Last week our Managing Director, Jason Harker, and our Office Manager, Emma-Louise Watton, were lucky enough to be invited by one of our suppliers, to an event meeting in Monaco. The weather was gorgeous, with temperatures at around 25 degree Celsius, which made everybody back at JHPS Gardens Limited HQ very jealous – as the rain pounded our office windows! It wasn’t all sun and sea however, as they were there on business after all. Here is Mr. Harker working incredibly hard early one morning, in the beautiful hotel:

Whilst over there, Mr. Harker noted that it was interesting to see how the local people of Monaco used climbers extensively, to not only cover the external walls and offer shade but to work with larger plants. One beautiful example was a very large Magnolia grandiflora, which had climbers growing through the branches to give additional summer interest.

If you are looking to incorporate climbers into your garden, three we would highly recommend are the following:

Solanum crispum: a reasonably quick growing climber that is semi-evergreen and comes in blue or white. The one I would recommend is the blue variety as this is hardier and flowers more freely than its white sister.

Passiflora: this is perhaps the most beautiful climber you will ever see in the UK, with a fabulous detail in the flower and vibrant colours and is evergreen. It does, however, benefit from being on a South or West facing wall as it will then produce more flowers and has a better chance of fruiting.

Jasmine officinale: This is deciduous and has the most beautiful gently scented flowers from June to early September depending on the weather. Although classed as hardy, it too likes a warm sheltered position.

If you do have any questions about climbers or growing two or more plants in close proximity so as to get the wow factor then please don’t hesitate to get in touch and we will happily offer advice!