My wife is the gardener in our house. I do enjoy getting stuck into a big job but can’t be bothered (don’t have patience?) with the constant “pottering” side of it. I know a little about plants, but not a lot.
At this time of year though… is there anywhere better to be? Magnolia, camellia and (what I am assured is) a viburnum all putting on an amazing show against a blue sky.
I absolutely love the spring.
Spent a couple of hours in the garden putting the 3rd coat of wood preservative on the gates, and about 10 minutes repotting the baby Acer which looks a lot better for it.
Gates look top notch👍
They look in great shape 
The gates need to be strong around here to hold back the barbarian hordes 
The cats are delighted with their secret side passage, although it isn’t secret enough yet. There is a jasmine (planted last November) merrily stretching up towards the gabion wires. It’s not likely to reach as far as the trellis but the plan is to plant a pyracantha just the other side to fill it out with something spiky. In a couple of years the trellis gap won’t show with the foliage.
Meanwhile i’m preparing a second plant bay which is in need of an evergreen climber that enjoys a north wall. Anyone have good suggestions?
There is also room for a couple of ground cover plants or small shrubs to go next to the climbers, but they must be able to cope with the north facing wall position up the ally way with not much sunshine.
How about ivy? If you choose a variegated one the pale leaves will give some brightness and the right variety may give berries for the birds
Ivy has every potential of being too invasive and troublesome.
Although i have seen vines i like but they tend to need a sunny position.
Ivy 
Climbing Hydrangea?
We have some in a similar location.
Ivy +1.
Food for birds, insulation of the house, great place to build nests for birds, green all year.
In our new garden we have some spots identified for vines. It’s against the pergola we don’t have yet. Next year probably.
Ivy is great if you keep on top of it. When I was working I never kept on top of it and it destroyed trellis after trellis. Now though, I spend about half an hour in the spring cutting it back and another tidy at the end of summer. It really is no hassle at all. It’s actually quite therapeutic.
This weekend I’m going to prune it. I did the same last year and now I understand how to do it. Learning a lot, especially on this Gardening topic.
Makes an interesting honey once the bees have been at the flowers.
Time I tackled mine … it hides a woodshed, but I just hack at it to prevent further spread.
Virginia creeper might look good. Not sure what time of day the Wall gets the sun - I see it’s a North Wall so hopefully sunny in summer. I have recently planted an evergreen clematis which is in flower (white) now. It has large leaves and there are varieties with different flower colours. It reaches about 4m.
Phil
