wire fence. The strip of ground available will be up to a metre wide. I don't want to use fruit bushes because I'm planning a proper fruit cage for next year.

I don't really know about flowers and shrubs, other than things like marigolds, sunflowers and nasturtiums and I don't have a greenhouse or very much windowsill space to overwinter things. We have a rambling rose in our back garden and I'd wondered about taking some cuttings from that to see if I could get them going because that would be free. I've also got 8 small globe artichoke plants started in the hope that these can get established and grow nice and big.

Ideally, I am looking for a good variety of trouble free, perennial, edible plants or cottage garden flowers for butterflies and bees. And however I do this, it has got to be cheap. Has anyone got any suggestions or any ideas of books that might help?

Many thanks

B x

Tim_Mullis

I have a neighbour allotment holder who has used hessian sack for a screen fence. The odd thing is it seems remarkably good at stopping insects, his crops seem to be virtually untouched. I don't know if insects / butterflies drift in and it is causing an upwind barrier?

Broomstick

Thanks. I was only really looking for ideas for plants but, the idea of using sacking would work really well as a screen while I sort out the full length of the fence with flowers or shrubs. The fact that it might help screen off unwanted insects would be doubly good.

B x

savemoney

I use rose rugosa also excellent deterrent and they have lovely rose flowers and rose hips. here's mine

The insects love them and I wouldnt like to get through that hedge the thorns are small but go through thick gloves. Easy to maintain and cut back to size or any runners

Buy them out of season around Feb/March around £1 bare root

I also have a fruit cage as shown make it each year with 8 foot bamboo canes and netting

Broomstick

Thank you for that idea - I've been looking up rose rugosas now and they look ideal. I'll make a note for myself to shop for them at the end of the year. Your allotment looks fantastic - I have hedge envy! How many years did it take for the hedge to become that well established?

B x

savemoney

I planted them around March 2014. I show you what plot was like when i first got it and when I got the rose rugosa. I only put the fence up this May but seems to have helped them get bigger I do feed them with comfrey and some rose food once in a while

I got my rose from JR Parkers but I also use beechwood trees on ebay

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/BEECHWOOD-NURSERIES

Broomstick

Thanks again. It's really useful to see how much the roses have grown in such a short space of time. I'll definitely get some this autumn now. The links are very helpful too. You must have put in a lot of work on that land to get it so well sorted. It's looking really good. I'm in my second year of dealing with a half-plot and land clearance is taking forever!

B x

forgotmyname

Wow organised or what... envy.

If you want to know howto turn picture 2 into picture 1 i can show you that