Category Archives: Vine Covered Walls

Seasonal Changes of Vine Covered Walls

Posted on December 29, 2011 | 1 Comment

Well designed and maintained vines on a wall  can improve the appearance of a building by adding texture and beauty. We are fortunate to have some very nice vine-covered walls in the Mt Airy – Chestnut Hill area.  While most people are familiar with the evergreen English Ivy,  Wisteria and Boston Ivy are deciduous  vines that are better suited for building wall covers.

Here is a link to a previous post on Chestnut Hill vine-covered wall. Here are links to: Vine basics,  Use of vines on Buildings

Here are several examples of seasonal changes in  Wisteria and Boston Ivy covered wall in the Chestnut Hill – Mt Airy area.

Robertson in Chestnut Hill has a beautiful Wisteria vine covering the E  Highland Ave side of their  wall. Here are photos of their vine-covered wall in summer and winter of 2011.

Click photos to enlarge

Robertson's Wisteria Wall: Summer 2011

Robertson's Wisteria Wall: Winter - 2011

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Posted in Beautification, Vine Covered Walls

Devon Village Wall: Looking for a Win – Win Solution

Posted on July 4, 2011 | Leave a comment

This  PDF:

  • Explores the concept of “reasonable costs” for beautification of Devon Village Wall
  • Examines the costs for stucco repairs to the Devon Village wall
  • Reviews research on the impact of vines on masonry wall
  • Assess the suitability of vines for Devon Village Wall sections
  • Evaluates what is needed to grow vines along Devon Village Wall
  • Identifies cost factors for Devon Village Wall vine cover
  • Presents Devon Village Wall Vine Cover Cost worksheet
  • Evaluates Win-Win Results from Devon Village Wall vine cover

Links:

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Posted in Devon Village, General, Pocket Park, Repair, Vine Covered Walls

Vine Covered Walls in Chestnut Hill

Posted on June 21, 2011 | 1 Comment

During the 6/13/11 EMAN meeting, concerns were raised about the use of vines on the Devon Village Front Wall because of potential damage to the wall. This is a fair concern and warrants a careful review.

There is a great deal of information on the impact of vines on masonry walls.  A future post will discuss the topic in some detail.

This post highlights the current use of vines on Chestnut Hill walls. There are a number of examples, including a florist shop, a garden shop as well as a office supply store using vines to cover part of their masonry walls.  The following slide show shows how Chestnut Hill building owners  are using vines to beautify their already good looking walls.

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Can you imagine how Boston ivy, Virginia creeper or Wisteria could beautify the Devon Village Front Wall?

Much of the bad reputation that vines have gotten is from English ivy which is considered an invasive plant that grows continuously and has the potential to damage masonry.  English ivy is not an appropriate vine for Devon Village Front Wall and should not be considered for use.

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Posted in Vine Covered Walls