Side Passages

What to do with the side passage

Part 1

You know the one: not (seemingly) large enough to do anything useful in or with but a large enough space to allow storage of all sorts of “useful” stuff. At least that’s how it starts. The reality soon enough becomes storage of all kinds of stuff, most of it not useful at all and never found when needed. A mess. So some expand the house over it so that you can have more indoor storage.

But I am here to tell you: forget that. This is part of your garden. It will, if you look at it, during different times of the day, get some sun. Shade too can be made beautiful. It can be made a place of joy.

So this is what I did with the two side passages of our house. This first part relates to an unbelievably messy side passage, filled with all sorts of rubbish over many years. The passage is also sloped.

Clearing – of rubble, broken tools, rusted tools, bags of damp wood etc – filled a couple of skips. Then the very overgrown leylandii was dug up. What seemed dark and narrow actually turned out to be usefully wide and with much more light. It gets the morning sun which also warms the house wall.

At the bottom, two existing fruit trees remained: an apple and a pear tree.

The old fence was taken down, slate tiles laid down and posts for trellis-style fencing put in.

I love trellis fencing. It lets in light; it is much easier to grow climbers up it (none of that faffing around with hooks and wires) and it provides views while giving some privacy. Two bin stores with green roofs were put in place and one solitary daphne – a magnificent winter-scented bush – planted.

A view from the top of the passage. Next door’s hydrangea are visible and, in the distance, the hills on the other side of the Duddon estuary.

At the top of the passage, screens were put to hide the heat pump and provide a storage place for pots and working area. The space between the screens turned out narrower than I planned so it is a bit of a squeeze, an informal way of making sure that I don’t become unnecessarily plump. Madame Alfred Carriere roses are planted in pots to grow up the screens and over a pergola on the next level up.

This rose is an absolute star. A climber, she needs space. Makes no fuss and flowers for ever. I have had her in flower as early as April and as late as December.

A view from above in summer 2021. A second daphne has been planted and grasses round the edge to catch the wind. 3 Gertrude Jekyll roses have been planted against the trellis. Alliums, agapanthus and alchemila mollis have been planted, along with euphorbia wulfenii and euphorbia mellifera.

Further up the side passage I have indulged my love of pots and created a Mediterranean corner with more Gertrude Jekyll roses, lemons, limes, oranges, fig trees and vines. The passage is sunny and sheltered and protected from the wind. Wisterias have also been planted in the hope that they will grow up a not very prepossessing wall.

The citrus – with one exception – have survived the worst a Lake District winter can do. The first winter I brought them all inside the house. Bizarrely, one of the lemon trees which seemed to be OK when I brought it out again did not survive. The second winter of 2022-23 I did not bring them in and they are all thriving.

Similarly, the green roofs have thrived. I planted two aloe polyphylla. They are meant to be hardy but have not coped with the recent endless heavy rain.

The other big advantage of trellis fencing is that it allows smaller pots to be hung on it: ideal for showing off plants like auriculas, hostas and herbs

After all this hard work, the really hard work began: planting hundreds of tulips, alliums and spring bulbs for my first full spring. Would they come up? Would they be stolen by squirrels?

So you can imagine my delight when this was the result the following spring.