What grows here?

Screening in the depth of a wall rather than the width of a hedge.

• Light: About 36.8 moles a day against an ideal of 22. There is no stated ceiling for this group, but that is a lot more light than it is built for.
• Moisture: Moisture here sits inside what this group will accept.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: The support carries the load, and most trellis sold for this is not fixed well enough to hold a wet mature climber.

Examples, not recommendations: Trachelospermum; Evergreen clematis in mild areas; Ivy where it is not a nuisance. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Fast, tall, evergreen screening, and the one plant most likely to become somebody else's problem.

• Light: About 36.8 moles a day, against an ideal of 26. This is the right light band.
• Moisture: Moisture here sits inside what this group will accept.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: Only clumping species, and only with a root barrier. Running bamboo in a small garden is a decade-long regret.

Examples, not recommendations: Clumping Fargesia. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

The classic answer to a sightline when there is no room for a hedge.

• Hardiness: Zone 9.1 is outside this group's usual range of 5 to 9. Hardiness is a floor, not a plan.
• Light: About 36.8 moles a day against an ideal of 22. There is no stated ceiling for this group, but that is a lot more light than it is built for.
• Moisture: Moisture here sits inside what this group will accept.

Watch for: Narrow forms lose their shape if the top is ever cut. Buy the mature height you want.

Examples, not recommendations: Columnar hornbeam; Italian cypress in mild dry climates; Upright yew in cool climates. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Dense all year, and it wants more width than people allow for.

• Light: About 36.8 moles a day against an ideal of 24. There is no stated ceiling for this group, but that is a lot more light than it is built for.
• Moisture: Moisture here sits inside what this group will accept.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: A hedge kept below its natural width thins at the base, which is exactly where a seated sightline runs.

Examples, not recommendations: Yew; Portuguese laurel; Holly. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Shade over a pergola in July and bare timber in January, which is usually exactly right.

• Light: About 36.8 moles a day, against an ideal of 30. This is the right light band.
• Moisture: Moisture here sits inside what this group will accept.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: Wisteria in particular puts real load on a structure. Build for it before planting it.

Examples, not recommendations: Grape vine; Wisteria, given the structure for it; Virginia creeper. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Summer shade that gives the winter sun back. The best shade device there is, and the slowest.

• Hardiness: Zone 9.1 is outside this group's usual range of 4 to 9. Hardiness is a floor, not a plan.
• Light: About 36.8 moles a day, against an ideal of 30. This is the right light band.
• Moisture: Moisture here sits inside what this group will accept.

Watch for: Mature spread is the number that matters, and it is almost always larger than the space allowed.

Examples, not recommendations: Field maple; Serviceberry; Hop hornbeam. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Built for hard sun, sharp drainage and being ignored.

• Moisture: Moisture here sits inside what this group will accept.
• Light: About 36.8 moles a day, against an ideal of 34. This is the right light band.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: Wet feet in winter kills these more reliably than cold does. Drainage, not hardiness, is the question.

Examples, not recommendations: Lavender; Rosemary; Cistus. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Wants a hot wall in summer and somewhere frost-free in winter, which makes it a decision about storage as much as position.

• Light: About 36.8 moles a day, against an ideal of 32. This is the right light band.
• Moisture: Moisture here sits inside what this group will accept.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: It is the winter that costs. Somewhere bright, frost-free and unheated is a harder brief than the summer position.

Examples, not recommendations: Lemon; Calamondin; Kumquat. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

The thing that stops a bed looking empty in February.

• Light: About 36.8 moles a day against an ideal of 20. There is no stated ceiling for this group, but that is a lot more light than it is built for.
• Moisture: Moisture here sits inside what this group will accept.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: Clipped evergreens in containers dry out from the root ball in, and the damage shows a season late.

Examples, not recommendations: Box alternatives such as Japanese holly; Pittosporum; Osmanthus. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Screening in the depth of a wall rather than the width of a hedge.

• Light: About 36.8 moles a day against an ideal of 22. There is no stated ceiling for this group, but that is a lot more light than it is built for.
• Moisture: Moisture here sits inside what this group will accept.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: The support carries the load, and most trellis sold for this is not fixed well enough to hold a wet mature climber.

Examples, not recommendations: Trachelospermum; Evergreen clematis in mild areas; Ivy where it is not a nuisance. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

The only group that will take a shallow, baking, exposed substrate and stay alive without watering.

• Moisture: Moisture here sits inside what this group will accept.
• Light: About 36.8 moles a day, against an ideal of 38. This is the right light band.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: It fails in shade, not in drought. Under an overhang or a parapet shadow it thins out and the substrate takes over.

