Advice on what to plant as a natural barrier

Thanks Fairygirl, yes we had wondered if we could have some containers/troughs/raised bed there as these could be wider and deeper than the border is now, worth a thought.

 

This sounds interesting penny thanks for that. How narrow do you think your border is and do you remember what depth roughly you had to plant into. I read some info suggesting to break up soil to 45cm down and 90-120cm wide! For rosemary. Also said to mix in sand and make planting hole same depth & twice as wide as rootball. Our gravel border is 20cm wide max and depth probably not very from what others have suggested, might have to go and probe it..

 

I wouldn't go for containers @Mattyp - much more work than directly in the ground.
Rosemary doesn't overwinter well here - too cold and wet, but it might be better over on your side, especially in a rasied bed. You'd have to investigate the ground below the gravel though.

 

The space looks very narrow … especially if that’s a driveway where a car will be parked.

 

I don't think that space is wide enough to grow anything much except perhaps small rockery-type plants or if you must have something taller, maybe one of the more upright types of grass like Calamagrostis "Karl Foerster". If the wall footings extend under the gravel you might not even be able to grow those. Do you get weeds and grass seeding into the gravel? If not it's a good sign that the conditions aren't suitable to grow anything.

 

I doubt that any ornamental grass would grow in a space that narrow, apart from Stipa tenuissima or a sedge like Carex but they don't grow high and can be short-lived. The width of the bed at just 15cm would really only suit alpines as @JennyJB suggested. They could look quite good and distract you from the fence option @Mattyp!

 

Oh yes we do get weeds and grass there, but they are shallow rooted I suppose.

 

Yes I'm certainly pro replacing gravel with borders where possible and time permitting. Oh I don't know will have to think on this one. Looks like planting could be a bit of a gamble and I have plenty of other garden jobs to be doing right now! Thanks for all the comments everyone

 

Could get away with one of the upright fargesias(pingwu is nice) or even pseudosasa japonica(maybe) or pleioblastus.
I'm a bit of a fan of bamboos and being close to a walkway, they won't damage you with sharp bits

 

Thank you, we had wondered about bamboo but know very little about. From what I've just read it can be very tall and has quite a large spread. But perhaps it can be kept very narrow. Attached image shows drive width and you can see that no plant can spread far beyond that right side gravel/wall border before it becomes problematic for getting the car down. We don't need to open car doors here so that's not an issue its just the wheels ideally stay on the slabs on either side.

 

I don’t think Bamboo would suit that narrow space @Mattyp. Even the clumping varieties like Fargesia need space to expand outwards and good access to moisture and nutrients. I also grow several non clumping varieties and have to keep a close eye on them as they send out runners which can be potentially damaging if not carefully controlled. I dug up three large runners from one of mine yesterday. Bamboos also shed a lot of leaf litter during the year. This doesn’t matter where I grow them as it acts as a natural mulch.

 

Sending runners? Not fargesia then. If you still believe it is, please let me know the variety so as I can avoid that one in the future.
Fargesia will actually grow in a very narrow space. I'm testament to that as when I gardened for a living, that is how I set up a lined pathway for a client

 

That one was a Phyllostachys @flounder, but it’s not really much of a problem in the enclosed space that I have it in. I’m interested to know that you have grown Fargesia successfully in such a narrow space so that might be a possibility. I’ve always found them slow growing and a bit fussy, preferring shade and lots of moisture.

 

Making a raised bed is the easiest way if you want some greenery. It would still pay off to investigate the ground below the gravel, so that roots won't suffer, but it means a better growing medium, and you don't need planting which will be larger, or encroach too much.
It isn't difficult to grow in narrow sites if the choices and the soil are good, and there's enough moisture to avoid constant watering. Alternatively, plants which will cope with being a bit drier, but it isn't too problematic up here in that regard. I grow a clematis in a bed that's as narrow as that
I wouldn't plant bamboo though.

 

If desperate for some greenery there I’d plant a small leaved ivy at intervals along there and let it clothe your side of the wall but keep it clipped tight so that it looks almost like an evergreen hedge. As long as you’re assiduous with regular clipping it shouldn’t be a problem there. It won’t give you additional height tho, unless you use a trellis as well.