[vinco555]

hi there, I am looking for some advie and any you can give will be much appreciated,
I have recently bought my 1st house (new house on estate) in letterkenny, co. donegal, however the garden is in very bad condition, there is about a 4ft - 5ft slope in the back. and all the grass is full of rushes. rocks and wind bushes.
So basically what I am looking to do is desigh a garden that will last and is very easy to maintain.

firstly I was going to dig up all the old grass at front and back and fill in the slope in garden with it, then I am going to get some kind of drainage system fitted that hopefully will help the soil, then add new improved top soil and level the whole garden off,

next my plan was to put a concrete base (15' x 10') in for a wooden shed and build a nice deck area at the back door.

now this is where I cant decide what to do, I am think of putting up a 6ft security fence (pvc coated wire mesh) around the whole of my back garden (approximatly 160 ft)and putting a gate on for access. then I would like to plant climbers that will cover in the fence so that it will look like a hedge, and be very little maintainance

however i asked in my garden centre and he suggest planting a hedge, but i dont really want a thick hedge taking up space in my garden, is there any type of climber which will be able to climb up a wire mesh fence, and will grow quickly. preferbably a evergreen plant, which flowers in the summer.


any advice will be greatly appreciated!


I have attached a plan of the garden with what I am looking to do to it. If any one else has any better ideas please let me know, the square bit of grass where decking is going is approximately 40' x 40'

P.S. could anyone tell me what i should do with the existing grass before i get the digger man in, ie kill it first, or just bury it.

cheers

[forest flame]

hi vinco555
with regard to the fence in my opinion the best climber is cissus striata. its an evergreen and very vigorous lovely plant with purple/black berries in the winter.i have seen it in a garden where it was planted over twenty years ago and trimmed a couple of times and is less than a foot out from the wall.
hope this helps you can google images to see it.
good luck with the garden

[forest flame]

sorry i should have said trimmed a couple of times A YEAR