How can I put a waterfall against an ugly, grey brick wall?

Question

About six months ago, our neighbors decided they want to hire the cheapest labor possible to build this ugly grey brick wall. I mean this is not only ugly grey, but it appears that these people had never built a brick wall before.

Needless to say, it's not going anywhere. Right now it's just grass, a lemon tree on the left side, and the wall. So I wanted to pretty it up with a water feature with boulders, a waterfall, and a koi pond. But how do I do this tropical effect without it looking awkwardly out of place with the bricks behind it?

Answer 1

plant a screen of shrubs against the wall or nearby..... then do your waterfall in front of them..... or put up your own fence on your side of the property line to hide theirs..

http://www.crystal-waters.biz/portfolio/...

.. maybe a series of trellis panels with pretty vines on them?...like this maybe with a pretty shrub between a few?..

http://www.hendoncreation.com/Images%20-...

had to laff when I found this one...

http://www.ewglandscaping.com/images/320...

have fun out there!!!...

Answer 2

I agree with the bamboo idea but I think you should go with the runners.  Here in Las Vegas Almost all houses/properties are seperated by "prison grey" cinderblock walls.  I built some raised beds to prevent the spread (2.5 to 3 feet high) and the bamboo did the rest.  It filled in and completely coverd the wall behind it in less than two years.

Answer 3

Try planting "clumping bamboo" along the brick line to hid the wall.

'DO NOT PLANT RUNNING BAMBOO' it is the one that is invasive. (unless of course you were to put in a rhizone barrier.

********************Running vs. Clumping:

There are basically two kinds of bamboo: running, which is native to temperate regions in China and Japan and comprises the majority of bamboo in cultivation, and clumping, which comes originally from tropical and subtropical areas.

http://www.berkeleyhort.com/plants/p_bam...

******************OR BETTER YET****************

Types of Ornamental Grasses there is a large selection and they are easy to grow and not too expensive.

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/grasses/typ...

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/grasses/typ...

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/grasses/typ...

Answer 4

How much space do you have?  If you've got a bit of space, I'd plant some clumping bamboo to hide the wall, as others have suggested, and then build your waterfall and pond in *front* of the bamboo.  I agree that a natural rock waterfall will look quite artificial against a backdrop of ugly grey brick.

If you don't have that much space, though, then maybe you could go for a slightly different kind of water feature?  I'm thinking of something less naturalistic-looking than a boulder waterfall: like a nice wall fountain or set of wall fountains that empty into your koi pond.  You could attach trellis or wires to the brick and grow vines on it to surround the fountain and hide both the tubing for the fountains and the ugly brick itself.  If you live someplace where you can keep lemon trees, I'm assuming you could go for climbing fig? It wouldn't be quite as naturalistic-looking, but it might suit the space better, and you would still have your pond and greenery, and the sound of running water, and no ugly grey brick in your face.