Why Plant Climbers?
Now spring is here we
can once again let our imaginations loose and plan for
improvements and additions to our gardens, as long as we have
spaces. But often keen gardeners find that their plot is full
to overflowing and another plant cannot be squeezed in
anywhere. The answer may be to turn our eyes skyward. Think
vertically, and you we see endless possibilities!
It is all too easy to
overlook the vertical element when we are designing a new area
or filling in existing gaps, and we may fail to appreciate the
opportunities that our garden boundaries can offer. Many
useful species of both native and non-native plants have the
climbing (or scrambling) habit, and vary in height from a
meter or so (tufted vetch, sweet pea or meadow vetchling) to
twenty or thirty meters (travellers joy, ivy or Virginia
creeper), making them suitable for just about any garden.
These versatile plants can be used to clothe walls and fences,
cover pergolas and trellis, or they can be trained through
other plants including hedges and shrubs. Climbers add to the
garden environment in many ways. As well as enhancing the
overall visual appeal with their leaves, flowers, seed heads
or stems wherever they are grown, they also increase shelter
for wildlife, some provide pollen and nectar for insects, and
others have food for mammals and birds in the form of berries
and seeds. In all, climbers are tremendously useful and the
good news is that every garden has room for more. Think in
terms of vertical space, and even the most congested garden
probably has room for a wild rose or clematis, some morning
glory or honeysuckle.
Even if you feel your
garden is already full, it is worth remembering that more
plants mean more wildlife, simply because the more diverse
your plant collection the more wildlife you will attract.
Looking upwards opens up all sorts of possibilities.
Climbers are great for
wildlife for several reasons, and a little research and some
wise choices really pay dividends. If you lack late summer
flowers, ivy will provide nectar in September, October and
even November for honeybees, hoverflies and butterflies such
as red admirals. If increasing your butterfly population is
an aim, the magenta flowers of the broad-leaved everlasting
pea are favoured by the brimstone butterfly – a species with
very particular tastes and often a rather hard insect to
please - and also the large white butterfly. If birds
are your interest, some of the small-flowered species of
Clematis have seeds to encourage finches to the garden.
Even amongst the most common and available climbers, there are
some treasures for the wildlife gardener. But as well as
their obvious food providing properties, climbers have one
very specialised and important function in the garden.
They cover bare places, whether that’s the soil on the ground
(ivy and travellers joy are examples of wild climbers that can
both be used as ground cover), and the walls of your house or
your fences, creating wildlife habitat that is especially
valuable for birds. This shelter is often used for
nesting (and can accommodate nest boxes in secluded spots),
roosting on cold nights or as a food foraging area, where dark
places hide insects of all kinds. Wrens love to search the sheltered places
behind wall climbers for small insects and spiders, and
blackbirds, robins and song thrushes often nest in the spaces
produced by trellis against a wall, where the attendant
climbers provide cover. The spotted flycatcher too, a bird
that has declined massively in the last forty years, will nest
in a small box amongst a wall climbers leaves.
Although native may be
our first choice, our wild climbers and scramblers are rather
few compared to the wealth of attractive flowering non-natives
available at garden centres, many of which have pollen and
nectar to encourage insects. The wild climbers also have a
tendency to be very vigorous, although if you are prepared for
their exuberant nature, bramble, hop and sweet briar are good
for nesting birds, and ivy will disguise an unsightly shed in
a very short time. The lovely wild honeysuckle though is not
only well behaved, it is beautifully scented, encourages hawk
moths to its nectar, and birds (including bullfinches) to the
autumn berries. Other less enthusiastic wildflowers for
scrambling into a hedge or along a low fence include tufted
vetch with vivid purple flowers to attract plenty of
bumblebees and even greater stitchwort will scramble its way
up to a height of 60 cms or so. Also for a sunny hedge
bottom, or for weaving about in long grass, the yellow
flowered meadow vetchling adds colour and bee fodder in early
summer, using its tendrils to clutch onto grass stems. Dog
rose and field rose in shades of pale pink, encourage
hoverflies and pollen beetles, while the delicate
narrow-leaved everlasting pea will tempt the occasional
butterfly or long tongued moth.
Sweet briar is a
perfect intruder deterrent, having the thorniest stems of any
wild rose, and its fragrant apple scented leaves will perfume
the air after rain on a damp evening. Most of our other
native climbers are either too hot to handle in most gardens
(hedge bindweed being a good example) or bear poisonous
berries (bittersweet, black and white bryony) and are probably
best left in the wild hedgerow.
We have few native
climbers, but fortunately almost any climber will provide
wildlife shelter, and this is one area where non-natives may
be looked upon very favourably. Choose plants with flowers or
berries for added benefit. In the garden centre the variety
of plants is tempting. Variegated ivies, scrambling roses
with open flowers and autumn hips, Ceonothus with its blue bee
attracting flowers, climbing Hydrangea for hoverflies and
small bumblebees,
ornamental grapes, and small flowered species of Clematis
including C. orientale, C. montana, C. viticella and C.
tangutica. The latter produce a thick tangle of stems for
nesting birds, delicate flowers with pollen for bees, and
fluffy seed heads which finches and sparrows enjoy. There are
lots of possibilities. Occasionally when I walk around my
garden I am struck by the incredible versatility of plants,
and those that scramble and climb are no exception. There are
climbers for hot sun or shade, dusty dry spots or lush damp
places. They truly are plants for every situation. So if you
have spaces, this is a great month to enhance the vertical
dimension in your garden. If you don’t have spaces, don’t
despair! Grow clematis through an established wall shrub such
as Ceonothus, honeysuckle through your privet hedge or
rambling roses into any convenient tree.
How to plant
When planting any
climber or shrub against a wall, it is important to remember
that this can be a very dry environment. Prepare a planting
hole at least 30 cms from the wall, add plenty of well rotted
compost and mulch well after planting. Water through the
summer whenever the weather is dry and top up the mulch
frequently. If your new climber is self-clinging, it will
require a helping hand in the form of a stake or cane before
it gets going and trellis or wall ties will be required for
non-clinging plants.
Some Good Climbers
for Wildlife
-
For bees – Tufted
vetch, Clematis, ivy, climbing nasturtiums, Ceonothus, open
flowered climbing roses
-
For birds – Travellers
joy, ivy, rambling roses (with hips), small
flowered Clematis, honeysuckle, Virginia creeper, ornamental
grapes
-
For butterflies – Ivy,
broad leaved everlasting pea
-
For moths –
Honeysuckle, jasmine
-
For small mammals –
Honeysuckle, wild roses or cultivated varieties with hips
-
For
hoverflies – Wild roses, morning glory, climbing Hydrangea
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