Climbers [antikvár]

IntroductionTo anyone creating a garden, climbing plants are an essential ingredient. Not only do they provide both flower and foliage effects, as do most other plants, but they give vertical emphasis to a garden. Climbers carry their colour up and away from the ground, creating a three-dimensional effect. Trees and shrubs also do this, but they are much more limited, as their shape is predetermined. Climbers, however, can be used to create slim pillars of colour, or wide sheets of it.Climbers can be used in many different ways. They can decorate buildings by covering the walls, transforming their appearance. This is particularly useful if the building has an ugly appearance, such as a concrete garage, or if its lines need to be softened. Walls covered in plants in this way also provide a good backdropfor the rest of the garden.If they are grown on trellises or fences, climbers can be used as boundaries, to provide privacy and, again, to make a backdrop for other plants. An ugly wire fence is much enhanced by being covered with a clematis, for example. Similarly, trellises can be used as internal dividers, separating different parts of the garden from each other. Climbers over trellises provide a screen but, at the same time, unlike a solid screen, allow tempting glimpses of what lies beyond.Formal arches through these screens can be covered in climbers, as can arches set in other parts of the garden, purely as a decorative effect along paths. Arches can be combined to form a pergola or walkway. These can be superb features in a garden, especially when they are dripping with the flowers of wisteria or rose. ^