CLIMBING PLANTS WITH FLOWERS THAT BLOOM IN SPRING / SUMMER - LIFESTYLE

Climbing plants with flowers: the most beautiful of the spring season

The most suggestive climbing plants are those that in spring / summer are adorned with beautiful fragrant flowers. In this collection we will see which are the most colorful to plant in your garden or on your terrace: perfect for creating a little privacy and creating new shaded areas! For your interiors, instead, we recommend opting for those varieties that purify the air of your home; watch the video and find out which ones are the best!

The creepers: the characteristics

The warm season has arrived and it is the ideal time to cultivate our passion for gardening!
Today we are talking about climbing plants, or those plants whose branches cannot support themselves, and which need support in order to grow.
Creepers are both shrubs and herbaceous species, that is, with non-woody stems that dry up and die when the cold arrives. Some specimens develop quickly, others require constant care.

These types of plants are mainly used to decorate and beautify existing spaces such as walls, railings or pergolas. But they also have a great environmental advantage: extending vertically, they create perfect shaded areas that cool down in the summer and make those spaces where previously there was little privacy more usable. They develop in this way to avoid having to compete with other plants and to move away from the ground, which is too shady for them.

In this guide we have selected the plants with the most beautiful flowers, which in Italy are found both in the North and in the South, and which bloom mainly in spring or at most in summer!
We will focus on those species suitable for outdoor spaces, but know that there are some that can also be grown inside the house. Like the sisters to be planted outdoors, climbing plants with indoor flowers need a support in order to develop, an ideal exposure and a mild temperature that can be a bit more controlled indoors than outside.

Which type of creeper with flower to choose?

They define themselves climbing plants different varieties of plants, with very different conformations from each other, which consequently will grow upwards in a different way. Our care will have to be different depending on the chosen plant; therefore let's clarify what exists in nature in order to choose the perfect plant for us.

Real climbers
They are the simplest vines to treat, easy to keep alive and whose support must not be too delicate. Their peculiarity is the fact that they cling to walls or pergolas by means of small suction cups that can ruin the plaster; if you have a small space it is better not to choose these shrubs.
The most classic specimens are ivy and the Canadian or American vine.

Climbers with twining stems
The most iconic plant in this category is wisteria: it climbs through tendrils and enveloping stems. Adopt this plant outdoors if you have nets or racks available as supports.
Other species similar to wisteria are: honeysuckle, clematis, sweet pea and morning glory.

Climbing sarmentosi
They are climbers with long branches (sarments) which at the beginning are flexible in order to be able to lean on other plants in nature, usually large trees; over time the vine shoots can become heavy and consequently the support you will have to choose must be resistant in advance. They are among the types of climbing plants with flowers or perennials that need more attention precisely because of their long and winding branches that can suffocate other trees or fall; recommended for those who already have a good green thumb and time to dedicate to them. in this category are the single flowering sarmentose roses and the Solanum Crispum.

Wall shrubs
Plants that do not normally climb, but which can be adapted to an enlarged shape simply by tying them to a support on a wall or on fences. In this category we find some shrub roses (generally modern climbing roses).

To make your choice, therefore, consider what type of flowering climber you would like to have in the garden and whether it should be planted in the ground or in a pot, the final result you want (more or less covering) and the exposure you can guarantee.

Climbing plants are generally sold in pots and therefore easily fall into those types of shrubs to be planted with tranquility in the outdoor spaces of the house. We advise you to avoid cultivation work in the middle of summer as the plant is fragile and you risk watering it too much, which will not allow it to sink its roots well in the new habitat. The winter months are also not recommended, due to a difficulty in working the soil.
The months with mild climate, autumn and spring, on the other hand, are perfect.

What are you waiting for? We are in the middle of the cultivation period; read on to find out which plants have the most beautiful flowers that grow vertically and then run to a garden to buy the perfect variety for you!

1. Climbing roses

A great classic, but always with a guaranteed effect! This flowering plant resists different climates and manages to create elegant and romantic atmospheres wherever it is placed.
During the summer its roses smell and thanks to their particular shape they will also satisfy your sight.

Climbing roses are great for decorating pergolas, but they can also be used to give an extra touch to the patio and walled corners in the garden.
The classic colors are pink, red and white. The rose garden could be made up of different shades or just one, depending on our personal taste and the outdoor furniture that is already present.
They go particularly well with shabby garden styles, characterized by white and neutral tones.

2. Clematis

Or clematis in Italian, is a plant with flowers that is widespread in nature both in Italy and throughout Europe.
It is truly a spectacular plant that blooms profusely in spring. About 250 species of different types belong to its family.

Beautiful to look at, the clematis, once it has grown in height and produced flowers, looks almost like a colorful and fragrant column (some species even reach 10m in height), perfect for a photo to put on your social profile!

