Advice on South-Facing House

Hello everyone,

I am new here and also rather new to gardening. I am moving to a house in Surrey soon and looking for a little advice. The house is south-facing with a very small front garden which at the moment contains only a few weeds!

I plan to put potted flowers in front, but also looking for something that could climb up the house (without damaging the bricks) or a trellis that would grow rather quickly and without a lot of fuss. There is also a low brick wall in front that is crying out for something as well - perhaps a rose that will cling to it? I am not very experienced at gardening so looking for tolerant plants LOL.
What can I do to make the front of the house look attractive in a relatively short period of time? Also I realise being autumn that my options may be somewhat limited.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Warmest Regards,
Sandra Tingle

 

Hi Sandra & Welcome to Gardeners Corner.

I'm veg & wildflowers dept. so not the best one to answer but a virginia creeper would cover the house without damaging the masonry.

 

Thanks Ziggy!

Virginia Creepers do not damage bricks? I thought I had read otherwise but I may be thinking about something else. If not that might be perfect, actually.

 

They protect the masonry from weathering. But will need cutting back from windows from time to time. I used to have to go up a 3 stage ladder to cut it back from the clock on the Manor House, didn't like that bit.

 

I'm anti growing anything against house walls especially the front of the house .... nothing wrong with doing so, just my personal preference, as I prefer to see bricks

however, the virginia creeper is a good choice, as it grows fast, and looks superb in autumn, but you are left with a bunch of dry sticks for several months during the cold

wisteria could also be a good choice, but it is also not evergreen and from what I have gathered, it takes a while to establish

star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) is one of my favourite evergreen creepers .... slow to get going and will need support such as wires etc .... some internet sites state that it can grow to 9m high and has a spread of 3m .... evergreen, leaves sometimes turn red in cold weather, and the flowers are really strong sweetly scented for 2-2 1/2 months of the year .... herewith a picture from the internet .... flowers form from the base right to the top and it flowers profusely

 

Thanks for the advice everyone, will definitely look into all the suggestions.

 

Don't be put off acting now just because its autumn.

At the very least, you could prepare the ground ready for spring, and put trellis up etc. But also 'bare root' season is almost upon us (mid November to early february). That's when you can get hedging plants nice and cheap. They are supplied with no soil around them (ie bare roots) while they are dormant. You stick them in suitably prepared ground, and they wake up in spring no worse for wear. To give you an idea of the savings involved, you can get bare root shrubs and small trees from about 25p each, compared to £5 plus for the same sized plants in pots.

 

Bare root? Where do you find these, in any garden centre? Somehow I've never heard of this but I'm all about getting a great deal :yess:

 

Most proper garden centres will have them, not the sort of thing B&Q would do though. Where abouts in Surrey are you ?