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Colours in the Facade Garden

Facade greening brings colour to your buildings and walls. Thank not only the flowers; leaves in their autumn hues and the fruit 'jewelry' that some plants wear are also major players. Alone the spectrum of green tones in a leaf wall are a source of contrasts, and so lovely! It is important to remember of your vertical 'garden': without regular care and maintenance as with any garden, all tips are 'wastepaper' (as we say in German).

Colours of the "Façade Garden," painting ca. 1880

Flowers

Rose, clematis and wisteria offer the contrasting element to wild vines-- they bear beautifully coloured flowers! Espalier fruit often produces fruits *and* flowers, and with different plant combinations, a quite individual facade garden can be created. The selection of suitable climbing plants is determined by flower colour and duration. Rambling roses, for example, bloom wonderfully, but most trellis plants present for only 2 -3 weeks a year. Annuals, however, often blossom for months ('continuous bloomers') when given proper fertilisation and water. Scent and plant location also factor in, as does the health of the plant: robust varieties (especially of rose and clematis) will keep the garden cities alive and not let them die out as they have in the past.

Autumn Leaves

In autumn many leaves change colour before they fall off the trees, and house walls become resplendent in glorious colour! Climbing hydrangea, grapevine, trumpet vine, Dutchman's pipe, and also wisteria often turn to a spectrum of amber-yellow-gold, while reds and crimsons will cameo primarily on sunny walls, especially with species of the genus Parthenocissus, like Boston ivyVirginia creeper, and thicket creeperSome plants will change colour already in the summer months, with white, yellow, or pink hues variegating on the leaves ~ as with various types of ivy, wintercreeper and kiwi. The facade garden can be designed for that colourful effect.

Three-lobed Boston Ivy
Autumn colouring of three-lobed Boston Ivy

Fruit-'Jewels'

Some climbing shrubs present brilliantly coloured fruit, e.g. bittersweet, scarlet firethorn and cotoneaster. These colours will remain even through winter. The grey seed tufts of clematis, for example, can still provide contrasts in the facade garden after the blossoming time is over.

Bittersweet with ornamental berries-- nature's jewels...
Bittersweet with berry 'jewels'

Green Tones in the Facade Garden

Dramatic or strident chromatic contrasts are not always called for; shades of colour are also interesting, e.g. the contrast of young and old branches (light - dark). Even mixed green plants -- "green in green" -- can bring a lot of dynamism to the facade garden!

Clematis and rose ornament this façade garden
Clematis and rose ornament this façade garden

Photo Gallery: Flowers in the Facade Garden

Here you can see a selection of blossoming plants on facades; in most cases, the flowers look this way only for approximately 3 weeks in the year. Please click on the photos!

Short blossom time : wall greening with Clematis Montana
Facade garden with clematis on the trellis
Flower splendor: clematis on wire-cables
Facade greening with climbing roses
Once a year splendour-- the blooming Rambling Rose
The once-a-year Gold Honeysuckle is full of flowers
Some species are even fragrant-- Italian ('Goat-leaf') Honeysuckle
A drainpipe greened with Climbing Trumpet
Large area greened with wisteria
Wall garden with old and mighty Climbing Hydrangea
Blossoming facade garden in winter: Winter Jasmine
Continuous blooming, annual climbers: Morning Glory Vines
Annual continuous bloomer: Brown-eyed Susanne
 
 
 
 
 

Picture Gallery: Facade Greening and Autumn Colours

Examples of different climbing plants in their autumn colours...

The leaves of wild grapes, German beer garden.
The leaves of wild grapes, late autumn
Courtyard greening with graduated autumn colouring, wild grapevine
Wisteria leaves in autumn
Gable greening with wild grape (red) and Dutchman's Pipe; on the left- wisteria
Autumn street greening with climbing hydrangea
Crimson Glory Vine (Vitis Coignetiae) on an extended growing wall with rope nets, storehouse St. Benno Verlag in Leipzig/Saxony
Crimson glory vine (Vitis Coignetiae) on a fence, autumn foliage