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Last summer I discovered a twining, tender climber called Lophospermum, or lofos. I bought two varieties, 'Burgundy Falls' and 'Summer Cream' (both pictured left), as plug plants from a mail-order seed company. I grew my lofos under cover, in 7

A wooden obelisk at the heart of my formal garden plays host to a variety of annual climbers, but I've grown tired of sweet peas in recent years. Their performance relies on the right weather, but we don't seem to be getting the 'right' weather any

readily available climbers - evergreen Persian ivy Hedera colchica 'Sulphur Heart' and deciduous Vitis coignetiae, the crimson glory vine.What fantastic partners. Ivy is a valuable screening plant, clinging to almost any surface, and relishing challenging

When I first planted a golden hop against my arch, some 15 years ago, it was a well-behaved youngster. It appeared to understand the rules, as set out in the Code of Conduct for Garden Climbers. Once my golden hop reached its teenage years, however

to carefully dig out all of the roots, without breaking any off.Yes, bindweed is a pretty weed, and I'm sure some people are quite happy to let it grow in the belief that this is really a glorious flowering climber (which it is). The only thing they don

six packets of seeds from the collection each year, and a couple of years ago achocha caught my eye. This unusual rampant climber, with the Latin name of Cyclanthera pedata, is unlike anything I've ever grown.Sown in 7cm pots of compost in my warm

budget, and you can fill borders to overflowing with a selection of hardy annuals like sunflowers, calendula, poppy, love-in-a-mist, larkspur, poached egg flowers, lavatera, alyssum, cornflower, night scented stock, and climbers like nasturtium

, and eventually grew too large.Let's be fair. All plants grow, and many trees, shrubs, perennials and climbers can grow too tall or wide for their site, so this isn't just a 'problem' with conifers.As always when choosing plants, do your homework, get advice from

in reducing air temperatures during summer and insulating them during winter.I've always been cautious about recommending planting climbers like ivy against buildings, although I enjoy the sight when others do it. Provided walls are sound and ivy is kept clear