Flowering climbers
What’s looking good now?
This week it’s more a case of what’s needed to look good! The right-hand side of the front co age wall looks bare at this time of year. On the left-hand side a vigorous banksian rose is trained along wires and when it’s in full flight the stonework is almost invisible. A climber that does its thing in winter might be a good choice so it could have the show to itself while the rose is just revving up. Perhaps Clematis cirrhosa or Azara microphylla might be good. As well as adding perfume and soothing wintry days, what’s needed is something to compete with the banksian rose or even take over from it. Rosa banksiae ‘Lutea’ flowers in May so it might be an idea to use a summer-flowering rose, preferably one that repeat flowers. We’re great fans here of the English roses and one of their rambling roses, ‘Malvern Hills’, might be ideal. Equally, we could try a vigorous shrub rose such as ‘Graham Thomas’, also with mellow-yellow flowers for which the grey stone walls of the co age would make an ideal backdrop.
Neil has already installed straining wires on both sides of the front door. It would be an easier job to train in either of these roses than it is to restrain the madcap tendencies of the banksian rose. It wasn’t really a good choice for the limited space it has, but when it flowers with bunches of dainty soft yellow flowers, I’m glad that I made such a mistake!
A couple of its sideshoots dangle in front of the window where I write and I can watch their progress. Already, even when covered in a mantle of snow, their small, spherical flower buds are discernible.