Ideas to beautify a concrete wall in your garden

There are situations in which hiding an unsightly wall in a garden becomes a necessity. Whether it is a wall just over a meter high or an imposing boundary wall, you cannot help but think that its presence disrupts the harmony of your beloved green space. Is it possible to reduce its visual impact, or at least personalize it to integrate it as best as possible into the surrounding environment? The answer is yes, and we are here to give you some ideas and useful tips to create your flowering wall.

Decorating an outdoor wall with climbing plants

If you want to cover a damaged outdoor wall or one that is simply too visually striking, climbing or scrambling plants make an excellent choice. There are several options in this regard, so you will surely find one that suits your needs and personal taste. Let's look at some of the best ideas for covering an outdoor wall:

• Let's start with Ficus pumila, also known as climbing ficus. It is a fast-growing plant with great versatility: its good drought resistance and its ability to cope even in shaded areas make it a real must-have. It is not very hardy, but in the milder areas of our country it behaves as an evergreen. This vigorous climbing plant is capable of easily adhering to any surface and reaching a height of about 4 m.
• If you want to opt for a great classic, it is impossible not to mention Lonicera caprifolium, the famous honeysuckle. Vigorous and low-maintenance, this plant can reach a height of about 5 m and twine around any support. Good hardiness and prolonged flowering are two other strong points of the honeysuckle, in addition to the delicious fragrance released by its inflorescences.
• Do you want to fill your garden with flowers while the other plants are still enjoying their winter rest? Jasminum primulinum will be your trump card. This jasmine has an abundant and extraordinarily early flowering, which begins at the end of winter and lasts throughout the spring. Being a scrambling plant, it can be used as a climbing jasmine if fixed to suitable supports.
• Another scrambling shrub with exuberant growth and very early flowering is Buddleja madagascariensis. This species of buddleia (a plant known as the butterfly bush, as it is much loved by these charming insects) requires cultivation in a mild climate, since it does not enjoy great hardiness. In return, its winter flowering will color the colder months of the year with a cascade of fragrant yellow-orange inflorescences.
• Among the scrambling plants are also some species of roses. One of the best suited for covering a wall is Rosa x ‘Albéric Barbier’, featuring a truly spectacular spring flowering. This plant tends to grow very high (up to a height of about 5 m) thanks to its long flexible stems, which will need to be directed using suitable supports and secured with soft ties.
• Let's close our selection with Trachelospermum jasminoides, also known as star jasmine or false jasmine. As the latter nickname well suggests, it is a plant very similar to the classic jasmine (although it belongs to a different family, the same as oleanders). The main difference consists in the star jasmine's greater cold resistance, which will be very useful to you if your garden is located in an area where winters reach -5°C. Trachelospermum jasminoides is an easy-care scrambling plant with abundant and extremely fragrant flowering. This characteristic makes it perfect for the creation of a flowering wall.

What is the difference between climbing plants and scrambling plants?

The list of tips we have just given you may have made you wonder: what does scrambling mean? Is there any substantial difference between a scrambling plant and a normal climber?

Let's clear up this doubt with a brief technical note on the side. True climbing plants are those that have a morphology naturally inclined to “climb” on various surfaces without needing any particular help from their growers. Scrambling plants do not possess this pronounced aptitude, but they can be “guided” through the installation of suitable supports, to which they must be tied to direct their growth.