Flourishing an entrance with climbing plants

A climbing plant for your space

If you need to frame a 3 m wide gate or a small entrance door to your house, you won’t choose the same plant for obvious reasons of size, particularly in height but especially in width, especially since entrance doors are often close to a window that should not be covered. Some very voluble climbing plants have lianas up to 6 or 8 m long, or even more, which are well-suited for installation over wide entrances, such as Wisteria, Bignonia, certain clematis and roses, as well as Schizophragma and Passiflora.

To adorn a smaller entrance, such as a house door, opt for climbing plants that do not take up too much space in width. You might prefer medium-sized roses, or the Japanese Wisteria Wisteria venusta, which has a low spread, or a Jasminum stephanense, which takes up barely 1 m in spread, clematis, etc.

Always check the ground coverage of the climbing plant, so you don’t end up with a plant that becomes too cumbersome for your entrance! Many cultivars among clematis, roses, and Passiflora, in particular, allow for installation around an entrance door.

→ Discover our roses for arches and pergolas, perfect for a small entrance.

A Bignonia may become invasive, so ensure it has plenty of space (© GK Sens-Flickr)

A climbing plant to suit your mood

The type of climbing plant should be chosen based on the style of your garden, as the strong presence of a climbing plant adds to the personality you wish to convey and announce from the moment you enter:

– In a modern garden, with a contemporary inspiration, don’t hesitate to use original climbing plants such as Wattakas or Holboellias; versatile Trachelospermums will also find their place.

– In an English garden, a cottage or romantic-style garden, charming English climbing roses with a low ground cover, fragrant and highly floriferous, along with Clematis, are a lovely way to welcome visitors.

Photo Gwenaëlle David

– In the countryside, one can very well use a Trumpet Vine, knowing that Honeysuckles, roses, and clematis always blend well into the landscape.

– In an exotic garden, the Trumpet Vine has its place, with its warm colours and tubular flowers bringing the exotic notes of the tropics, but one can also opt for a Passion Flower, or in a mild climate, dare to choose a Bougainvillea.

Trumpet Vine (Campsis) and Bougainvillea, ideal in warm regions to bring exoticism

A climbing plant according to the flowering period

In spring, you have a choice of many fragrant climbers including clematis and the famous Clematis montana, Akebias, and Wisterias. By late spring, Jasmines, Honeysuckles, climbing roses, climbing Hydrangeas, and Schizophragmas take over. In summer, it’s the turn of Trumpet Vine, Wattakakas, and clematis, with perpetual roses continuing their divine flowering. Finally, in winter, the Clematis armandii and Clematis cirrhosa will enchant your entrance, or Jasminum nudiflorum taking up more space around gateways, for example.

From spring to winter, an avalanche of flowers with Clematis montana, Trachelospermum jasminoides, Clematis Jackmanii ‘Superba’, and winter Jasmine

A climbing plant according to the type of support

You will not install your climbing plants in the same way depending on their support systems, which are completely different. For vigorous climbers like Wisteria, ensure you have very sturdy supports. For a Trachelospermum, use wires to guide it as it does not have tendrils to help it wrap around, just like the Bougainvillea. For a rose or a clematis, a crossed trellis will be sufficient. The Bignonia and climbing Hydrangea, on the other hand, can cling on their own.

A unique climbing plant or a combination of climbing plants?

It’s a question worth considering before installing a climbing plant around your entrance for many years. You can install the same climbing plant on both the right and left of a gate or entrance to create a lush green archway that is very appealing when entering a home. Alternatively, you can frame a door with two different climbing plants, either in colour or type. It’s all a matter of aesthetics.

You can thus pair a rose with a clematis in a very classic yet charming way (for example, the Climbing Rose ‘Trier’ with its lovely small cream and yellow flowers alongside the Clematis ‘Star of India’, or two clematis of similar colours together (one white and one mauve, one pink and one white, etc.). Clemmatis are particularly well-suited for this type of combination as many of them have a lesser spread in width and will provide a beautiful overall visual around the door.

For a larger span around a gate, such as on either side of a porch, it is preferable to install the same climbing plant for a lovely mass effect. Evergreen climbers like Winter Jasmine are ideal for the South, while Hydrangeas petiolaris are perfect for the North. The Wisteria, although deciduous, will be perfect for a grand entrance due to its stunning spring flowering, which continues in summer, and its long foliage that provides privacy until late autumn. The Trumpet Vine is a beautiful option to accompany a large gate with its warm tones all summer long!

On the left, an impressive Hydrangea petiolaris (© Wendy Cutler), on the right, a beautiful combination of purple clematis with large flowers and a botanical rose with white flowers

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Your entrance should be welcoming, but also secure! Be cautious of certain old roses that drop a lot of petals on the ground; during rainy weather or when you prune them, they can become quite slippery. A wisteria located near an entrance door will also shed many clusters of flowers after the peak of flowering, as well as a significant amount of leaves starting in September. You will need to sweep your entrance regularly… Finally, bignonia, like wisteria, can become very voluble, so you will need to prune them regularly if you don’t want to be overwhelmed or create too much shade near a window, for example.