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Up
and over plants for pergolas and arches
2 June 2003
Relaxing on a hot, sunny, summer day in a shady
arbour with the sounds and smells of the garden
all around is one good reason for having a garden.
I can’t promise the weather but if you
plant some of
the climbers I mention you will be ready for
it.
Training plants to grow up the sides of trellis
or rustic timber pergolas, arbours and arches
isn’t difficult. Encouraging them to scramble
over the roofing cross bars needs more time
and effort. It helps if there is a fine plastic
net or galvanised chicken wire spread over the
top and held in place with wire or staples.
For the “roof”, choose plants that
will make a display on the inside. Climbing
and rambler roses will flower at the ends of
side shoots which invariably grow upwards towards
the sky. On the sides of the arbour they will
be perfect especially if the shoots are trained
to form arches rather than growing straight
up.
The pictures of laburnum and wisteria growing
over arches with the flowers trailing down from
the rafters are well known and inspirational.
Honeysuckles will make a wonderful ceiling in
summer and autumn.
Lonicera periclymenum ‘Belgica’
with early, pink and cream flowers which are
fragrant in the evening and L.p ‘Graham
Thomas’ with
fragrant, cream flowers in summer and autumn
are vigorous and twining. Jasminum officinale
is fast growing and deciduous. The very fragrant
white flowers appear in late summer. The lower
stems tend to become bare but they can be disguised
by planting the quince or
cydonia, properly called Chaenomeles, beside
the jasmine. My favourite variety is ‘Crimson
and Gold’ flowering in late spring and
early summer with bright red flowers with gold
stamens.
 Passion
flowers are spectacular and easy to grow. They
are aggressive needing hard pruning every second
year. The easiest to grow is Passiflora caerulea
with its large complex blue and white summer
flowers. The variety P.c ‘Constance Elliot’has
fragrant, creamy-white flowers. Passiflora mollissima
is reasonably hardy with pale pink flowers which
hang down during summer and autumn.
Grape
vines are good value. Not only do they produce
grapes but the large leaves are ornamental,
 casting
shade and providing brilliant red, orange and
yellow autumn colour. With most varieties the
grapes are small and too acid to enjoy but the
variety Vitis vinifera ‘Brant’ has
small, sweet black grapes. V.coignetiae has
enormous leaves that colour to purple-red in
autumn. The small, long bunches of black grapes
are almost inedible but very ornamental.
Now all you need is a summer to remember.
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