Clever planting can add colour and height to your garden all year round
Arches are generally used as an entrance to the garden but you can also use them to draw attention towards a particular feature in your garden such as a statue or water feature. If you add some climbers to the arch then they become a feature in your garden by themselves.
Use clematis or other vines that don’t weigh much but grow higher than six foot tall. Plant one of each side of the frame and allow them to grow over each other and become entwined, this will allow the archway to become covered in colourful, sweet smelling flowers. Make sure the roots of the climbers are kept in the shade by using a low-growing herbaceous perennial.
Clematis viola have blooms the size of saucers and will look stunning in your garden with a flowery backdrop made from the clusters of small single blooms produced by rambling roses. A good tip is that clematis can often wilt especially if it becomes damaged or has wounds created by pests. The plants generally re grow from buds that are lower on the stem. If you fit a plastic collar around the base of the plant then this will offer protection.
For long lasting flowers then use the clematis tangutica. They are bright yellow lantern shaped flowers and they appear from early summer until October and then are followed by silky seed heads. It prefers drier soil at the base of sunny walls. For plants that you want during the winter try clematis cirrhosa varieties which are evergreen and flower as early as October and last until April. Leaves will brown over the summer as they have a natural dormant period but new ones will emerge in the autumn.
For a colourful corridor in your garden then use Pergolas. Pergolas can also be used to create shady spots to rest in during the hot days of summer. A pergola must be strong to take the weight of the climbers you wish to plant near it.