How to Choose a Climbing Plant for Your Front Door
Frame your home’s entrance with flowers, foliage and fragrance by cultivating a pretty climber
Climbing plants are ideal for framing your front door and enhancing the look and feel of your home. If you’re wondering which type to choose, check out this small selection, from scented varieties to structural evergreens.
This article is from our Most Popular stories file
This article is from our Most Popular stories file
Plump for structure
Good winter structure around a door can be in the form of evergreens, like the one here.
Pyracantha is a great workhorse of a plant that can be trained against a wall and an entrance, and is attractive to pollinators. With these plants, you’ll be blessed with flowers in early summer, bunches of red, orange and yellow berries, and glossy green foliage. Pyracanthas do best in full sun, otherwise they’ll produce fewer berries.
Fruiting pears provide a good structure of branches in the winter, plus early blossom. Some varieties, such as Pyrus communis ‘Beurré Hardy’, will earn their keep by adding autumn colour to the foliage, but it’s best to grow them on a south-facing wall.
Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris, which will grow in shade and exposed areas, has aerial roots that will attach to the walls either side of a doorway. Prune after flowering to keep the plant in check, as it can get out of control once it becomes established. Pruning will also ensure you have blooms the following season, as this plant flowers on the previous years’ growth.
Good winter structure around a door can be in the form of evergreens, like the one here.
Pyracantha is a great workhorse of a plant that can be trained against a wall and an entrance, and is attractive to pollinators. With these plants, you’ll be blessed with flowers in early summer, bunches of red, orange and yellow berries, and glossy green foliage. Pyracanthas do best in full sun, otherwise they’ll produce fewer berries.
Fruiting pears provide a good structure of branches in the winter, plus early blossom. Some varieties, such as Pyrus communis ‘Beurré Hardy’, will earn their keep by adding autumn colour to the foliage, but it’s best to grow them on a south-facing wall.
Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris, which will grow in shade and exposed areas, has aerial roots that will attach to the walls either side of a doorway. Prune after flowering to keep the plant in check, as it can get out of control once it becomes established. Pruning will also ensure you have blooms the following season, as this plant flowers on the previous years’ growth.
Drape with purple
Wisteria is a long-lived plant, and the long racemes of purple-scented flowers are spectacular against the front of a house. There are also white, and even pink, cultivars, although some may not flower as freely.
As wisteria grows, it will need good support for its strong, woody stems. If you’re growing it up the front of a house, it’s a good idea to treat it like an espalier – fasten stout, horizontal support wires to sturdy vine eyes, screwed into the wall at 45cm intervals. As wisteria stems fatten, they can prise trellis away from walls, so remember to untangle them frequently during the winter.
Try to choose a grafted plant, as it’s more likely to flower from an early age. Wisteria needs sun, so plant against a south- or west-facing wall – don’t waste your time trying to grow it against a shady north- or east-facing one.
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Wisteria is a long-lived plant, and the long racemes of purple-scented flowers are spectacular against the front of a house. There are also white, and even pink, cultivars, although some may not flower as freely.
As wisteria grows, it will need good support for its strong, woody stems. If you’re growing it up the front of a house, it’s a good idea to treat it like an espalier – fasten stout, horizontal support wires to sturdy vine eyes, screwed into the wall at 45cm intervals. As wisteria stems fatten, they can prise trellis away from walls, so remember to untangle them frequently during the winter.
Try to choose a grafted plant, as it’s more likely to flower from an early age. Wisteria needs sun, so plant against a south- or west-facing wall – don’t waste your time trying to grow it against a shady north- or east-facing one.
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Celebrate scent
Fragranced evergreen Trachelospermum jasminoides – jasmin – does best in sun, but will grow in some shade, as long as the area is sheltered. It has white, scented, star-shaped flowers with leaves that turn a crimson colour in the winter.
Make sure you give this plant good support, as it will twine itself around anything, self-clinging. The white sap can irritate the skin, so wear gloves if you do prune it back in spring.
Trachelospermum asiaticum is slightly more hardy and can withstand light shade in an east-facing position.
Jasminum officinale ‘Devon Cream’ has a wonderful fragrance, which emerges at dusk, and has large, soft, lime-tinted, star-shaped flowers on twining stems. It prefers a sunny, sheltered spot, but will grow in light shade.
For a shaded front wall, try Lonicera japonica ‘Halliana’ (Japanese honeysuckle), which is another fragrant evergreen climber.
Fragranced evergreen Trachelospermum jasminoides – jasmin – does best in sun, but will grow in some shade, as long as the area is sheltered. It has white, scented, star-shaped flowers with leaves that turn a crimson colour in the winter.
