Cottage Garden Tips – Climbing Subjects

There is often a reluctance to grow ivy and other creepers as it is mistakenly thought that they cause a house to be damp. Many of them, however, have minute aerial roots which actually extract moisture from the wall. To convert a house into a cottage (in the horticultural sense), you need do no more than plant a climber such as a Virginia creeper. This plant will cover the wall with green leaves in summer (far less effort than painting it!), turning to flame-red in the autumn. Even when it is denuded during the winter, the trunks and branches will continue to create an illusion. All-year-round color may be provided by ivy, with the variegated variety being particularly suitable. For a less dramatic effect, the golden-berried Cotoneaster may be trained up a trellis work on the side of the house, and its buff-colored flowers will be a bonus in the spring.   

Also delightful are flowers blooming over a porch - choice of flowers is particularly important, but roses remain the most popular. Today it is possible to obtain a very wide range of roses grafted on to climbing rootstock. When choosing roses intended for planting over a porch, you should pay as much attention to their perfume as to their color - you will be aware of the scent long before you can see the flowers. Seek out a specialist grower or ask your local garden centre to obtain the variety that you have chosen.  

You should need only one rose for over the door, but, if you need more than one, do not try to mix colors as it will spoil the effect, which should be one of simplicity. You can also train other roses on trellis work around the house, but avoid too much growth on the walls. For example, where you have a background of ivy or Virginia creeper, do not attempt to grow other climbing subjects unless it is over a protruding porch. 

Climbing roses are not true climbers - they will not produce tendrils which will anchor themselves to any support available, but need to be trained and tied into position. One very effective way of combining all of the advantages of this plant is to construct a large pergola-type arch at the entrance to the garden from the roadway. Providing that they are 'dead-headed', climbing roses will provide a profusion of flowers from June until the time that the frosts cut them down in October.  

In addition to the exterior decoration there will be sufficient left over to keep up an almost continuous supply of cut flowers. Also, in the past, the hips were used to produce syrup which was particularly rich in vitamin C, or for making a 'nutty' wine similar to a Madeira. 

Another climbing subject that is quite outstanding in its beauty is the passion flower (Passiflora). This is an evergreen subject which will survive all but the harshest of British winters, and the dark leaves are complemented in the summer by the two-tier passion flower which is said to mimic Christ's crown of thorns. These are followed in the late summer by bright orange, egg-shaped fruits. It is a plant which prospers especially well in the slightly warmer conditions of British coastal towns.