Taking Your Garden To New Heights:
 Cultivating Climbing Plants
 

Of all the plants and animals Charles Darwin studied, the British naturalist devoted an entire book to the subject of climbing plants. Published in 1875, Darwin’s The Movements And Habits Of Climbing Plants marveled at these plants’ ability to adapt to difficult surroundings and flourish in the face of adversity.

Most gardeners share this sense of wonder about climbing plants. Climbers can scale fences, walls, rocks, and even other plants in an effort to grow to full height. Gardeners who find climbers growing unwelcome in their yards are surprised to see how sinewy they are, how rapidly they develop, and how tough it is to pull them out.

But you can only appreciate these plants’ true tenacity by seeing them in action. Watch Morning Glory’s nubile green vines twine around the slenderest supports. See ivy try to sink its adventitious roots into anything, including the siding on a house. Observe climbing roses use their tendrils, leaves, and thorns to tighten a grip around a trellis or other structure.

The persistence of climbing plants, however, is one of the reasons savvy gardeners love them and frequently use them to decorate their gardens. Climbing plants can camouflage garden sheds, walls, or chain link fencing while soften the appearance of a garden. Since the plants grow quickly, climbers can be used as ground covering to hide bare spots or cover hard to mow areas. Using trellises, bamboo tripods, or other supports, some gardeners craft beautiful screens with climbing plants to block unsightly views and create privacy. Others plant ivy around their house to age the appearance of their home. Gardeners may even plant climbers on a southern wall of their home to keep the house cooler during the summer.

Most importantly, climbing plants can add a beautiful touch to any garden. Trellises aren’t complete without honeysuckle or rose blooms hanging from them. Arbors lose their effect without grape vines tendrils curling off them. Even the most attractive fixture in a yard looks better with the slender green tendrils of a climbing plant wrapped around it.

Nearly every plant group contains a climbing variety, so it is not hard to select climbing plants for your garden. The following lists some of the more common climbing plants:

·    Clematis produces beautiful, fragrant flowers that bloom in the late spring and early summer. Although most varieties of clematis grow well in moist soil with full sun and a little shade, there are several varieties of this plant, so you can match the variety to the plant’s use. 

·    Creeping Jenny has small yellow flowers that bloom in midsummer. An ideal ground cover, it grows quickly in moist, shady areas.

·    Honeysuckle is another fragrant flower that grows well in full sun. With all the varieties of this plant available, you can select the right one for your garden. This hardy plant can be nurtured from cuttings and flourish in nearly all climates. 

·    Jasmine may look like a delicate vine with star-shaped pink, white, or yellow flowers, but don’t be fooled. When planted in a sheltered area, jasmine can grow so rapidly and aggressively that it needs frequent pruning.

·    Morning Glory is an annual that also grows quickly. With bright blue, pink, purple, or scarlet blooms, this plant can grow in the ground or a container as long as the soil is well-drained and it is placed in a sunny spot. 

·    Passion Flower produces dramatic scented flowers that are sure to bring butterflies to your yard. Although it needs protection from frost in cooler areas, you can cultivate this plant in any sunny spot.

·    Roses, rambling or climbing, need no explanation. Since care of these climbers is the same as their non-climbing varieties, they need more attention than most climbing plants. The results are fragrant flowers that, in some climbing varieties, bloom in clusters.

·    Sweet Pea comes in a range of colors and grows best in cooler climates. These annuals need full sun and well-drained soil. Sweet Pea thrives best when planted in a different place each year.