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Any suggestions for Climbers round a new Pergola?


Dear fellow gardeners,

A neighbour of mine here in Bari, Southern Italy (at sea level on the
Adriatic - can anyone tell me what zone this is?) has asked me to help
him with a pergola he has just built in his garden.
The pergola is about four metres square on the north west side of the
garden, fairly sheltered from the sea (which is 200 metres away) by
other buildings, and then his  railings and pittosporum hedges. The
pergola has adequate soil around the outside, but I don't know the
depth. They have two big dogs, too.
He was just going to put boring old ivy round it, but to return his
great favour of feeding our dogs every day for the last month, I
suggested that I would think of a range of climbers that would provide
him with scent and colour throughout the year, with some deciduous and
some evergreen.
I was especially thinking of Lonicera and Jasminum spp., for scent as
well as Rosa, Wisteria, Plumbago, Clematis, Passiflora etc. for their
looks. Can anyone recommend the sort of sequence I could get from
different varieties of these species? How hardy will they be in a long
hot summer such as this year (over 35° every day for two months with
typical Mediterranean summer rainfall - just occasional showers when we
were lucky), with no real frost in the winter (snow every four years or
so).
As alternatives, does anyone have any experience with Fremontia,
Clianthus, Celastrus, Campsis, etc.?
Any other plants you can recommend?

Obviously, in the end, the choice will come down to just three or four
different species, with perhaps more than one variety of, say, Lonicera.

Look forward to hearing some great ideas!

Anthony Green




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