By Debby Looney

Have you bare walls to cover, an oil tank, or a bank on which nothing will grow? There are climbers for almost every situation, from the stately climbing rose to the wild tumble of clematis Montana.

Climbing roses are an obvious choice for many people, as they seem to flower for a long period, and are colourful. However, apart from careful training and pruning, they need sun, shelter, ventilation and care.

The rambling rose is much more resilient and grateful from early summer right through the autumn, and in some winters they flower away content with any soil and a minimum of shelter. I think the ‘Rambling Rector’ is one of the most beautiful white ramblers available. It has pure white blossoms with bright yellow stamens. ‘American Pillar' is a favourite pink of mine, and ‘canary bird’s' is a cute yellow. There is an abundance of varieties in hedgerows, mark them and take hardwood cuttings! Rambling roses are excellent for walls, though they need a lot of support, but are ideal draped over a bank.
Clematis is another favourite, from Montana in the early spring, followed by alpine varieties in March and April, to later varieties such as ‘Nelly Moser’, pink and white striped large flowers, ‘Bijoux’, pale lilac, ‘the President' intense blue flowers and very hardy, and ‘Princess Diana' which has pink bell shaped flowers throughout the summer.

OIL TANKS

Solanum crispum, or the Chilean potato plant, is an ideal plant to hide oil tanks or grow against a bank. It has long lax stems with semi evergreen leaves. It flowers throughout the summer, with either mauve ‘Glasnevin', or white flowers. It can be pruned back hard if it gets too unruly, this also encourages more flowers.

Evergreen climbers include reliable ivies, but also climbing hydrangeas. H. petiolaris is usually evergreen here, and H. seemanii is definitely evergreen. Both produce white flowers and like the shade, so northern or western walls suit them. We are all familiar with honeysuckle, but less well-known is the evergreen honeysuckle, Lonicera japonica ‘Halliana’. Covered in highly scented, pure white blooms, they fade to yellow giving it a two-toned appearance. The foliage is a rich dark green, and it tolerates a fair amount of shade.

FAST COVERAGE

For speed coverage, few plants beat Virginian creeper, also called 'Boston Ivy', or Parthenocissus. They go bright red in the autumn, but unfortunately do not flower. It is incredibly fast growing, clinging to the wall itself. It tolerates full shade but for the best autumn colour, a south or East facing wall is preferable. Clematis montana is also a very fast grower, with masses of soft pink or white flowers in the spring. If they are happy, passion flowers or Passiflora caerula, are also fast growers - and evergreen with beautiful flowers. They flower best when the roots are restricted by a path or in a pot, or if there are other plants growing close to it. In our climate a south or south-west facing wall is best as they need at least four hours of sunlight a day to flower well.