I'm looking for suggestions on which climber I should get for growing against the front of my house under a ground floor window. The space is east facing (sunlight in the morning but not the afternoon) and is about 1m x 2m. Ideally, I would like something that is going to attract wildlife and, if possible, be UK native.
Climber recommendations
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A well trained pyracantha can be ideal by a wall, and the birds love the berries in the autumn. It is also useful for a clematis prop as long as the roots are well shaded and plenty of nutrition and water provided. There are, of course clematis for every season, so you'd have interest all year.
Red, yellow, or orange berries - take your pick.
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Pyracanths are very thorny too, it makes for security, no=one would want to get on that windowsill if there is another next door.
Native climbers make me think, dog rose, honeysuckle and hops, rose and honeysuckle provide flowers, hops are pretty dense and would provide shelter for nests and such. The native clematis, old man's beard might be worth considering.
There are a number of attractive non-native climbers which wild life would still like, such as climbing hydrangea, jasmine and passion flower, as well as some attractive climbing roses. You say under the window, if it is a ground floor window you might consider something like cotoneaster horizontalis which grows flat against a wall without actually being a climber.
Native climbers make me think, dog rose, honeysuckle and hops, rose and honeysuckle provide flowers, hops are pretty dense and would provide shelter for nests and such. The native clematis, old man's beard might be worth considering.
There are a number of attractive non-native climbers which wild life would still like, such as climbing hydrangea, jasmine and passion flower, as well as some attractive climbing roses. You say under the window, if it is a ground floor window you might consider something like cotoneaster horizontalis which grows flat against a wall without actually being a climber.
Oliver, the one thing I would disagree with there is the old man's beard. We have enormous problems with that here as the seeds blow everywhere and it is a nightmare to eradicate. Best left for the countryside well away from domestic gardens. This stuff is so rampant it would swallow up everything around it. One weed I love to hate! I find there are a lot more gentle and pretty plants to consider for a home environment.
I have a small rambling rose called 'rambling rosie' and that is a little stunner. ideal for this job, and it has grown so dense I've found several little nests in it. It is prolific in flowering and blooms for a long period with no problems.
The cotoneaster horizontalis is a jolly good idea!
I have a small rambling rose called 'rambling rosie' and that is a little stunner. ideal for this job, and it has grown so dense I've found several little nests in it. It is prolific in flowering and blooms for a long period with no problems.
The cotoneaster horizontalis is a jolly good idea!
I'll second pyracantha.
In our experience bullet proof, and looks great all year.
In our last house we had compacted clay and waterlogging. NOTHING survived our garden - except for three pyarcantha's. We never did anything to look after them and the always looked amazing.
In our current house we planted one under a window 2 years ago - it's under the eaves so doesn't get enough rain water and we never watered it. We got too busy to take care of it and it was completely neglected. The 'soil' is awful - builder's rubble mainly with some clay. Last week we trained it up against the wall....it had been left to sprawl everywhere. It's magnificent!! I'm going to get a few more this year.
It is thorny, but big and well spaced thorns so you don't get ripped to bits when pruning it etc.
In our experience bullet proof, and looks great all year.
In our last house we had compacted clay and waterlogging. NOTHING survived our garden - except for three pyarcantha's. We never did anything to look after them and the always looked amazing.
In our current house we planted one under a window 2 years ago - it's under the eaves so doesn't get enough rain water and we never watered it. We got too busy to take care of it and it was completely neglected. The 'soil' is awful - builder's rubble mainly with some clay. Last week we trained it up against the wall....it had been left to sprawl everywhere. It's magnificent!! I'm going to get a few more this year.
It is thorny, but big and well spaced thorns so you don't get ripped to bits when pruning it etc.