HOW TO HIDE UGLY OUTDOOR STRUCTURES
If the upper part of your porch looks bare, you can make use of hanging baskets to give them a natural touch. Esther Murungi, the Managing Director of Miracle Gardens and Landscapes, at Buziga, a Kampala suburb tells us how:
Bringing your porch to life
What do you do if you have ugly but useful structures in your garden like septic tanks and food gardens that you would rather hide?
Judith Mwima Kalyango, a gardener, landscaper and Managing Director of Jane’s Villa in Busega, Lungujja tells us how:
Hibiscus
She says, “You can hide ugly outdoor structures like garages using Hibiscus flower plants in different colours. Hibiscus creates a nice thicket and grows tall. Let it grow to the height at which you would wish to have it grow, then trim it at that height. It would be better to mix the flower colours, so that it can look nice. Mix the pinks and whites with reds.
Palms
Palms are also useful for hiding garages. They have nice thick leaves that would draw attention to them instead. Also, depending on the way your garage may have been set up, you could create a sitting area at the back of the palms and the hedge, so as to utilise that space. The sitting area would be beside the garage, so that a person looking at the scene from the outside would not be able to see the garage, but there would be enough space for your car to get in and out.
Plants on trees
If you have dead trees in your compound, use them instead of drilling holes in your porch walls. Don’t cut them down completely. Drill nails into the trunks and hang your potted plants and baskets on them. They would also hide the dead tree structure.
Gardens on tree trunk bottoms
Create gardens at the bottom of your tree trunks using Ferns. Mix them with a pop of colour. For example, if you mixed Roses with Ferns, they would fill out the bottoms of your tree trunks beautifully.
Creepers
Hide pergolas using creepers. A good creeper would be the Thumbegia because it has wide, green leaves and is bushy. It would provide shade as well as beautify your pergolas. If you mixed it with creeper Roses that grow tall, they would give your foliage some colour. Plant your creepers either directly in the soil or in pots.
Hedges
Use a hedge like Dulanta to hide the septic tank. Plant it around the septic tank and let it grow to a desirable height and maintain it at that height. Allow access to the septic tank for maintenance works by creating a path in the hedge somewhere. If you have a food garden with matooke, sugarcane and the like in it, use a colourful hedge to hide it. For example you could use the Orange Lantana Camara and mix it with Hibiscus. Let them grow tall and maintain them at a desirable height by trimming them regularly. They would separate that area from the area where your visitors would sit, so that they would not have to look into the food garden.
Potted plants
To hide bare porch walls, drill wrought iron stands onto the walls and stand potted plants or baskets in them. They give life to walls. Also, children would not be able to reach your plants, because of the height. This method should also de-clutter your porch. So, before you plant your garden, proper planning, that would involve colours, heights, growth habits and maintenance requirements of your chosen plants would be key.