Make sure you give this plant good support, as it will twine itself around anything, self-clinging. The white sap can irritate the skin, so wear gloves if you do prune it back in spring.
Trachelospermum asiaticum is slightly more hardy and can withstand light shade in an east-facing position.
Jasminum officinale ‘Devon Cream’ has a wonderful fragrance, which emerges at dusk, and has large, soft, lime-tinted, star-shaped flowers on twining stems. It prefers a sunny, sheltered spot, but will grow in light shade.
For a shaded front wall, try Lonicera japonica ‘Halliana’ (Japanese honeysuckle), which is another fragrant evergreen climber.
Cultivate a clematis
There are some 300 species of clematis to choose from, with a variety of pruning times, so choosing the perfect one for your front door can be quite overwhelming. All clematis prefer to have their roots in the shade and their heads in the sun, but some are more tolerant of shade than others.
Clematis montana is really vigorous, and much better suited to growing on a shed than around a door, as it tends to take over. However, it can be good for north-facing walls, as it can grow in quite dense shade as long as there’s a light source for it to climb towards.
Clematis ‘Perle d’Azur’ is one of the oldest varieties and flowers freely, with sky-blue blooms all summer. It will grow in full sun or partial shade.
Clematis viticella are good companions for roses, but it’s best not to mix plants that need to be pruned at different times around a door, as you’ll end up with a tangled mess. This variety will be ok in any aspect and even in a pot.
A good clematis to try for a shady area is ‘Prince Charles’.
Discover more inspiration for giving your front garden kerb appeal.
There are some 300 species of clematis to choose from, with a variety of pruning times, so choosing the perfect one for your front door can be quite overwhelming. All clematis prefer to have their roots in the shade and their heads in the sun, but some are more tolerant of shade than others.
Clematis montana is really vigorous, and much better suited to growing on a shed than around a door, as it tends to take over. However, it can be good for north-facing walls, as it can grow in quite dense shade as long as there’s a light source for it to climb towards.
Clematis ‘Perle d’Azur’ is one of the oldest varieties and flowers freely, with sky-blue blooms all summer. It will grow in full sun or partial shade.
Clematis viticella are good companions for roses, but it’s best not to mix plants that need to be pruned at different times around a door, as you’ll end up with a tangled mess. This variety will be ok in any aspect and even in a pot.
A good clematis to try for a shady area is ‘Prince Charles’.
Discover more inspiration for giving your front garden kerb appeal.
Enjoy autumn colour
Parthenocissus quinquefolia, or Virginia Creeper, is very vigorous, so you’ll need to keep on top of it if you decide to use it around a door or entrance. The large, dark-green leaves turn to a fiery crimson in autumn, creating a stunning display. It can be planted in full sun or shade.
Parthenocissus henryana (Chinese Virginia Creeper) is probably most suited to a doorway, as it’s less vigorous. It has green and bronze coloured leaves and pinkish white veins that turn a fiery orange-red in autumn. This plant does well in partial to full shade.
Tell us…
Which of these climbing plants would you choose for your front doorway? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Parthenocissus quinquefolia, or Virginia Creeper, is very vigorous, so you’ll need to keep on top of it if you decide to use it around a door or entrance. The large, dark-green leaves turn to a fiery crimson in autumn, creating a stunning display. It can be planted in full sun or shade.
Parthenocissus henryana (Chinese Virginia Creeper) is probably most suited to a doorway, as it’s less vigorous. It has green and bronze coloured leaves and pinkish white veins that turn a fiery orange-red in autumn. This plant does well in partial to full shade.
Tell us…
Which of these climbing plants would you choose for your front doorway? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
For a quintessential country look, opt for a climbing rose. Plants like this will need a structure behind them for support – you can either use a system that involves wires attached to vine eyes on the wall, or some form of trellis. To avoid the rose covering the whole house, it’s a good idea to choose a less vigorous climber.
For large, scented, peachy-pink blooms, try Rosa ‘A Shropshire Lad’, which has the added benefit of being thornless. It’s best planted in full sun or partial shade and should flower right through the summer into autumn.
Another wonderful variety and one that will give off a lovely scent around a doorway is Rosa ‘Madame Isaac Péreire’, which has rich purple-pink blooms. This plant likes to be in sun, but will tolerate some shade.
If you do want a vigorous rambler, opt for a more manageable variety, such as Rosa Open Arms = ‘Chewpixcel’, which has small pale pink flowers in the summer and again in the autumn. Plant in sun or partial shade.
All roses usually need at least six hours of sun per day to bloom and avoid disease. However, most will tolerate partial shade as long as they are exposed to at least four to five hours of sun a day.
Alternative roses to try include Mortimer Sackler, The Generous Gardener, ‘Albertine’ and ‘New Dawn’.