5 best climbing plants for a blooming urban courtyard garden

If you have an urban courtyard garden, climbing plants are a smart way to disguise the boundary walls or fences of your outdoor space and create the illusion of more space.

Adding climbing plants is a smart courtyard garden ideas to transform any boxed-in urban space into a glorious oasis. It capitalises on vertical planting space, adding colour to every corner of your garden.

However, this type of garden has more quirks than four walls. They often come with shady spots, space restrictions, lots of concrete and pollution issues, so you’ll need to choose the right climbing plants that will thrive in an urban courtyard garden.

I spoke to garden experts, and these are the five climbing plants that can be planted up in containers and cope well in small spaces to beautify an urban courtyard.

1. Clematis

Clematis is a fast-growing climbing plant that is perfect for providing your courtyard with privacy and colour.

‘Clematis is a classic patio climber, it’s compact, grows well in containers, and offers a huge variety of flower colours and shapes. It’s ideal for urban gardens because it doesn’t need much space and can climb trellises easily. Some varieties even bloom twice a year, giving you a longer season of it,’ says Jo Lambell, founder of Beards & Daisies.

Clematis is a climbing plant that loves the sun, so it works best if your courtyard is south or west facing.

2. Jasmine

‘Star jasmine is evergreen with highly fragrant white flowers. It is ideal for screening and softening hard edges,’ says Jane Dobbs, gardening team lead at Allan’s Gardeners.

Jasmine is a gorgeous, fragrant shrub that will make your urban courtyard garden smell divine, and it works well in sheltered areas, making it ideal for a city environment. The added benefit is that jasmine is evergreen so you can enjoy it’s lush green leaves all year round.

3. Sweet peas

If you’ve been dreaming of a wildlife garden in your urban courtyard garden, then you may have considered it a bit of a pipe dream – but growing sweet peas in pots is a wonderful solution.

‘Annual sweet peas bring colour and scent in a small footprint. They’re perfect for pots with a wigwam or trellis, and they grow quickly, great for renters or short-term gardening projects. They also attract bees and butterflies, which is great for city gardens where there aren’t many insects around,’ says Jo.

4. Climbing hydrangeas

‘Climbing Hydrangea has elegant white flowers in summer. Great for north-facing patios, but needs patience to establish,’ says Jane.

Hydrangeas are impressive blooms that you may assume need a large garden to thrive in, however, climbing varieties can live happily in your courtyard. You can also grow hydrangeas in pots if you want to enjoy the flowers on ground level, too.

‘It’s great for shadier patios,’ adds Jo. ‘It can cling to walls or fences without support and gives beautiful white flowers. Its tolerance for low light makes it really valuable in cities where patios are often shaded by buildings.’

5. Morning glory

Not only does morning glory add splashes of bright colour to yourcourtyard but its also an excellent climbing plant for your garden fence privacy ideas.

‘Morning Glory provides plenty of vertical space to climb. An annual with striking blue flowers that bloom in the summer. It grows fast but needs sun and consistent moisture,’ says Jane.

Morning glory gets its name from the flowers blooming in the morning and staying open for just a day. However, the flowers bloom in succession, meaning you get pretty blooms all summer long.

Climbing plants are perfect for utilsing small spaces – which can only work in your favour in urban courtyard gardens.

Which one is your favourite?