The stems are very thin, often semi-woody, and produce thin tendrils with which they attach themselves to walls, pergolas or trellises. The leaves are dark green, covered with a thin light down. The flowers are very large and spectacular and are in shades of red, white, pink or mauve.

Clematis does not require particular attention, but it is good to choose its exposure carefully: clematis plants prefer very sunny positions, where they can receive direct sun for at least a few hours a day, under penalty of non-flowering of the plant. In fact it can be considered an evergreen plant because it resists even in winter; obviously not the flowering, which will reappear the following spring.

3. Jasmine

Jasmine is a shrubby evergreen climbing plant that is recognized in late spring / early summer for its intense scent, small yellow / white flowers and intense green foliage. Its origin is Asian, typical of Iran, where it is not difficult to admire magnificent spontaneous specimens that adorn gardens and pergolas of the East.

Here the most widespread variety is the Jasmine officinale, or the climbing white jasmine, which can extend up to 15mt. It proliferates in particular in the central-southern area of the country, but also embellishes railings and terraces in various northern areas.
It is used to create natural hedges and separators, as its flowering is really abundant!

Jasmine perfumes summer nights with its white flowers, which can also be used in tea and herbal tea preparations. In short, a truly versatile climbing plant, easy to care for and which adapts to all green thumbs. It loves to receive a few hours of direct sunshine a day, but it can also grow in shady contexts.

4. Ivy

Ivy is a great classic that lends itself very well to decorating the external shaded areas of our home. The plant is an evergreen climber that requires very little maintenance and guarantees a covering screen that dyes old walls and pergolas green.
The choice of planting this climber in the garden is really smart: ivy can in fact be used to create green carpets, thicken those slightly bare areas around the trees and cover external stairs.

The flowering of the ivy is late, in late summer, usually in September.
Its flowers are particular because they form in groups that come together in an unusual umbrella shape; they develop on the flowering branches and the average quantity is about 20 small yellow-green flowers which are of vital importance for the ecosystem.

5. Wisteria (Wisteria)

Wisteria is a really beautiful climber: easy to grow and with flowering that stands out for its typical lavender color. It embellishes outdoor green spaces by climbing pergolas and gazebos, creating a romantic atmosphere.
Wisteria grows very fast and will need to be pruned every year to ensure it does not become invasive.

Like jasmine, it has Asian origins: it comes from China and Japan and belongs to the Papilionaceae family, which includes 10 species of climbing and rustic shrubs.
The special feature of wisteria is its twisted trunk which helps to give new life to all the surfaces on which it rests.

The very fragrant flowers gather in hanging clusters about 20-25cm long; the main colors are violet and pale blue.
Make it bloom well by exposing it to the sun; wisteria loves to be practically always in direct contact with the sun's rays.

6. Passiflora or passion flower

Passionflower is also known by the name of passion flower; your flowering creeper if you are a romantic person!
It is a very elegant plant characterized by filaments of every color. Its flowers and leaves have sedative properties and can be used to treat some forms of intoxication.

Already in pre-Columbian times some civilizations had understood its usefulness and used passion flower as a relaxing ingredient in herbal teas, syrups and extracts based on passion flower.
Passionflower helps fight insomnia problems and seems to bring benefits to those who suffer from tachycardia due to its anxiolytic and antispasmodic properties.

The climbing plant has a very fast growth and is part of the evergreen species. There are many varieties, but the original ones come from tropical areas, where the climate is particularly hot. Nevertheless it is a shrub that resists different temperatures, even low.

The passion flower also produces fruits, the Maracuya, fragrant and with a delicate flavor.

7. Bougainvillea

Or also Bougainvillea, it is a climbing shrub with flowers that is recognized by the colorful colors of its bracts (leaves that accompany the flowers). It is classified as a semi-evergreen specimen, that is, it keeps its leaves only in years particularly favorable to its characteristics, which in its case are warm winters. In Italy it is little cultivated except on the islands or in the South because the cold temperatures of the winters tend to make it wither.

It is therefore very popular in areas where the climate is hot and dry; it is no coincidence that it is found on many postcards of Greece and all those Mediterranean islands where a beautiful dry climate reigns.
Bougainvillea has a truly spectacular flowering and its flowers can be of different shades, but the most common are certainly pink, red, yellow and purple.

Needless to say, one of the essential things to be able to grow the climbing plant in a luxuriant way in your garden or around your pergola is the excellent sun exposure. Bougainvillea needs a lot of sun to grow! It does not like semi-shaded areas, so if not you have adequate space better to opt for another plant.

8. Bignonia Capreolata

Bignonia capreolata grows well in full sun and is characterized by dense dark green foliage and beautiful trumpet-shaped red, yellow or orange flowers.
It is a climber that reaches great heights, up to 8-10mt with summer flowering, from June to July. But the flowers only come if the spring has been warm and sunny enough.

The foliage is semi-perennial; the leaves are composed of 3 oval leaflets.
Thanks to its very showy flowers, the plant is an excellent choice for embellishing the pergola.