Green Fingers: Social climbers with lofty aspirations
With the scented honeysuckle types the choice can be narrowed to ‘Serotina’ rose-purple and ‘Halliana’ with white and yellow flowers.
There are very few areas in the world where you will not find social climbers.
They are so diverse and variable that they are sometimes not recognisable at first, until much later, when they have been around a bit and you can see their true colours.
There are some social climbers that never make the grade but have an unassuming beauty of their own or are able to brazen it out in tough conditions. Into this category are the common ivies, which are almost never planted but manage to make their presence felt all over the country.
They are attractive with shiny new foliage in the spring, later turning a dark green, but they are too invasive and common so are considered a menace in our Irish gardens, whereas they are coveted in Europe and planted widely in landscapes.
We do, however, plant the coloured versions in our garden and good varieties include the large-leaved ‘Paddy’s Pride’ and ‘Dentata Variegata’, while ‘Goldchild’ and ‘Goldheart’ are small-leaved versions, all useful for rough concrete walls.
There are some that can be rated ‘First Class’ and they do not shout from the rooftops but from humble beginnings will in time mature into sophisticated climbers by their own merits, which comes from quality breeding.
Into this we include clematis, honeysuckle and wisteria, all of which will need some support as they develop, otherwise they will fall and collapse with the first heavy wind or rain.
The colour range of clematis is huge and I would just go for any variety that takes your interest at the time but ‘Multi-Blue’ – Double blue, and either ‘The President’ or ‘Perle d’Azur’ are good single blue varieties, ‘Rebecca’ and ‘Rouge Cardinal’ are good reds, while ‘Bee’s Jubilee’ is one of many two tone coloured types.
With the scented honeysuckle types the choice can be narrowed to ‘Serotina’ rose-purple and ‘Halliana’ with white and yellow flowers.
The wisterias are either white or mostly in shades of blue, such as ‘Prolific’ and ‘Macrobotrys’.
There are some climbers, which I would not plant and have not ever recommended and I am glad to say they are seldom offered for sale and this includes the ‘Russian Vine’ or “Mile a minute Vine”, which says it all and used to take over entire buildings or sheds with horrendous results.
Other climbers that I avoid for certain reasons include Ampelopsis, Campsis, Green Hop and summer Jasmine.
In contrast, I swing from wanting climbing roses to not bothering at all because of the care they require and my lack of interest in using chemicals on my plants.
So far, this season has been close to what we might consider ideal for growing plants.
Warm conditions without too much rain meant that plants flourished while the weeds were sluggish with weak, soft growth, which was easily managed. It is not too late to plant new flowers and this can be done for the next four weeks with almost anything.
If you have any queries or comments you are welcome to share them with me on 051-384273 or orchardstowngardencentre@hotmail.com and if of general interest I will include it in a future article.
