Annual climbers for quick colour
Cobaea scandens AGM
Well-grown cup and saucer vines or Cathedral bells make a mass of growth hoisted by leaf tendrils. Pale green flowers mature to mauve cups in green saucer-like calyces. Plants often flower late, into autumn. H: 8-15ft (2.5-4.5m).
Ipomoea purpurea ‘Grandpa Otts’
The easiest, toughest annual morning glory will often thrive where cultivars of
I.tricolor (such as divine ‘Heavenly Blue’) will not. White-throated purple saucers excel in the morning. Will self-sow. H: 8ft 2.4m) S: 4ft (1.2m).
Thunbergia alata ‘Superstar Orange’
Some black-eyed Susan colour selections verge on the wishy-washy, but this is a classic of vibrant orange fixing you with its beady eyes. A neat twining climber perfect for clothing posts. H: 6ft (1.8m) W: 18in (45cm).
Cucurbita pepo ‘Decorative Mixed’
Grow as for other summer squash and enjoy fences covered with hairy leaves, coiling tendrils and yellow flowers developing green, cream and orangehued fruits of all shapes and sizes. They dry well. H: 15ft (5m) S: 5ft (1.5m).
Ipomoea lobata AGM
Mexican Spanish flag is a charmer whose flowers change colour as they age. Pouting, tubular blooms start reddish salmon, turn orange and then cream with all three present at once. H: 8ft (2.4m) S: 4ft (1.2m).
Tropaeolum majus ‘Trailing Mixed’
Trailing or climbing nasturtiums are true annuals, scrambling up into nearby plants. They deliver a feast of warm colour lasting well into autumn, as well as peppery leaves and blooms you can eat. H and S: 6ft (1.8m).
Eccremocarpus scaber
The Chilean Glory Vine bears quirky, lopsided yellow-flared red tubes showing well against bright, evergreen leaflets. It is worth leaving plants in during winter as in milder areas they often sprout again. H: 12ft (3.5m) S: 4ft (1.2m).
Lathyrus odoratus ‘Gwendoline’ AGM
Sweet peas are true annuals, clinging with tendrils, flowering with abandon, setting seed and dying off. This delicate white and pink frilly-petalled Spencer type bears deliciously fragrant blooms. H: 6ft (1.8m) S: 2ft (60cm).
Tropaeolum peregrinum
From Ecuador and Peru, annual canary creeper is a tendril climber. Dainty yellow blooms with fringed upper petals resemble a flock of canaries against green foliage. Vigorous plants, they need space. H: 8ft (2.4m) S: 4ft (1.2m).