If you’re looking at taking your gardening to new heights, you really can’t go past climbers.

They are the ultimate in vertical gardening, offering a simple way to add structure, colour and fragrance without sacrificing precious ground space.

There’s a wide selection of climbers available, and what you choose will depend entirely on your situation and the support you have in place.

Climbers use various mechanisms to get themselves upwards: some are twiners, others scramble using recurved hooks, some cling with tendrils, and many simply need a little encouragement on a trellis, fence or pergola.

But the bottom line is they all grow vertically, and they all need vertical support to grow well.

One absolute standout for the garden is the ever-popular star jasmine. This beautiful evergreen climber produces masses of gorgeous little star-shaped white flowers that are highly perfumed. In summer, it’s nothing short of stunning and earns its place in gardens time and time again.

Alongside it is Trachelospermum ‘Tricolour’, much the same as star jasmine but with a lovely variegated leaf.

New growth comes through in pinks and whites before settling, making it a real feature plant.

Like many climbers, this one is incredibly versatile - it can be grown vertically or used as a ground cover. When planted this way it produces a dense mat that helps eliminate weeds, which is always a bonus for any gardener.

Then we move into some of the more special selections. One real beauty is a hardenbergia with dark, almost black, burgundy foliage - appropriately named ‘Out of the Dark’.

It produces beautiful pea-shaped purple flowers in spring and is a nice, slender climber.

It works particularly well when grown alongside another flowering hardenbergia - pink or white - so you get that striking contrast between dark foliage, green foliage and bright blooms.

Combining climbers like this is a great way to change up flower colour and foliage colour, adding depth and interest to your vertical spaces.

Another Australian native well worth considering is Pandorea jasminoides, commonly known as bower of beauty - and for obvious reasons.

The salver-shaped flowers are simply gorgeous, often pink with a deeper, darker throat.

Variegated forms are available, as well as straight green varieties, and flower colours range from pinks to whites and more besides.

Within this range you’ll also find lower-growing, more ground-cover types, but once they reach a vertical surface, they’ll happily head skyward.

So whether you’re covering a fence, softening a wall or adding interest to a pergola, climbers offer a fantastic way to lift your garden - quite literally - to new heights.