GARDENING: if you have a garden with a tree or two why not try growing a climber through one?

IF YOU’RE fortunate to have a garden with a tree or two at home then why not try growing a climber through one? writes Tom Attwood. The hardest part of the process is (in most cases) the first year, when you need to get the plant well established before It gets going with a good head of steam the following season. Any plant close to a medium or well-established tree will have to compete for soil, water and nutrients. One method to help in this regard is to build a raised area of soil into which you plant the climber. The alternative is to plant it conventionally (where you are able to) making a hole twice the size of the plant pot and regularly mulching the base of the climber with shop bought soil conditioner or even better, homemade compost. All this will help avoid the climber drying out and a slow release of nutrients necessary for growth. Roses are most commonly used to grow up and into the canopy of trees. Depending on the size of tree you have this may be too much and instead you may deem a clematis more suited or perhaps a honeysuckle. You’ll need to do your homework as for example, there are some rambling roses which lend themselves to scrambling through a medium sized apple tree such as Rosa ‘Paul's Himalayan Musk,’ which can make a stunning show, but there are some ramblers that would completely smother anything that was hosting it in its branches, roses like Seagull or Rambling Rector, two plants not for the faint hearted. If you were contemplating a clematis, choose one that is a group one plant, this means that no real pruning has to be done as opposed to those clematis that fall into the other categories of two or three. I’m very fond of honeysuckle, they remind me of our native hedgerows and the scent produced is something special and look especially beautiful when growing through the branches of a garden tree.