Climbers & garden design

Clematis work best as part of a wider planting scheme, and this section shows how they pair with roses, screen a fence all year or bring flowers into winter.

The guides deal with design questions. Which clematis make good partners for roses, and how do you plant and prune the two together so neither smothers the other? Which evergreen and winter-flowering types suit British gardens, how hardy are they, and what do they want in the way of shelter and light pruning? How vigorous are the montana varieties, and where is there room for them? Comparisons help you weigh height, flowering months and position, so you can choose a climber for a wall, arch or screen knowing how it will behave.