Climbing Plants for Colour, Scent and Screening

On a warm summers evening what’s better relaxing beneath a climber clad pergola or against a warm wall smothered in fragrant blooms?  There are all sorts of climbers available in our local garden centres and nurseries. Which to choose to cover a pergola, fence, arch or an obelisk can be a tricky when you’re faced with so many.
Colourful Climbers
Clematis are rightly popular, they come in such a huge range of colours and there’s one for every site and every season.  The brightest and most bold are the summer flowering hybrids like ‘The President’ & ‘Hagley Hybrid’. They flower prolifically on long shoots from May to September depending on the variety.  These love sunny spots but the alpine and macropetala types will cope with shady spots too. Clematis climb by wrapping their leaf stems around supports, so wires stretched over a surface will give them the means to spread......

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For fragrance
The much loved Honeysuckle (aka Lonicera) is the most iconic of fragrant climbers. The scent can knock your socks off on a warm sunny day!  Varieties like ‘Graham Thomas’ and ‘Halliana’ have lovely yellow blooms where as ‘Serotina’ or ‘Belgica’ have a pink blush. Honeysuckle twines so it needs something for support – preferably trellis or batons as wire itself can just cut into the stems causing problems later.
Roses are a classic with blousy blooms with richly scent from spring to late summer.  ‘Climbing roses’ are well behaved for smaller spaces and ‘Ramblers’ are best suited to large spaces where they can extend their long stems up, over and along.
Evergreens
If you’ve an unsightly building to cover or screen then evergreens are of most use as they will give all year round interest. A popular choice in this situation is Ivy (aka Hedera), left to its own devices it can become unruly and damage the surface it sticks to but if it is trimmed and contained it can give great colour in green, gold to silver shades along with berries once mature.  If you’d like some flowers too try Clematis armandii and the gorgeous Star Jasmine (aka Trachelospermum jasminoides) have scented blooms in spring/summer and are clothed in glossy green leaves all year.
Self-clinging types
Self-clinging climbers are really useful for areas which have tricky access. Ivy is the best known type but Virginia creeper (aka Parthenocissus)  have adventitious roots too, which develop along the stems and stick themselves to the surface. The former has wonderfully colourful foliage in autumn and the later is clothed in the most heady fragrant blooms through summer. Keep these contained to ensure they don’t cause damage to gutters, wood work and brick work on older buildings.
Annual Climbers
For temporary screening or to clothe arches and obelisks it’s worth trying annual climbers like Sweet Peas, Morning Glory (Ipomea) and Black Eyed Susan (Thunbergia). Buy seeds for these from the garden centre and sow inside in the spring, then plant out after the frosts have gone and they will grow rapidly and flower throughout the summer months. 

Whatever you choose, remember to opt for a selection of plants which will provide colour and interest throughout the year. 

If you’re looking for garden design or planting advice, I offer a tailor made service from consultations & planting plans to full garden rejuvenation projects.  Give me a call to discuss your requirements or check out my website for more details. Tel. 07506 750250 www.belgrierson.co.uk  

Author: Bel Grierson

Expert Plantswoman and Garden Designer with 20 years experience in horticulture.  Bel loves to share her knowledge and enthusiasm with those with gardens large and small.

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