Actinidia

Some climbers like ivy need no support other than that provided by their aerial roots whereas others, as for example the climbing roses, need tying in with string, plastic ribbon, webbing or a similar artificial aid.

I always use a soft string which will not chafe even the most tender bark and, which is perhaps more important, it will rot after a year or two. When indestructible material is used I grow careless about the annual inspection to ensure the stem is not being constricted by the tie. All wall plants must be looked over at least twice a year to make certain the stems are not being chafed or strangled by the supporting media.

Before attempting any planting examine the soil at the foot of an average house wall. Usually it consists of builders’ leavings, sub-soil, pot crocks and other aridities, possibly enriched by a few tea leaves. All this must be excavated and replaced with soil from a fertile part of the garden.

Actinidia chinensis will riot over an acre of wall in an undignified scramble. The large leaves, 6 to 8 in. across, and fragrant flowers are recompense enough if space can be provided, but really only a castle offers sufficient wall space and even then, should the drawbridge be left down, it could prove a liability for once inside it would take over the uppermost turret. A. kolomikta is a shrub of feminine complexity. It is incapable of deciding on a suitable leaf colour, the lower half remaining green while the upper half turns white and pink.

I avoid hard pruning for the stems being hollow tend to die back along the whole branch. A thinning of the twigs is a permitted indulgence. A warm south or west-facing wall suits actinidia best.

Some gardeners have an instinct for putting flowers in just the right association with one another and I am fortunate in that for 15 years just such an artist gave me endless help at Harlow Car. C. macropetala, an early-summer-flowering species with large violet semi-double blooms, was her favourite and it was always grown through a wisteria which flowered at the same time. C. montana is the robust, independent, ‘go out and conquer the world’ member of the clan, growing well in any position. I have seen it on walls, potting sheds, thatched cottages, Scots Pine, apple trees, even a ruined church. I grow the white form granditiora , the rose-purpleflowered, bronze-leaved rubens and the pearl- pink, sweetly fragrant Elizabeth. All flower in May and some years a small second crop appears rather apologetically in August.