Hang Ten Climbing plants take a Melbourne garden to new heights.

H O W T O H A N G T E N

Climbing plants are at the heart of this Melbourne garden, designed for sensational seasonal colour as well as a timeless sense of beauty.

T E X T E L I Z A B E T H W I L S O N / P H O T O G R A P H Y M A R T I N A G E M M O L A

Wall’s treat

The boundary wall is thick with layers of green, starting at ground level with Asiatic jasmine (Trachelospermum asiaticum). Boston ivy grows directly on the wall and Chinese star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) grows along horizontal steel wires in front.

Neutral foundation

A restrained colour palette for the hard surfaces was key. Bluestone 400x800mm pavers from Eco Outdoor were laid in a 90-degree herringbone pattern to echo the pattern of the stone-tile flooring inside the house. Draped crusader

Virginia creeper grows up a wire and over the pergola, forming a curtain of foliage that dangles over the dining zone. It also grows along wires extending over the pool. At the base of the post is Asiatic jasmine. The pergola is spotted gum, a native hardwood.

Visual efect

Boston ivy flourishes along the back and side walls of the house. “Having greenery on these vertical surfaces makes the garden seem larger because you feel enveloped by green,” says Scott. S C O T T L E U N G

Principal designer, Eckersley Garden Architecture

The brief

The owners of this two-storey 1880s terrace in Melbourne called on Scott to create a timeless garden, one that would complement the classic front facade and their home’s contemporary rear extension equally well.

The solution

Scott’s approach was to “keep it classic, simple and understated”. To give the garden an immersive quality, he focused on “greening the verticals and developing overhead canopies”. He did this by training climbing plants over all available surfaces, including fences, walls and wire cables. The hero plants are Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), seen here in the 160m2 rear garden displaying its curtain of autumnal red tendrils, and Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata), a vigorous fence and wall climber.

Designer statement

“We’ve injected an abundance of green into relatively small spaces.” > Eckersley Garden Architecture, Richmond, Victoria; (03) 9413 3223 or www.e-ga.com.au.

P R E T T Y G R E E N S In the 40m² front garden, Scott laid 400x400mm bluestone pavers in a stretcher pattern, interspersed with strips of Eden river pebbles, all sourced from Eco Outdoor. Coral bark Japanese maples (Acer palmatum ‘Sangokaku’) are underplanted with Liriope muscari ‘Royal Purple’. A boundary wall is festooned with Boston ivy while Virginia creeper grows up a wire to the verandah.“Growing greenery on these surfaces extends the garden and cools the home in summer,” says Scott.

Curtain call

The front of the terrace is draped in Virginia creeper, carefully trained along steel wires. It now hangs luxuriantly from both above and below the home’s top-storey verandah. Quick results

In Melbourne’s climate, it takes about six months for a Virginia creeper to climb to the top of a two-storey home. “Then we train the leaders across a wire for a curtaining e ect,” says Scott.

Golden moments

The canopies of coral bark Japanese maples turn golden in autumn. These elegant, vase-shaped trees grow to a height of 4-5m, perfect for small to medium gardens. True colours

The beauty of Virginia creeper and Boston ivy, says Scott, is the fact that they “hold their foliage from the ground up”, producing continuous greenery without a woody base section. Pretty timeless

The delicate trailing foliage of Virginia creeper and the dainty leaves of Japanese maples are a perfect match for the intricate iron lacework featured on the verandah balustrade.

Scott’s tips on his favourite creepers

✚ Boston ivy and Virginia creeper are vigorous growers, best suited to temperate areas of southern Australia. ✚ Both are deciduous but when new growth appears (spring to autumn) they create a complete wall of green because foliage grows along the plant’s entire length. ✚ Both are frost-hardy and thrive in cooler temperature climates. Virginia creeper foliage turns scarlet in autumn, even in mild climates. Boston ivy is more temperature-sensitive but can turn purple or even bright red when mornings are consistently about 4˚C. ✚ Virginia creeper and Boston ivy both like full sun but can also tolerate shade. ✚ These self-clinging climbers have disc-like suckers. To prevent them from leaving sucker marks on the wall, train them up a wire. ✚ Controlled growth requires pruning three to four times a year, says Scott. ✚ Use them to create a canopy for summer shade and winter sun. “Even without foliage, the branch network gives a sense of cosiness.”

1 / House 2 / Coral bark maples 3 / Mondo grass, butterfly iris, birch 4 / Virginia creeper on arbour 5 / Magnoliagrandiflora

‘Exmouth’ underplanted with Asiastic jasmine 6 / Virginia creeper on pergola N

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A / Virginia creeper displays its five-fingered clusters of leaves and berries. B / The rear patio is fringed by a hedge of Magnolia grandiflora ‘Exmouth’, underplanted with Asiatic jasmine and Liriope giganteum. C / Potted succulents sit pretty in a metal frame, beside a column of Virginia creeper. D / The side garden exudes jungle chic. Boston ivy grows on the wall as Virginia creeper drapes overhead. Mondo grass and Dietes iridioides perennials flank a path of bluestone steppers. #