How to grow climbing plants | Alys Fowler

Bring your house to life with climbersI'd planned to write about something entirely different for this week's column, but on the way up to my study, I saw out of the window a robin with a beak full of food darting into the climbing hydrangea that covers the side of my house. It took everything not to spend the day glued to the window, watching this new family nest.I often think how wonderful it would be if we decided, collectively, to soften our hard boundaries and open our homes to others. What if terrace houses disappeared behind a green cloak of climbing plants, cooling our interiors in summer? What if new-builds came prewired with vine eyes for clematis, roses, jasmines and honeysuckles? Imagine how lovely our streets would be to walk down, if they were filled with the sounds of other-than-humans getting on with life. Continue reading...