Party wall: What to plant?

What is a party wall?

A party wall is a wall built on the boundary line of your property. Half of the wall on your side belongs to you, while the other half belongs to your neighbour. Each neighbour is therefore the owner of the part of the wall facing their plot, much like a shared ownership. You can maintain it, drill holes, and attach whatever you like on your side, while still adhering to certain rules that we will discuss in the next paragraph.

Conversely, a private wall is built solely on the plot of the person to whom it belongs. For example:

• If the wall was built only on your land, then it exclusively belongs to you. In this case, you can attach or plant vegetation on it, always respecting certain rules. However, your neighbour has no right to drill into it or hang plants on it.
• If the wall was built on private land or that of a neighbour, it does not belong to you. You therefore do not have the right to attach anything to it or drill into it.

Whether small or large, it is essential to determine who owns the wall before you start planting (Image by Jaesung An from Pixabay)

Can a co-owner hang whatever they want on their side of the wall?

Yes! If it’s a party wall, you can drill and hang whatever you like on your side of the wall. However, there are a few rules to follow:

Climbing plants and trained fruit trees:

• If the wall is a party wall, there is no planting distance to respect for climbing plants, as well as for trained fruit trees or those grown as espaliers.
• The plants must not exceed the height of the wall. If you wish to install larger specimens, they must be planted more than 2 m away from your wall.
• You can fix whatever you want: trellis, hanging systems, cables, and supports.
• Note that your neighbour can do the same on their side of the wall.

Trained fruit trees against a wall

Bamboos and rhizomatous plants:

• Install rhizome barriers, even against the party wall, to prevent bamboos and suckering varieties from migrating into your neighbour’s garden.

For trees and bushes:

• You must respect the minimum planting distances set by law. A hedge or bushes measuring less than 2 metres in height must be planted more than 50 cm from the boundary line. Additionally, this distance will allow for good air circulation around your bush. A tree measuring more than 2 metres in height must be planted more than 2 metres, or even 3 metres, from the boundary line.
• Be careful, the rules are different when planting near a building, to avoid damaging foundations or pipes. If this is your case, feel free to read Eva’s article: “Planting trees and bushes: what does the law say?”

Large trees exceeding 2 metres in height must be planted more than 2 metres away from a party wall (Image by Paul Edney from Pixabay)

Climbing plants and fruit trees for a party wall

Now that you know your wall is a party wall, you’ll need to choose plants suitable for your region, your soil, and the exposure of your wall. Here are some ideas to help you with your selection.

A south-facing wall:

If your wall is bathed in sunlight, you can train espalier fruit trees, such as apple trees or pear trees, as well as grapevines. And why not some squashes, or even a thornless blackberry ‘Navaho’ or ‘Triple Crown’? In Mediterranean regions, you could install a bougainvillea or a trumpet vine, while in northern France, you might prefer hops for their climbing stems and aromatic flowers. You could also install a jasmine or climbing roses for their intoxicating scents. Wisterias and clematis will provide a cascade of flowers on a support fixed to the wall. For annuals, you can sow ipomoeas, sweet peas, nasturtiums, and black-eyed Susans.

→ Find more ideas in our article: 8 climbers for a south-facing garden.

An east or west-facing wall:

In partial shade, you can also plant some climbing fruit trees, such as blackberry ‘Navaho’ or ‘Triple Crown’. However, you should favour climbing perennials for their beautiful flowers, such as wisteria, honeysuckle, and climbing hydrangeas. Don’t forget annual climbers, such as sweet peas, ipomoeas, nasturtiums, and black-eyed Susans, which will provide you with an expressive and colourful decor. You could also plant hops or ivy for their beautiful decorative foliage, and even a Virginia creeper for its leaves turning purple in the autumn chill.

A north-facing wall:

The shade provided by your wall will unfortunately prevent fruit trees from producing properly; however, you can console yourself by installing beautiful climbing plants suited to shade, such as Lonicera Japonica ‘Mint Crisp’ for its fragrant flowering. Climbing hydrangeas and ivies will also colonise a wall without any assistance, thanks to their climbing roots.

→ Discover our guide to choosing climbing plants for shade.

Wisteria ‘Okayama’, star jasmine, Virginia creeper, clematis ‘Multi Blue’, and Thunbergia ‘Tangerine Slice’

The wall is not shared and belongs to my neighbour; what can I plant?

If the wall is private, you cannot drill into it, lean against it, or fix plants onto it. You must then respect the legal planting distances:

• Plants, trees, and bushes that do not exceed 2 metres in height, including espalier fruit trees, must be planted at least 60 cm from the boundary line.
• Plants, trees, and bushes exceeding 2 m in height must be installed more than 2 metres from the boundary line. We even recommend planting at 2.5 or even 3 metres away to account for the thickening of the trunk over the years.

However, you can try to obtain a written agreement with your neighbour amicably, in order to fix to the wall.

Another option: You can install fences or a trellis 60 cm from the party wall. This will allow you to grow Clematis, Hops, Black-eyed Susans, Sweet Peas, Jasmine or Ivy, espalier fruit trees, and Lonicera. The structure and height of the plants must not exceed 2 m.

For further reading

• Find our selection of 5 climbing plants that won’t damage your walls.
• Discover our selection of 12 climbing plants for walls and facades.
• Explore all our varieties of climbing plants and our espalier fruit trees.