What to plant to screen retaining wall?

BStephenson

Hi!

We are wanting to renovate our retaining wall and wondering if anyone had any ideas. So far, we are wanting to plant star jasmine and train it to climb with wire up the wall but stuck with what we should plant in front that is low to miantain. The garden bed in about 1 meter wide and only receives sunlight for half of the day.

Any advice would be great! Thank you

EricL

Hello @BStephenson 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about your retaining wall.

That sounds like a really lovely idea and star jasmine is a great choice for training up a wall, especially with the wire support you're planning. Since your garden bed only gets about half a day of sun, it's a good idea to go for plants that are happy in part shade but can still hold their own in terms of appearance and low effort. In front of the jasmine, you could look at something like lomandra or liriope, which are hardy, clumping plants that don’t ask for much and keep their shape nicely throughout the year. 

They’ll give you texture without stealing attention from the jasmine as it starts to climb and fill in. If you're open to a little seasonal colour, hellebores (please check for availability) are another great option for part shade and can bring a soft, natural look under the vines. 

Otherwise, something like dwarf mondo grass or even compact nandina varieties could work really well and still keep things low fuss. Whatever you go with, try to stick with just one or two plant types so the bed feels neat and not too busy, which will help your jasmine stand out even more as it grows.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric