Chapter 5 - Climbing Plants

One of the first climbers we put in, which soon fell by the wayside, was Chaenomeles 'Madame Butterfly' or Japanese Quince, which was a lovely salmon pink.  There have been any number of plants which have gone the same way and it's difficult to know why beautiful, healthy-looking plants should suddenly wither and die.   There could be many reasons, of course.  We have the best and most athletic slugs and snails in the country which seem to eat anything and everything in site, and we also have free draining soil, which can soon lose its moisture despite Mick's best efforts to bulk it up with organic material.  Perhaps the soil is too alkaline for some plants.  Whatever the reason, it is usually the most expensive which go first and I think we have now learned that cost is not always the best gauge of survival.

There are fourteen Clematis on my first list, but few of them could be described as vigorous.  'Miss Bateman', alpina 'Frankie', 'Warszawska Nike' and one other whose name I don't know, have come every year without fail. 

                                                 'Warsawski Nike' and 'Miss Bateman'

Some lasted for a while, but then disappeared, only to come again unexpectedly - 'Multi Blue' was one such which we had planted to go over the archway - but still it's been disappointing.  'Omishiro' and Piilu' are two more we bought at great cost, but again have not done as well as I had hoped.  Even the evergreen varieties have failed to thrive, which should teach us something, but we seem to keep on trying.

One climber which we feared would take over the whole garden if we didn't do something about it was Eccremocarpus scaber, the Chilean Glory Vine.  We planted it on the water feature and its bright orange blooms lived up to its glorious name.   However, it produced so many seeds that we daren't leave it to do its worst and so removed it.  

Passiflora caerula, the common passion flower also did well on the water feature, but came a cropper at pruning time and has recently been resurrected to grow up the fence on the side path adjoining our neighbour's garden.

also planted a Jasminum nudiflorum on the water feature and its bright yellow flowers have continued to brighten that corner each year. 

Two slightly more interesting climbers on the water feature are Billardiera longifolia with its purple fruit, which unfortunately seems to have disappeared this year, and Akebia quinata, the chocolate vine, which is now climbing high up into the Catalpa.

Akebia quinata

Billardiera longifolia

Several climbers were planted by the left-hand fence, including Hydrangea petiolaris, Garrya eliptica (the tassel tree) and  Vitis vinifera, an ornamental vine which produces beautiful berries of many colours, from yellow to pink, to blue, to purple. 



Hydrangea petiolaris



Garrya eliptica with the tassels in flower



Vitis vinifera

Roses have found their place too.  The two planted on the front of the cottage were Rosa 'Gloire de Dijon', a beautiful cream, and Rosa 'Warm Welcome' which surrounds the door. 

This is a small-flowered rose, bright orange and lightly scented which everyone who arrives loves.  The 'Gloire' however, turned brown when wet or dying and, as its flowers tended to hang on instead of dropping off, looked dreadful against the white render.  It had to go and was replaced by 'Masquerade'.  We had bought this for my mum one Mothering Sunday and rescued it from her back yard when she died.  It has done very well since then and its blooms, which change from yellow to orange to pink, go well with 'Warm Welcome'.  If the great flood in 2007 wasn't the best experience ever for us, at least 'Warm Welcome' benefited from the river giving it a good soaking and produced the most glorious, brilliantly orange flowers ever.  Having a new front door, too, we painted it 'Heather' and bought Rosa 'Rhapsody in Blue' to match.



'Rhapsody in Blue'

In the back, we have Rosa 'Albertina', a cream with a beautiful perfume, over the arch, 'Felicite Perpetue', a smaller cream, and 'William Lobb', a purple, on the top gable, as well as 'Arthur Bell', a yellow, in the top bed.  'Albertina' and 'Arthur Bell' were gifts which remind us of our time as camp site managers.



'William Lobb'



I should not forget, either, the pinky-red floribunda rose, a legacy from the old garden, which spreads its glory over a good part of the right-hand fence and onto the summerhouse for weeks.  I have no idea of its name, but it has been stunning every year and reminds us of the garden's previous life where runner beans, potatoes, primroses and grape hyacinths held sway.



The unknown floribunda rose