Clear plastic sheeting try wilkos flooring mebraine £10 for 12m I have used this stuff and its clear an very strong and you can cut to shape size etc

Ivy is very tough and well suited to growing in shade, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Hello Steveg1966,

I had a look at this product and seems alright. If I could tie it around bamboo sticks and prick small holes in it, it might justdo the trick. Thanks.

When you said that you had used this stuff, did you actully use it for garden as a windbreaker? or did you use it for other purpose and you know that is is good strength?

Just asking so that I could ask you what you exactly did for garden use?

Thanks
Sam

Beattie, Thanks for your reply. I agree with you but since the plants are too young I thought they would need a bit of sunlight until their roots are settled. I only planted them yesterday.
Thanks
Sam

The winds are very high at the moment, but you don't need anything special to erect a temporary shelter - just insert bamboo canes at appropriate points and shove an old sheet or tarpaulin either over the top, or attach to the canes to make an open shelter. Remove as soon as the winds die down by tomorrow. If the plants are small enough, another option is to use large lemonade or coke bottles, cut the tops and bottom off so you've got a tube, pop that over the plant temporarily, pushed into the soil to keep them in place. But even if you do nothing, the plants will survive, regardless of how tatty they may look by tomorrow. and they don't need protection for any other reason.

Bamboos Idea with the bottles will certainly do the trick and is the cheapest I have used membraine on floors as it should be used also I have used as covers for outside as its very strong stuff.

I did wonder if the plastic sheeting would blow away, our dustbins did yesterday.

'Horticultural wind break mesh' and 'shade mesh' are one and the same thing I believe. It is reckoned to give about 40% light reduction. I use it for a variety of situations. Small quantities are available. Your Garden Centre may well have it, or HarrodsHorticultural.com, etc. (You can ask them or other Hort' suppliers to send you a sample). I don't know of there being any mesh capable of cutting down wind which will not reduce light also.

Thanks guys for all your replies.

I did actually find a Clear plastic sheet in Strikes Garden centre here in Leeds.

As Beatie thought, even I thought that it would be blown away by strong winds.Then I thought that I could just make small holes in it to let a little wind pass through to avoid that.

Eventually I decided to spend £15 more and got 1 foot high willow edging role.
Since I also have a gravel around the this was a permanent solution to stop gravel rolling/scattering near the plants.

I have now put the edging around the young plants in a 3/4th of a circle fashion.Since the willows sticks are quite closely spaced, this is doing the job well. It actually is looking quite nice as a contrast to my "yorshire Cream" gravel. It is also not entirely blocking the sunlight.

At the moment the edging is 11 inches above the ground and able to protect young small plants. In the cold winter I might add plastic sheet outside the willow edging and make tiny holes. Once the plant find their roots and grow stronger then I will just hammer the edging further down in the soil to leave only 4-6 inches above the ground so that they don't block the sunlight at all an dstill continue to provide the barrier to gravel.

Thanks
Sam.

Can I just say, Kurlakid, that if you're talking about your Hedera plants, they're as tough as old boots and unless you've bought a tender variety, they will have no trouble coming through a winter entirely unprotected, though keeping them sheltered now won't help, because they'll grow in that microclimate and then be shocked when the winter comes. These are not hothouse delicates, they're extremely hardy plants and will, in fact, take over the world when humans are gone, and very rapidly too.

Thanks Bamboo for your advice.

I have bought tougher "Helix" varieties and only 1 "Colchica" variety, all from www.fibrex.co.uk who are specialists in Hederas and was told that they are all winter hardy.

This is my first go at gardening and so I am over protective I guess.

I agree with you and would not create any microclimate for them now. I will only use the edging to keep gravel tidy and leave Hederas to do what they know best .. grow anywhere.

Thanks
Sam/kurlakid

Oh good - enjoy your ivies, and your garden, in fact;-))