UK gardeners heading to garden centres this weekend can find the best climbing plants for walls and gardens with Alan Titchmarsh’s expert advice on selecting the right garden climbers for your space
12:08, 09 May 2026Updated 12:08, 09 May 2026
Alan has one important tip if you’re buying plants this weekend(Image: ITV)
As summer fast approaches, May is a pivotal month for gardeners across the country. Many of us will be heading to garden centres this weekend, hunting down a few extra plants to fill the gaps that have cropped up in beds and borders.
However, on his Gardening with Alan Titchmarsh channel, Gardeners’ World favourite Alan Titchmarsh has a couple of vital tips to keep in mind before you start loading up your trolley. Climbing plants, in particular, can transform your garden entirely – not to mention their ability to disguise unsightly walls and water butts.
But Alan is keen to stress that careful thought is needed about which spots you’re looking to fill before you part with your hard-earned cash.
“There’s a wide range of climbing plants available,” he says, “so it’s important that you study where they’re going to grow before you decide which ones to pick.”
Alan urges gardeners to think carefully about where their new plants will be situated, matching their selection to the conditions in which it will thrive.
Clematis can conceal unsightly walls with a ravishing display of blooms(Image: Getty)
For sunny spots, for instance, Clematis could be an excellent option. However, Alan is quick to point out that this so-called “Queen of Climbers” should always have its roots tucked in the shade. Provided you bear that in mind, Clematis is perfectly suited to covering walls, fences, and pergolas.
For those seeking year-round interest, varieties such as Clematis armandii and C. cirrhosa bring a splash of colour early in the year and remain in leaf throughout autumn.
Alan adds: “Varieties like Shimmer give you large purple flowers and are good for smaller areas, while a more vigorous variety like Clemetus Montana can grow up to 12 metres and has masses of pink flowers early in the season.”
Hydrangeas will thrive in shady conditions(Image: Getty)
For shadier spots, Alan suggests an alternative. He says: “If you’re planting in a shady spot or a north or east facing wall, a reliable option is Hydrangea petiolaris, it has fresh green foliage in spring and pretty white flowers in summer.”
Come autumn, the Hydrangea’s leaves turn an appealing yellow shade, making it an excellent choice for brightening up those tricky north-facing spaces.
For more compact gardens, Alan recommends considering Solanum crispum Glasnevin.
Alan has a personal reason for growing Scabious in his garden(Image: Getty)
This energetic, semi-evergreen scrambling climber grows rapidly, offering instant results for those who can’t wait, and produces abundant, fragrant violet-blue blooms with yellow centres that flower from summer right through to autumn.
It’s also crucial to consider not just the growing conditions but what other plants are already established nearby. “With lots of new plants going into the garden this month, the one thing you should be thinking about is companion planting,” Alan says.
“By planting flowers on the veg patch, you encourage pollinating insects to visit and they make sure that flowers on things like peas and beans are much more likely to set fruit.”
Alan suggests plants with large, daisy-like blooms such as Cosmos and Dianthus, which draw numerous bees and butterflies to the garden, and he has a sentimental motive for including Scabious in the selection too: “My grad-dad grew it,” he explains.
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