SOCIAL CLIMBERS

When we are thinking about colourful annuals for beds, baskets and boxes, we often forget the huge range of annual climbers that can adorn our walls and scramble through shrubs. Here are two excellent examples – the brightblue morning glory and the pinging-yellow black-eyed Susan.

Ipomoea tricolor ‘Heavenly Blue’

Vigorous climber. Loved by bees. Plant to view in the morning as the flowers will have begun to wilt by lunchtime: hence the name! H x S 3m x 2m

Thunbergia ‘Lemon Star’

Good on a fence or up an obelisk or garden structure. Sow seeds in late winter or early spring. H x S 2.5m x 60cm