Cover Up Unsightly Walls with Garden Plants

By Matt Jackson

Why You Might Want to Hide Walls

Walls are a vital part to many houses and gardens, and without them, our homes would quite literally fall down around our ears. But just because they are necessary does not mean they are an alluring addition to an otherwise beautiful and natural garden. Some people make features of antique walls but a breezeblock or a modern red brick wall may look out of place nestled behind your azaleas and your lilies. On the other hand, of course, concealing a wall can be a difficult task without it appearing very obvious that you have done so.

Painting a Wall

You may want to consider painting the wall, although this will only work in certain circumstances and you will need to prepare the wall to some extent. Remove any abrasive surfaces with a wire brush and if necessary sand the surface with an electric sander. Be careful not to get too carried away especially if the wall is already quite worn. You only need to create a smooth surface. Use a primer solution to ensure that the first coat of paint has something to grip to otherwise you will get an uneven effect across the entire wall face. Once primed, it's time to start painting. There are good single coat masonry paints available, but it is always best to use at least two coats of paint to ensure you get an even and full covering of paint.

Using Planting to Make a Wall More Appealing

Use natural colors and plant in front of the wall so that it should give the effect of blending in. If your garden plan allows it, you may just want to block the wall with large plants, shrubs, trees or even a hedge, doing away with the need to paint the wall at all. Of course, if you have a large wall it can be impractical to plant trees or shrubs down the full length of your garden. Don't fear there is an alternative though.

Trellises and Vines

Trellises attached to the face of the wall will themselves give a pleasant appearance, especially on walls painted in natural colors but they also provide an excellent way to train vines or draping plants up or down the face of the wall. Some vines grow very quickly and it will only take a couple of years before your wall becomes a natural beauty instead of an unnatural eyesore.

Making the Right Decision

A wall can be made into a feature if it is aesthetically pleasing, but a 60-foot red brick wall is unlikely to fit well into most gardens, and if this is what you have to work with, you will more than likely want to find a way to cover it up. Planting is the obvious solution - you are in a garden after all - but purchasing enough large plants or trees that are mature enough to cover a large wall may cost a lot of money. This leaves the option of painting and allowing less mature plants the opportunity to develop, or using trellises to train vines and draping plants over the face of the wall.

The Best All Around Choice

Either of these methods is fairly cost effective, but the results of painting a wall can be mixed at best, and so my advice if you want to cover a wall is to firmly attach a trellis and combine some good looking vines. They won't need much human intervention, although you will occasionally need to coax them in the right direction, but the resulting effect will be more than worth it in the long run.

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