Pergolas and arches add much more to your garden landscape providing extra height, interest and shade. They can help screen other areas of your plot, making them seem larger as well as bringing colour and form.

Choosing the best position for the pergola or arch could be over a pathway or situated to cover a seating area to provide shade from the Summer sun. A position in a medium to large flower border would look stunning.

The Star Jasmine ( Trachelospermum Jasminoides) is a very reliable fragrant climber. It has small scented white flowers and evergreen leaves, and although it prefers to be planted in full sun, will also thrive in semi shade. The Potato vine (Solanum Jasminoides) with its clusters of pretty blue or white blooms will scramble happily over pergolas or arches. For an indigenous climber try a Cape Honeysuckle (Tecomaria Capensis) which has vivid tubular shaped flowers of orange, red or yellow that love full sunshine, The Pink Trumpet vine (Pedranea ricasoliana) is a vigorous indigenous climber, bearing a mass of beautifully scented pink flowers if grown in full sun.

Black-Eyed Susan (Thunbergia Alata) is a fast-growing climber with pretty, bright orange flowers that have black centres. Flowering all Summer into Autumn it is an annual which self-seeds freely. Thrives in full sun or semi-shade. A very hardy climber is Ivy (Hedera), with glossy green or variegated cream evergreen foliage which will grow in full sun or semi-shade, and the larger leaved varieties tend to spread more than the smaller leaved varieties.

The flowers are tiny and star-shaped. For a real show-stopping climber choose a climbing or rambling Rose! There is quite a variety available and for gorgeous fragrance try ‘Wedding Garland’, ‘Blossom Time’ or ‘Stamina Rose’.