Wildlife garden

A green wall with climbers: how to start

Create a green wall with a climber planted 30–50 cm from the wall: ivy and climbing hydrangea cling by themselves, while honeysuckle, hop and traveller’s joy twine and need wires or a trellis.

Updated on 10 October 2026

What to do

Choose the wall: ivy and climbing hydrangea also grow on a north wall, honeysuckle and hop want more sun.
Check the wall: self-clinging climbers such as ivy do not damage sound brickwork, but they do work into cracks and loose mortar. Repair those first.
For twining climbers, fix sturdy wires or a trellis 5–10 cm from the wall.
Plant in March–April or October–November, 30–50 cm from the wall, in a planting hole with good soil, and water in dry spells during the first year.
Keep the plant away from gutters, roof tiles and windows by pruning once a year, outside the nesting season.

Caution: Ivy, traveller’s joy and honeysuckle berries are poisonous to people and pets.

Why it helps

A planted wall cools the house in summer, holds a little warmth in winter and gives birds nest sites and insects shelter, even in a garden without open ground.
Ivy flowers from September to November, when almost nothing else is in bloom, and carries berries in late winter: one of the best plants for wildlife in a small space.

Which plants?

Common ivy Hedera helix Climber · flowers September–November NativePoisonous
Common honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum Climber · flowers June–September NativePoisonous
Hop Humulus lupulus Climber · flowers July–August Native
Traveller’s joy Clematis vitalba Climber · flowers July–September NativePoisonous
Climbing hydrangea Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris Climber · flowers June–July

When?

March–April and October–November.

Garden jobs in March Garden jobs in April Garden jobs in October Garden jobs in November

Take up the challenge

Put up a nest box (February–March)
Hang a nest box 2 to 3 m up, with the opening facing east or south-east, out of the strong sun and wind.

Go to Challenges and badges

Did you know? Ivy has two kinds of leaf: lobed on the climbing stems, and oval on the flowering shoots at the top, which no longer climb.

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