Climbers

A garden needs vertical interest. Climbers, trained plants and creepers are the ideal plants for achieving this. They can grow against the wall of a building or envelop a column or pergola. Climbers can also be used to camouflage an ugly shed. Because they take up so little space at ground level, they are perfect for small gardens.

Climbing plants

Most climbing plants are perennial, woody shrubs. They last for years and are very suitable for decorating buildings, garden walls and special structural elements such as a pergola. The fast growers can be used to camouflage ugly structures. Most climbers are deciduous and bring their main decorative value in summer. Only a few are evergreen (ivy) and attractive throughout the year.

If you make your choice carefully it is possible to have some sort of climber in bloom for most of the year. The season starts in April with Clematis alpina and Clematis macropetala and ends with winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum), which flowers from the end of November to March. Flowering only stops temporarily during frost.