I noticed a couple of years ago that my border garden was a little uni-dimensional and needed some variation in height. So I experimented with adding some trellises throughout the border and planting a variety of climbing roses last year. I’m happy to report that the results of that experiment are in – this addition has turned out beautifully!
Climbing Pink Eden
While the roses are not yet mature on most of the trellises, some of them – especially my Climbing Pink Eden – are remarkably mature, having only been in the ground for a year. I can’t believe what a difference it has already made to the dimensionality of my border.
I also added a couple of trellises of clematis, which I love. One of my favorite clematis plants has been the special variety I brought home from Dan Hinkley & Heronswood during a Seattle Garden Conservancy trip last year. The variety hails from Japan and has the most delicate white flowers with green centers. Sadly, I have misplaced the variety name. It has adapted quickly and successfully to a partial shade location in my border.
Due to the rains this past winter, we lost some of our ivy hedge along our wall, which I saw as an opportunity to put up flat wall trellises and climbing roses. It will be a good year or two before we see how that looks. In the meantime, check out the White Climbing Eden below after only one year!
White Climbing Eden
What trellises did I settle on? I started with 8′ obelisk rusted metal trellises because I already had them for the tomatoes in my vegetable garden. Then when the roses took off beyond my expectations, I switched some of them out for a larger circumference 8′ rusted metal trellis from A Rustic Garden. I highly recommend these, if you’re adding climbing roses to your garden. They’re pretty and a good size – at least for now.
Sally Holmes
I’m grateful to have tried this easy addition to my garden because it has already brought me so much joy.
