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Even in very small spaces – too small for trees or shrubs – vines can be included in your landscape plan to add vertical interest. You can plant vines in pots or planters and use them to cover railings or bare walls. They can be very useful in patio ideas or if you want to make a private, enclosed corner, away from neighboring eyes, and they will be rewarding when planted to grow flat against a wall or trellis and espaliered to save space, while still providing a green leafy picture in spring and summer.

Once they are growing strongly, many vines need more trimming and pruning than do most other plants. However, they are worth the effort because they look very attractive, while taking up so little of your precious space. If you are planning on rooftop gardens or landscaping, there are many vines and creepers that will cope with the particular conditions of rooftop growing, without requiring too much depth for root growth. They will cover a trellis, soften the hard edge of a planter – or disguise an ugly downpipe or an unsightly post.

Vines come in all shapes and sizes, with various leaf textures. A few are evergreen, many are deciduous. Most are beautiful, some with striking flowers in season. Best of all, once they are established, most vines grow strongly with very little care and attention. Here are some examples.

First up has to be the useful bean! Although not strictly a vine, pole or climbing bean seeds, planted in fertile soil in spring, will reward you throughout summer with pods of succulent green beans that make a delicious addition to salads and stirfries. Planted in full sun and watered well, pole beans will cover a ten-foot-high trellis or tripod in a few weeks. They are annuals, so a new planting will be needed each spring. Keep the ripe bean pods picked to encourage further growth.

English ivy, Hedera helix, has neat, dark green leaves and is an evergreen that is happy to grow in shady places, though it needs a support for its aerial roots to climb onto. It is also useful as a groundcover in gardens and landscaping ideas, sending roots deep into soil. Ivy comes in many varieties, some with yellow, cream or almost white leaves. You will need to thin and prune ivy in early spring, to prevent it taking over your plot.

White jasmine, Jasminum officinale, has showy dark green leaves and is covered in bunches of strongly scented white flowers in spring. It is an evergreen climber that does very well in temperate climates but prefers night temperatures that are above five degrees F (not one for the snow). Because it grows so strongly, you need to give it a very strong support. After it has flowered you can thin and shape it to keep it under control.

Virginia creeper, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, is a most rewarding climber with green leaves in summer followed by spectacular scarlet leaves and beautiful blue berries in fall. It is deciduous and the stems will withstand really cold temperatures, bursting into leaf in spring. It works in most landscaping plans and will grow well in sun or shade, but needs a rough surface to cling to, for example concrete block or roughcast. Prune in early spring, once the creeper is well established. If you have room for a pergola, this creeper is ideal as a cover. It grows quickly, provides shade in summer and lets autumn and winter sun through once the leaves have fallen.

Finally, Japanese wisteria, Wisteria floribunda, will stand quite low temperatures and provide beautiful bunches of blue (or white or pink, depending on the variety) scented flowers in early spring if grown in full sun and given good support. Once the plant is mature you need to prune it each year – its coiling branches can grow very long and may just end up where they are not needed.

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