On 11/5/08 23:55, in article ,
"Sheila" wrote:


" One of the prettiest things to do with arches is to use Wisteria or
Laburnum
over them, or both. You could combine them side by side or alternate them
so that one arch is Laburnum and the other Wisteria etc.
Depending on where you live, the evergreen winter flowering Clematis
armandii is a possibility and so is Clematis balearica.


We are in Formby, Merseyside, quite sheltered, not lashed by sea breezes! I
will take note of those Clematis, and I have Laburnum in the garden already,
really beautiful when in flower, and I have always wanted a Wisteria......

I don't know if there's a pic of it online but there's a wisteria/laburnum
'tunnel' of arches at Beaulieu. It's not especially high, so at some point
the flowers must touch peoples' heads but of course, that rather adds to the
magic of it, especially as you would be walking through the scent. The
other interesting lovely way to grow a Wisteria is low down along e.g. a
hand rail over a bridge or along a low wall or fence. Clematis balearica
tends to romp to the top of things and flower way up high, so if it's kept
low - perhaps on a hand rail, arch, or fence, it is seen at its best, IMO.
You could also consider the thornless rose, Zephirine Drouhin, which won't
attack people walking through the arches!


--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'