For every gardener, there comes a point when you have run out of space to plant, so you look up and start to plot new territory. All those bare walls, you think… I could garden those. And you can, without putting up a single wire or hook.
The roots that self-clinging climbers have do nothing more than that – cling on for dear life. There’s a great fear that self-clinging climbers will ruin your mortgage, eat into mortar and cause all sorts of damp. They will not. However, if a wall already has underlying issues, such as cracks or unsound mortar, climbers may help to point these out quicker.
If your verticals are to go in deep shade, there are a number of choices, perhaps actually more than if you are basking in sun – so there’s a brief moment to celebrate gloom!
The obvious first choice is Hydrangea anomala subsp petiolaris – I have one merrily climbing up around my back door. This is a woody, deciduous climber that, in summer, is crowned in white, lacy flowers. Actually, it’s the bracts that will wow you – the flowers are tiny, but the bees love them.
If you have a sheltered spot (and it will need to be that, as a hard frost will bring it down), then the evergreen version is H. seemanii. This has midgreen leaves and creamy green flowers from later summer into autumn. It doesn’t mind dappled shade, so it’s perfect for city gardens’ side returns. Make sure you water this one regularly while it establishes, as it won’t like dry soil and is rather slow to grow; be patient or buy the biggest specimen you can afford. It looks lovely with ferns and hostas around its feet.
If you have deep, damp shade, the sort that gets little or no sunlight, then you need to go for another member of the hydrangea family, Pileostegia viburnoides. It’s a little slow to get going, but eventually it reaches up to 6m. It is hardy in most settings; an exposed spot may cause foliage damage and stem dieback, but it will reappear as long as the soil dies not remain waterlogged all winter long. It has long, leathery, deep-green leaves and dense clusters of tiny white flowers in late summer. If you need to cut it back, do so once these are over.
Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) gets a bad rap because it is a fast-growing beast. People tend to plant it when they are wanting a quick fix, without considering that it wants to run up a wall for over 12m (and it can do that in less than 10 years). You’ve been warned. Still, if you have a monster to cover, there are two newer varieties called ‘Red Wall’ and ‘Yellow Wall’, which have been selected for their intense primary autumn colours.
If you have a hot and baked wall and all this talk of shade is getting on your nerves, then try trumpet vine (Campsis radicans), one of the few self-clinging climbers suited to sunny spots. It needs very sheltered conditions to flower freely. It’s known as the trumpet vine for good reason: it has bright orange tubular flowers that really do trumpet.
