Exterior Design: Growing Garden Walls

July 21, 2022

There are many ways to make walls, as we learned from the three little pigs. Thankfully in gardening, there’s no chance that your choice of materials will be challenged and destroyed by a big bad wolf. When it comes to imagining your garden dream space, we started with the ceiling, and now we’re talking more about walls. There are different shaped walls in the gardening world. The shape you choose might be driven by the role you want your walls to play. Think about whether your walls are for privacy, delineation of one area of your yard from another, or for masking an unsightly piece of equipment (a generator or a/c condenser, for example.) Think about whether you want artwork on your walls in the form of blooms or berries and consider the shape you want your walls to take. We broke walls down into 4 main shapes and we scouted for some of the best plants that fit each category. There’s no right or wrong way to design your exterior but if you think about what you want your outdoor room to give you, it’s much easier to decide how to enhance it with plants.

The columnar shape is truly the best choice for gardeners who like neat lines, are open to pruning to maintain shape, and who really want the feeling of a proper border to their space. Columnar plants can create a green wall, a backdrop for lower growing color, and certainly a shield from neighbors or a view you aren’t enjoying.

Simpson’s Stopper is a native that will make a great hedge if grown in a sunny area. It will show fragrant white flowers in the Spring and pretty berries. Simpson’s Stopper grows fairly slowly and this plant takes pruning very well so you can use it to create the shape and look you want your walls to have. We love the dense habit and the evergreen leaves. Simpson’s Stopper is drought-tolerant and easy-care. We haven’t found it to be prone to pests either. If you have a partly sunny or shady spot and want to use Simpson’s Stopper, know that it will stretch more and provide a more open look.

Eugenia is possibly the best choice for those who want living green columns. Eugenia grows quickly and has a lot of foliage so the plant looks thick and dense and is excellent for adding privacy or hiding something in the yard like an A/C condenser. It can be trimmed to be the shape you want. Gardeners who like clean lines will love shaping Eugenia into a perfect column. Some gardeners sculpt Eugenia as a topiary in spirals or multiple ball shapes. Plant Eugenia in well-drained soil and once it’s established, let it dry out between waterings. If you’re planting a row of Eugenia for privacy or to create a wall in your garden, you can plant them 3 – 5 feet apart, but we have also seen Eugenia used further apart with some more free form bushes and plants in between. Your wall, your rules!

A good choice for this style is Podocarpus with its narrow leaves. If you try to maintain Podocarpus too short, it won’t look that great so plant it somewhere where you can let it grow to around 5 to 7 feet, which seems to be a good height for creating a barrier or boundary. It is salt-tolerant and low-maintenance and can be planted in sun or part-shade.

Spicewood is an attractive plant that sort of bridges the gap for folks who like both columnar and also spherical shapes. It is native to parts of Florida. It’s a very pretty plant that’s more open than the other options that are denser. The leaves are glossy and, like the Eugenia, they start out a little ruddy in color before becoming green. Spicewood will flower Spring through Summer with fragrant beige blooms. Spicewood looks great when it is watered regularly. It makes a nice hedge and can be maintained from 5 or 6 feet tall or taller. It will max out around 10 to 15 feet and could also be allowed to become a small tree.

Think of Spherical walls as shrubs that grow up and create a loose ball shape. They tend to have larger leaves that aren’t as easy to prune into a neat shape as those plants on our columnar list and they might have showy blooms and foliage. They can be backdrop to outdoor seating or a gathering, but they tend to make a quiet statement as well.

Powderpuff brings color, interest and that shape that makes the consummate wall or border. We like so many things about Powderpuff, namely its pretty lacey foliage and bright fluffy flowers that start out as hard balls and open to cute powderpuffs. It’s most often found in pink or red and it is beloved by hummingbirds and pollinators. You will have blooms throughout the year when you plant one. Powderpuff is a great choice for anyone without opposition to a less formal look. The branches spread wide and it actually grows quite quickly. If you have room for it, know that it would like to grow to around 8 or 9 feet tall. Many gardeners maintain them between 5-6 feet tall and you can keep them looking nice this way by feeding them a few times a year and making sure they stay watered during our dry season.

Copperleaf or Acalypha has showy foliage that looks so tropical. Some varieties have large mottled leaves that are just lovely and provide color, making Copperleaf great at bringing interest without flowers. You can plant a few of these and create a formidable screen. They will naturally grow to around 6 to 8 feet tall, can be pruned, and will grow fairly quickly. They can do in full sun or part shade and though we have found they look best with regular watering, they are drought-tolerant. As a relative to the Chenille that is used as a groundcover or hanging plant, they have a similar fuzzy bloom that will hang down when Copperleaf blooms.

For those gardeners who like showy plants that do double duty by being beautiful and creating a wall, Dombeya is a clear choice. Dombeya is often referred to as Florida Hydrangea because it has a similar look with the big flower clusters. The large leaves and showy rose-colored blooms are striking and we can imagine Dombeya making a gorgeous wall element in an outdoor room. Dombeya can grow to 7 or 8 feet tall and will spread to around 6 feet wide. You can prune them back after they have bloomed in Spring and Summer and make it easier to maintain them at the height you want. If you’re content to let them grow as they’d like, they will look thick and mounding and when the blooms come, the butterflies will find them and you’ll have a great garden backdrop.

The other pretty plants on our Spherical list are similar in habit and they’re all fairly low maintenance. Firebush, another Native, has a nice orange/red bloom and Cape Honeysuckle has a bright dark orange bloom.

Specimen walls are the most impactful type on this list. You’ll have a clear living boundary and fragrance, color, or texture depending on your selection. We can’t write about all of these choices but each will make a fantastic feature wall and will add an interesting focal point in your outdoor space. Specimen plants like these are best left to their own natural habit, most will look best that way.

Angel’s Trumpet is a fragrant, head turning feature that can be used in a group of a few, perhaps in varying colors, to make a nice border. The evening fragrance is intoxicating and it is, arguably, one of the most recognizable, lovely flower smells ever. You can prune Angel’s Trumpet to keep it around 7-8 feet tall or you can let it reach 10 to 12 feet. The pendulous, bell-shaped blooms come in peach, pink, white and yellow and adding one or more as a specimen to border your outdoor room will offer beautiful views through Fall. Plant Angel’s Trumpet in soil, like Marvin’s Magic Mix. that includes organic matter and water it regularly.

Heliconia is a tropical must-have with eye-catching blooms. There are several varieties so their specs vary. The really dazzling part about the Heliconia is actually a flower bract or false flower. They’re the colorful part you’re drawn to. The flower itself is small and less remarkable. Heliconias like regular water but don’t love to be wet. They have lush leaves and some varieties can grow thickly. Heliconia are nice for planting to color up a partially shady area. Heliconia definitely wants good quality soil to look its best. The gorgeous variety shown here is called Lobster Claw.

Pencil Cactus, not a cactus at all, but a Euphorbia, made our list because it’s too cool to leave out. This is a Succulent, and as such, Pencils survive easily and can even be benignly neglected without consequence. They do need some water but they really like to dry down between waterings. They can grow quickly and look great around 7-9 feet tall. They have a more open habit with many pencils spiking up and with a thick spread. Please be careful with Pencil and any Euphorbia as they will release a toxic white sap when broken or cut. Do not touch the sap without gloves. For the gardener who loves Succulents or wants a low water landscape, Pencil is a great choice. If you’re a collector, or looking for an entire space that’s easy to care for, set this plant up as a backdrop to containers filled with Succulents!