Best Climbing Plants For Gazebo or Arbour

A good quality gazebo or arbour is a welcome addition to any garden and a great investment. It can provide a focal point, adding visual interest in the winter and a welcome spot to sit with a book or a refreshing drink on a summer evening. During the day, a gazebo can provide a space for entertaining or eating, providing shade from the sun. An arbour offers the chance to create a quiet retreat, protected from the weather in all seasons.

Agriframes structures are guaranteed to last for many years and so as well as investing in the structure it is worth planning the planting to ensure that your Gazebo or Arbour is quickly providing a display which will improve year on year so that you can enjoy the coveted spectacle of an established garden feature laden with colour and scent.

Read below a list of some of the best climbers for getting your Gazebo or Arbour off to a good start.

Climbing Roses 

The classic rose covered arbour is hard to beat and Climbing roses are ideal for planting at the side of a structure and will flower in their first year improving in density over time, some reaching extraordinary heights - on a larger structure a rambling rose such as Wedding Day or Rambling Rector will reward with an abundance of delicate scented flowers in early summer.

There are literally hundreds to choose from in a wide array of colours and flower types - the thorn-less, highly fragrant bourbon rose Zephirine Drouhin is a great choice. Using multiples of the same rose will give you the greatest impact and also ensure that the coverage of your structure is even and balanced throughout the year with the plants maturing and flowering at the same time. 

Passion Flower

The exotic and intricate details in the passion flower never fail to impress and really deserve pride of place on a structure where they can be fully admired close up.  The flowers are followed by a crop of attractive orange coloured fruit which look very decorative hanging from a Gazebo or Arbour.

The Passion Flower is much easier to grow than many people think and require little care - it has spiralling tendrils which will anchor the growing stems to the Gazebo uprights so no need to tie it in.

Jasmine

Jasmine is a great choice for a larger Gazebo with a delicate feather like leaf shape and deliciously scented white or pink flowers which will cover your structure in no time providing dappled shade throughout the summer.

The evergreen jasmine trachelospermum keeps it’s glossy green leaves all through the hardest winters and bears small white flowers in the spring which will fragrance your whole garden - It can ensure there’s always interest no matter what time of the year and is a great choice for gazebo planting.

Clematis

There are hundreds of different types of Clematis and by choosing varieties which flower at different times of the year you can enjoy a vibrant display from March to November. Many Clematis can be cut right back after flowering and will put on extraordinary growth in a single season to cloak your gazebo in pretty, fragrant flowers in all colours and many interesting flower shapes.

Clematis Montana is a vigorous early flowering variety which will give you great impact at the start of the season and can be trained to cover a whole structure in just a couple of years.

Virginia Creeper

Non flowering climbers are often overlooked when considering what to plant on a structure, but the Virginia Creeper is an example of one that can provide useful foliage amongst other planting during the summer and then put on the most incredible display of fiery red leaves in the Autumn. 

Wisteria

Wisteria is certainly not fast growing and it can take up to five years to bloom but it is well worth it on a structure that is going to be in place for decades. Once established you’ll be rewarded with a waterfall of colour and supremely sweet fragrance twice a year.  

Agriframes structures are designed to be robust enough to support even the heaviest climbers such as Wisteria and the branches will curl around the steel uprights of your Gazebo or Arbour to create a wonderfully rustic illusion, even out of season.

Wisteria is certainly not fast growing and it can take up to five years to bloom but it is well worth it on a structure that is going to be in place for decades. Once established you’ll be rewarded with a waterfall of colour and supremely sweet fragrance twice a year.  

Agriframes structures are designed to be robust enough to support even the heaviest climbers such as Wisteria and the branches will curl around the steel uprights of your Gazebo or Arbour to create a wonderfully rustic illusion, even out of season.