Covering my trellis' bottom!!

[Auricula]

I have 2 pieces of trellis either side of a path,with an arch between them ( over the path ). You are SUPPOSED to see two "walls of green" and go under the green arch - unfortunately the honeysuckles ( 3 ) planted at the base of the trellis are not playing the game!!! They race up the trellis and all the leaves and flowers are at the top and over the arch!! whilst the bottom half of the trellis is bare apart from the twiggy bits of stems. What can I grow to clothe the bottom half of the trellis? Presumably all climbers will act in a similar way to the honeysuckles but are there any suitable shrubs which would work well ( they don't have to be evergreen)? It is S.E facing and gets sun for about 2/3 of the day - the soil is good well drained loam. Thanks

[Amo]

Euonymus will grow upright against something if it there. It may be fairly common but I think Emerald and Gold is still a winner and there are plenty of others out there to chose from.

[Ruthie]

You don't say how much horizontal room there is before things start encroaching onto the path. If you've got room for a bit of sideways spread you could grow Lavanders. May not be tall enough tho'. OMG, can't think of anything else at the moment! How much room have you got, horizontally that is? And how high do the shrubs need to grow to fill the space?

[Auricula]

Horizontal growth is not a problem ( at least 6 ft ) neither is "outward growth as the trellis backs/fronts on to a border - euonymous sounds good Anything else?

[Chuckles]

I know exactely what you mean Aricula, my honeysuckle is bottomless too

So what you need is something that grows to about 6ft ish and likes the same conditions. How about some shorter climbers, maybe Clems or even a small climbing rose. Not sure what to suggest as I'm not good on names of plants

I've just planted an Akebia (Choc Vine) amongst some of my trellis that has an overgrown Honeysuckle on it, will have to trim it though to stop it getting too high up.

[Plocket]

If you go for a Group 3 clematis it will grow from the base every year, and not have unsightly woody stems. It will still be "heavier" on top though because it's naturally trying to get to the light. The Viticellas are very easy to grow.

However I've had a Guernsey Cream for a number of years and it tends to have flowers all over when I train some of the stems downwards. And Montana Primrose Star.

[4pygmies]

I think Euonymous sounds a good solution too but some other shrubs which might cover the gap a bit and give you colour too - Caryopteris, Spiraea, Potentilla or Chaenomeles. Or maybe Sage or Rosemary could be 'guided' to fit your space - nice to brush past and get the scents?
As a summer cover you could try some annual climbers such as Nasturtium - they always perform well and you could wind them up and down as Plocket suggests for her Clems?
Or be really radical and get creative and use the stems to fix some pretty decorations such as artificial butterflies etc, fairies, little mirrors, bells? Or is that too whimsical, Auricula? (I have been a mother of girls for far too long..... ;D) There are loads of 'pretties' for sale in GC's these days...

[Auricula]

Thank you everyone - I'll go through my local nursery catalogue this afternoon

[Amo]

The new breeds of patio roses are quite compact climbers too.

[Deleted]

Hi Auricula - Cornwall should have a similar climate to Dublin; I had a similar problem with honeysuckle and last year grew Eccremarcarpus among it - it 'clothed' the bottom as well as the top of the wall (see this thread: www.gardenworld.proboards103.com/index.cgi?board=borders&action=display&thread=5268). I sowed seeds around about now, and the wall was fully covered come August ;D Cheers ...

[Auricula]

Thanks