How to Use Climbing Plants and Vertical Gardens to Decorate Your Patio

Home & Garden Blog

A patio allows homeowners to enjoy the best benefits of indoor/outdoor living, extending their living space into the outdoors, while also staying protected from the elements. Homeowners can easily personalise their patios with a number of decorative features, however few are more popular than using plants.

There are many plant that can thrive on a patio, whether as a climbing plant or as part of a vertical garden. Some of the most popular options are explained below.

Climbing Pot Plants

Patios are the perfect setting to incorporate climbing plants, including a number of flowering options. Many patios include lattice work that are ideal to support climbing plants, decorating the area while also creating shade and privacy from neighbouring homes.

Best Climbing Pot Plants for Patios

  • Bougainvillea. With their hot pink, apricot, white, magenta and red flowers, the bougainvillea is a hardy option suited to sun and shade and also grow well in pots. Regular pruning is required to keep under control and encourage flowering.
  • Chinese Jasmine. With dense green leaves and star shaped white flowers with a strong fragrant scent, Jasmine can take a while to become established but will provide dense cover, growing best on patios locations that receive full sun.
  • Honeysuckle. With vibrant orange flowers, honeysuckles thrive with a lattice or trellis support system and are relatively hardy plants best grown in warmer climates.

Vertical Gardens

Since patios connect to the main part of the home and share an external wall, they are the perfect place to establish a vertical garden. Vertical gardens create visual interest and draw the eye upwards, adding some height balance to the space. Brackets can be mounted on the wall with planter boxes neatly fitted to create a green wall with as many as 10 different tiered levels.

Vertical gardens are also ideal for balconies and small patios where space is at a minimum. On a patio, vertical gardens look best when they don't protrude more than 30 cm outwards from the wall, making smaller potted plans the most suitable.

Best Plant Options for Vertical Gardens

Popular options include succulents for their low maintenance and modern look. For a more traditional cottage feel, geraniums and ferns will cascade over the edges to create a continuous wall of foliage.

Vertical gardens also lend themselves to using ground covers like the Baby's tears that will also spill over the edges.  As many patios receive mostly shade, be sure to select ground covers that prefer moist and shady environments. Plants become heavier as they become more established so ensure brackets are mounted correctly with a high weight rating to support your garden boxes.

You can quickly turn a patio from drab to fab with the natural appeal of plants. Two of the best ways to add height to your outdoor space are by incorporating climbing plants and vertical gardens. It's just one of the ways homeowners can personalise their patio, adding value and enjoyment to a space that is becomingly increasingly utilised in our homes. 

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20 April 2015

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