Examples, not recommendations: Sedum album; Sedum spurium; Sempervivum in the gaps. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

For roofs, gravel and anywhere the answer to drainage is 'very'.

• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Light: About 36.8 moles a day, against an ideal of 36. This is the right light band.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: Winter wet is the killer, not winter cold. In a wet climate these need overhead cover as much as drainage.

Examples, not recommendations: Sedum; Sempervivum; Delosperma. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Built for thin, sharp-draining ground in hard light. Wet feet kill these long before cold does.

• Hardiness: Zone 9.1 is outside this group's usual range of 3 to 8. Hardiness is a floor, not a plan.
• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Light: About 36.8 moles a day, against an ideal of 34. This is the right light band.

Watch for: Almost nothing here is about temperature. Winter wet at the crown is what finishes them, so drainage beats hardiness every time.

Examples, not recommendations: Saxifrage; Sempervivum; Dianthus in gritty soil. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

The workhorse of a north-facing bed that gets a couple of hours of sun.

• Light: About 36.8 moles a day is well past the 28 this group tolerates. Expect scorch and bolting rather than slow decline.
• Hardiness: Zone 9.1 is outside this group's usual range of 4 to 9. Hardiness is a floor, not a plan.
• Moisture: Moisture here sits inside what this group will accept.

Watch for: These fail from dryness under a wall or a tree far more often than they fail from shade.

Examples, not recommendations: Hellebore; Geranium; Hosta where slugs allow. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

The most light-hungry thing most people try to grow, and the one most often put in the wrong place.

• Light: About 36.8 moles a day, against an ideal of 38. This is the right light band.
• Moisture: Moisture here sits inside what this group will accept.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: Leaves grow at fifteen moles a day; fruit needs more than twenty. That gap is why people get plants and no crop.

Examples, not recommendations: Tomato; Pepper; Courgette. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Wants a hot wall, a lot of light and someone who waters it.

• Light: About 36.8 moles a day, against an ideal of 35. This is the right light band.
• Moisture: Moisture here sits inside what this group will accept.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: A container against a sunlit wall can run twenty degrees above air temperature. That is a watering problem, not a light problem.

Examples, not recommendations: Basil; Thyme in a deep pot; Oregano. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Built for hard sun, sharp drainage and being ignored.

• Moisture: Moisture here sits inside what this group will accept.
• Light: About 36.8 moles a day, against an ideal of 34. This is the right light band.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: Wet feet in winter kills these more reliably than cold does. Drainage, not hardiness, is the question.

Examples, not recommendations: Lavender; Rosemary; Cistus. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Wants a hot wall in summer and somewhere frost-free in winter, which makes it a decision about storage as much as position.

• Light: About 36.8 moles a day, against an ideal of 32. This is the right light band.
• Moisture: Moisture here sits inside what this group will accept.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: It is the winter that costs. Somewhere bright, frost-free and unheated is a harder brief than the summer position.

Examples, not recommendations: Lemon; Calamondin; Kumquat. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

The most light-hungry thing most people try to grow, and the one most often put in the wrong place.

• Light: About 36.8 moles a day, against an ideal of 38. This is the right light band.
• Moisture: Moisture here sits inside what this group will accept.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: Leaves grow at fifteen moles a day; fruit needs more than twenty. That gap is why people get plants and no crop.

Examples, not recommendations: Tomato; Pepper; Courgette. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Wants a hot wall, a lot of light and someone who waters it.

• Light: About 36.8 moles a day, against an ideal of 35. This is the right light band.
• Moisture: Moisture here sits inside what this group will accept.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: A container against a sunlit wall can run twenty degrees above air temperature. That is a watering problem, not a light problem.

Examples, not recommendations: Basil; Thyme in a deep pot; Oregano. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

For roofs, gravel and anywhere the answer to drainage is 'very'.

• Moisture: This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does.
• Light: About 36.8 moles a day, against an ideal of 36. This is the right light band.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: Winter wet is the killer, not winter cold. In a wet climate these need overhead cover as much as drainage.

Examples, not recommendations: Sedum; Sempervivum; Delosperma. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.

Built for hard sun, sharp drainage and being ignored.

• Moisture: Moisture here sits inside what this group will accept.
• Light: About 36.8 moles a day, against an ideal of 34. This is the right light band.
• Reflected heat: Surface heat here is not the limiting factor.

Watch for: Wet feet in winter kills these more reliably than cold does. Drainage, not hardiness, is the question.

Examples, not recommendations: Lavender; Rosemary; Cistus. What is right here is a question for a nursery that can see the site.