A pergola covered with a flowering climber or vine can add shade to your home and add a gorgeous floral display and some climbers are also perfumed.
In Brisbane a cottage style garden is not always practical as many of the plants do not work in
the warmer weather - but a flowering vine can instantly add a cottage feel to your garden when they are cascading over a pergola or arbour.
If you stick to the whites, lilacs and pastel pinks you can create that lovely cottage garden feel
For a more striking or tropical feel - use the vibrant red, pinks and oranges and these plants will
be eye catching and create an instant lush coolness to your outdoor areas.
Brisbane weather is perfect for the following 6 flowering creepers and these can be found at our local Nursery in Capalabla
Types Of Climbers For A Pergola
Climbers fall into 4 categories of how they "climb"
And the following 6 flowering vines are perfect for a sturdy pergola and the right vine can minimise the need to add a roof to your pergola or allow an area of your pergola to be roof free
Some climbing plants can grow too heavy for a regular pergola - eg a wisteria or a kiwi fruit vine and other plants just aren't suitable for a pergola such as ivy or a creeping fig
Twiners: These plants are snake like as their new growth is super flexible and will wrap around anything that can support them.
Wisterias are twiners and as mentioned they can destroy a lightweight pergola or arbour
Tendrils: Small side shoots that look like little coils or spings. They are perfect for covering over areas of lattice work or mesh fences and can create a flowering wall with the right supports
Scramblers: Using rear facing thorns or spikes to anchor them selves to a support –
Bougainvilleas or a climbing Rose is the most obvious example. You may need to also train or
tie the plant into place.
Sticky feet: or aerial roots - Several climbers can cling to any surface using tiny suction cup-like appendages or dense clusters of aerial roots. An example of this is Ivy and care should be taken with this style of creeper as they can damage the surface that they are growing on.
6 Best Flowering Climbers For Brisbane
Bougainvillea
Native to South America and is a "scrambler"
For incredible flowering and fast growing you can’t go past the Bougainvillea.
Flowers come in Pink, red, orange and white.
They come in some smaller varieties such as the Bambino range
They do need full sun and well draining soil. They do not like wet feet but will require some watering in the warmer months
You will have to train Bougainvilleas up the areas that you want them to scramble over
They do require pruning to keep them growing to conform to the structure that you want them
to cover.
Hardenbergia
The most common form is the ‘Happy Wanderer"
This is an Australian native and it as "twiner"
It is an evergreen plant with dark green leaves and they flower with a mass explosion of
blooms in winter to spring
Typically it is a purple flower but newer species have been cultivated to include a white variety
and apink variety
They are members of the pea family and are sometimes called False Sarsaparilla, or Purple
Coral Pea.
They grow in a sunny position and can handle some shade
They do not tolerate frost very well at all.
Mandevillas
Sometimes called Dipladenia
Native to Central and South America and is a "Tendrils"
Is a lush, tropical climber that produces flowers year round if the plant is in the right spot and in good health.
It is a hardy and versatile climber and comes in a huge array of colours in shades of deep burgundy, scarlet, through all shades of pink and white.
These climbers do well in large pots and you can place these in paved areas to create an instant lush tropical feel to your outdoor area provide a trellis at the base of these vines so you can
train it up onto your pergola and as the plant matures it will create a beautiful lush flowering carpet of flowers
Pandoreas or Wonga Wonga vine
This is an Australian native and it is a "twiner"
It has evergreen dark glossy leaves and it is fast growing
It requires at least 6 hours of sun a day and needs to be watering the drier months
They colours range from pure white, to soft pastel pinks and through to darker pinks.
Some of the colours will produce a delicate fragrance.
The flowers are trumpet shaped and will flower from Spring To Autumn and with profuse flowering
It is an eye catching floral display due to the size of the flowers and the way that they form in beautiful clusters.
Orange Trumpet Creeper or Venusta vine (Pyrostegia venusta)
South American Native and is a "Tendrils"
In mid to late winter this stunning vine produces masses of bright orange flowers
It is a hardy evergreen vine and with dense foliage and it is quick growing.
It needs well draining soil and watering in the drier months.
It needs a warm and sunny position and will cover or hide lattice and mesh fences.
To show off the stunning trumpet shaped blooms allow it to cascade off the roof part of a
pergola or a carport and you will have a mass of flaming orange blooms..
It will give your garden a tropical feel with the orange blooms and dark green foliage
Star Jasmine
Native to South East Asia and is a "twiner"
An evergreen climber with pretty green foliage but the Star of this climber is the heady perfume that these small star shaped flowers emit.
They perform well in partial shade to full sun and will look brilliant in all planting situations. It
also works incredibly well as ground cover and many local councils use this plant for medium
strip planting
With little care and light pruning - You will have a spectacular display of delicate white flowers
and and a glorious perfume
It also grows well on light frames like arbours
Build A Perfect Pergola
We would love to create the perfect pergola to suit your home and garden style.
A pergola is a versatile outdoor structure that can create shade and protection and well as join different garden zones together with a well thought out structure connecting the areas and
even creating walkways
Pergolas are often used to create a roof for your deck and they can be a pergola patio style of structure with being partially roofed
