Magical ideas for garden walls
Garden walls are usually the strongest built elements in a landscape due to their verticality and size. It’s therefore very important to get it right when choosing proportions, materials, colours and textures for these walls.
1. Consider what you want your fence to do
You need to consider whether the walls need to be solid or contain openings so that other parts of the garden and the wider landscape can be seen, or whether they are to merely act as light screens. Also, should they be softened with plants or decorated with an artwork? Connecting walls to other garden structures and the home through materials or colours is very important, too, ensuring everything works in unity.
Rather than focusing purely on the functional qualities of garden walls (privacy, protection from the elements, safety for children and animals, and so forth) think also how they can add vitality, colour and magic to your garden. These fabulous examples are sure to aid you.
Your fence can be a living thing
Enlivening a plain wall with epiphytic or air plants, such as these tillandsia, is a great idea. The burgundy of the wall sets off the silver foliage of the tillandsia beautifully. Air plants like tillandsia need no soil around their roots so can be attached with wires or fixtures set into the wall. A light spray with water every week or so will keep them looking healthy.
Your fence can be a living thing
Freestanding walls can be used to frame views and provide a sculptural element to gardens. Here these low corten steel walls are cleverly positioned to create a sense of enclosure for the outdoor living space while still allowing views beyond to the wider landscape.
Get into some espalierisation
Espaliering basically means that trees or vines are trained to grow horizontally against a wall – it’s a traditional technique to encourage more fruit or flowers in a limited space. But here in this Sydney garden it also helps to break up the impact of a high plain wall and creates a stunning outlook from the nearby terrace.
Go for the curve wall
There’s nothing like a curved wall to create a feeling of enclosure and protection. The solidity of stone adds to the wall's embracing appeal. Building a seat into the curve of wall and repeating the curves in the paving and circular fire pit gives the space a delightful sense of unity and seclusion while remaining open to the surrounding landscape.
