Perfect climber for an ignoramus

[Quattrocento]

Please would green-fingered MNers give me some ideas for the perfect climbers?

I'd like them to be hardy and fragrant and pretty.

This part of the garden is meant to be all lilac and blues. There's a dwarf stone wall (stone is honey coloured) and a fence behind this stretch.

We've taken out lots of ivy because it was very unlovely and went everywhere and choked everything else and managed to interfere with the neighbours garage roof (don't quite understand how) so I'd like something a little less rampant.

[Lotster]

Jasmine takes a litle while to grow but stays all year round and is lovely.

[mrsmaidamess]

Passion flower is virtually impossible to kill, spreads like billy -o and has lovely purply exotic flowers. It loves sun.

[thumbwitch]

fragrant and pretty = sweet peas. But they are annuals, i.e. need to be re-sown every year. Still, if you can stand that they'll fulfil your other requirements - hope your ignoramus is happy to be covered in a climber!

[Tinker]

Clematis? Honeysuckle? Winter jasmine?

[Lotster]

Montana clematis grows like buggery. Not evergreen though.

[Quattrocento]

Ooh thank you for all the suggestions, am googling now

Have found this plantfinder so can see all your suggestions

[Lulubee]

I'd second honesysuckle as something that grows quickly, stays evergreen, smells divine and attracts loads of bees. But is not purple. I've got 2 different varieties growing together and it's really pretty.

[Tn0g]

Honeysuckle, perhaps?

< mwah >

[Quattrocento]

This is a common honeysuckle and it looks vairy nice but it says that it is only suitable for experienced gardeners. this means I am almost certain to kill it, doesn't it?

[thumbwitch]

My honeysuckle is a garden-taker-over-er though - v.rampant!

[Quattrocento]

Pink works with lilac and blue, doesn't it?

[Tinker]

We hacked at pruned our honeysuckle last year and it's growing again. We're not gardeners, let alone experienced ones.

[Clwc]

Wisteria, wisteria, and more wisteria!

It ranges from cream to blue to lilac and pinky purple, and it smells divine (in May). Also not evergreen though.

[thumbwitch]

QC, see that word "vigorous" - that is gardener speak for "grows like a bastard and takes over everything in sight if you let it, needs pruning every week or so to keep it in check..." - or, as you put it, is "rampant".


Oh, yes, pink works with lilac and blue. Better than yellow would.

[Pannacotta]

Honeysuckle is very vigourous and gets very tangled with lots of dead work, I dont recommend it for an easy climber.
What is most important, colour or scent?
When you want flowers, spring, early/late summer?

For lilac flowers and easy to grow I'd suggest a Solanum
www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/860.shtml

For scent you can't beat Wisteria but it is far from easy as it needs careful pruning twice a year to flower well (ok if you have good gardening help).
If not there are lots of pretty clematis, some easier than others.

Another good climber which is evergreen is Trachelospermum, the flowers smell lovely and it flowers for most of the summer.

[Pannacotta]

sorry, shoudl read "dead wood" not work!

[thighsmadeofcheddar]

Just jumping in on the honeysuckle bandwagon. Mine is looking dreadfully ill. Kind of withered like it's been hit with weedkiller. The last two years it's been happy but I don't know what is affecting it.
Any ideas??? I love it when it's flowering.

[Clwc]

Has your next door neighbour been sneaking the odd spray or two of Round Up here and there? Not everyone likes honeysuckle.

[Pannacotta]

thighs it might be mildew, think its quite common for honeysuckle to be affected.
DO the leaves look a bit grey and sorry for themselves?

[thighsmadeofcheddar]

It's not the neighbours so that rules out any sneaky roundup.

And Pannacotta it's not so grey, more just a very withered version of it's normal self. No new growth and only about 15% of it looking alive and healthy.

[AnonForDH]

Passiflora/Passionflower

Lovely longlasting flowers (and lots of them)
Long flowering season
Evergreen
Pretty foliage
Also bears fruit (not sure how edible) for longer season of interest
Vigorous so needs to be kept in check but not invasive like ivy.

[Pannacotta]

I'd guess it is mildew as it is pretty common with honeysuckle, esp if the ground is dry where its planted.
Havde a look here
www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardeningadvice/3348505/Garden-advice-Thorny-problems.html

[Quattrocento]

Thanks to all - really, thanks lots.

We need a few climbers so I thought I'd try them all! Well definitely the honeysuckle, the chilean potato thingy (for the name as much as anything) try some jasmine, the passionflower and a clematis. The gardening link seems to suggest they pretty well all go together. I've got some lavender and some daphnes in front.

Okay so now where do I get these climbers? Because the chances are if I go to the garden centre they won't have any of these lovely things and I will have to buy something because I've made the trip and will buy entirely the wrong thing. Do some companies sell plants online? S'pose they must.

[thumbwitch]

could you perhaps phone the garden centre before you go? They tend to be a bit seasonal about what they have in stock, and only have in the stuff that should be being planted at this time... Clematis are usually in stock in vast quantities early in the year but less so now, I think (I haven't been this year) - not sure about the other stuff.

Found this rather gorgeous pink honeysuckle that seems pretty easy to grow - see if they have one of those.

[Pannacotta]

I'd try a small local nursery if you have have, they often have better stock of climbers than garden centres and are usually much cheaper too.
If you look up one of the climbers on teh RHS Plant finder you'll see your most local stockist.
www.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantfinder/plantfinder.asp
If not there is always www.crocus.co.uk, there is a 20% off code mentioned in an earlier thread if you do a search.