Thanks Nick - and to everyone else who replied. Interesting reading for a
novice like myself.

Hedera helix it is.

Chris
"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
"Chris" writes:
| A bit more info.
|
| I have just bought a garden arch which I would like the climber to
cover -so
| people will be walking through it to get to the back garden (climbing
roses
| would not be a good idea due to thorns)
|
| I am in North Wales - the arch will be exposed to direct sunlight for
most
| of the day. I live on the side of a hill, so sometimes there is a gale
| howling around the bungalow - so cant be anything too delicate.
|
| Does this narrow it down?

Yes. If you insist on evergreen, that means ivy. I doubt that any
of the other ones that are evergreen even with you would tolerate
a gale. And, by ivy, I mean Hedera helix.

Several of the honeysuckles will have no problem - Lonicera periclymenum
is native to the uplands of Britain, and has several cultivated
varieties.

Several of the clematis would almost certainly be happy, too (NOT
C. armandii, the evergreen one), but I don't know how well the other
good climbers (wisteria etc.) take wind.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.