Reaching for the top

IN THE GARDEN

- Mary Keen

VERTICAL gardening is a useful trick for those in a hurry. If you want instant height in a border, try a tripod, a wigwam of pea sticks, a metal obelisk, or even simply a wooden post, then plant an annual climber or two at the bottom and watch the plants race to the top in a couple of months. They can also clothe your new walls long before more permanent things are ready to take over.

If you are careful about what you pair with what, annual climbers can co-exist with long-term choices. I am still waiting for my favorite ‘Bengal Crimson’ rose to spread its wings in the courtyard, so a good companion, for the time being, is Lathyrus matucana, the sweet pea with the best scent of all. The deep red of the rose and rich dark velvety purple of the pea are fine together. But the rose has to win, so only a few strands of L. matucana are allowed to climb among and above the thorns. Rhodochiton atrosanguineus, of the tiny purple bells and in a similar color range, would also work. Or I might have tried morning glory, Ipomoea tricolor ‘Heavenly Blue’, which is true to its name, but shivers at any hint of cold. I had some grown by a friend and, even in the greenhouse in late April, they became wan after I banished the heater too soon.

A hardier convolvulus is Ipomoea ‘Grandpa Ott’, which is a rich purple rather than blue. Last year, I grew it up