GQT
Bob Flowerdew
Bob is an organic gardener and a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time.
Pippa Greenwood
Pippa is one of the foremost experts on pests and diseases. She gardens using organic methods.
Matt Biggs
Matt trained at Kew and has been gardening professionally for more than 30 years.
Q Can I green up a west-facing breeze-block wall?
Sally Matthews, Devon
A PIPPA SAYS If it is a retaining wall and abuts onto soil, you could plant behind/ above, assuming the soil level is close to the top of the wall, and allow plants to cascade down. Providing there is soil at the base of the wall, there are lots of options. If there isn’t a decent amount of soil at the base, I suggest you invest in good-sized troughs or planters and quality compost. Depending on the wall’s dimensions, you could fix trellis or galvanised straining wires to it and plant climbers at the base. If the condition of the wall is too poor for this, use self-clinging climbers such as ivy (including variegated forms) or a climbing hydrangea. Another option would be to attach lots of wall planters, half baskets or troughs filled with seasonal bedding and bulbs, etc.
You could camouflage the wall with a few coats of paint and grow, or small mid-green leaved . For flowers and evergreen cover, try for its white fragrant blooms, , which has cascading dark purple flowers, or the wall shrub ‘Puget Blue’ with its masses of dark blue flowers.
