Introduction to climbing plants and their uses to your garden and balcony
Climbing Plants and Your garden
With their superb majestic shoots and tendrils, as well as hanging bright coloured petals, climbing plants can add life to an otherwise dull scene in a garden. A balcony or patio can easily brighten up and become a tropical haven of colour and foliage. One has to master the priceless art of blending different colours of climbing plants and containers and the following pages will illustrate exactly how one can do this.
Climbing plants and three dimensional gardening
Climbing plants have lead to a concept known as three dimensional gardening. It does not matter whether you have limited space in your garden, a small balcony or patio. Due to their innovative climbing capabilities, climbing plants can fully utilize any available space. In fact growing foliage on buildings and pergolas has been practiced for many years. Nowadays there are various species of climbing plants to choose from. There are plain green types such as the ivies (Hedear soecies) as well as colourful species like Campsis. Climbing plants are a common feature all over Europe and UK, seen growing in balconies, railings, walls and in hanging pots, baskets and boxes
Benefits of Garden Climbing Plants
Climbing plants are just not meant for decorative purposes only but they also have useful environmental implications. In summer climbing plants release moisture in the air through a process called transpiration. This leads to the creation of humid micro-climates that provides shade and moist. The Aristolochia species create a dense belt of leaves and prevent noise pollution. Walls covered with foliage create a favorable climate in a house. Climbing plants growing on a south facing wall prevent heat by providing shade in the afternoon. In the winter climbing plants growing on a north-facing wall will lead to a reduction in heat loss.
Perennial plants and annual climbing plants
There are various species of climbing plants and hanging plants. Climbing plants can also be classified into two classes perennial and annual plants. Annual plants grow all year round and they require more work than perennials. However there is the reward of having a whole new design structure in your garden each year.
Its good practice to combine perennial and annual climbing plants in a garden, balcony or patio. There are various combinations one can use to produce stunning effects.