Caxton magazines staffContributing decor editor Candice Botha shares some garden ideas for disguising high garden walls
I’ve been waiting a year for our complex to be repainted and now that it’s done, I can’t wait to hide the high boundary walls in my small back garden with a pretty feature. There are so many great garden ideas on Garden and Home’s website and these are four I that I really fancy.
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1. A vertical garden
Vertical gardens are one of the best ways to green up a walled space. You can purchase ready-made planters like this one from Coolaroo, or make your own as graphic designer Roy George has done here at Kirstenbosch with a metal framework and some two-litre coke bottles (below).
2. Wrought-iron arches
I think that arches like these used by landscaper Jan Blok (below) are a really attractive feature. I’d add a bird feeder and birdbath below the arch to draw the eye away from the blank wall.
3. A water feature
There’s nothing better than the sound of trickling water to create a tranquil atmosphere and water features are very good for breaking up great expanses of wall too. When choosing a feature, look for water features available that are water-wise or use less water. Maintenance of the water feature is important, so as to not waste water. Make sure you turn off your water feature on windy days to prevent evaporation. I love the formal, French feel of the one in this garden:
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4. Quick Fixes
Pots and trellises are a quick fix for camouflaging a garden wall and are a good idea if, like me, you are looking for a temporary solution. Using potted bougainvillea which has been trained up a trellis would be very easy to recreate:
Another idea which would be easy to update every now and again is to display a collection of pots on a pretty shelf unit like this clever gardener has done:
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