This climber is semi-evergreen, so it can lose some of its leaves in winter. In colder regions or more exposed gardens, it may lose them all, but then fresh new foliage appears again in spring.

• Position: full sun or partial shade
• Soil: fertile, humus-rich, moist, well-drained soil
• Rate of growth: average
• Flowering period: July to September
• Hardiness: fully hardy

  
  This honeysuckle has a real wow factor, with long, trumpet-shaped, vivid scarlet flowers from July to September, followed in hot summers by small red berries. Although it is unscented (or with just a faint hint of perfume), the flower colour more than makes up for the lack of fragrance, and its handsome, semi-evergreen (or deciduous in colder winters) blue-green leaves provide valuable cover for a pergola or boundary wall. An unusual climber for a cottage-style garden.
  
  

• Garden care: Cut back established plants after flowering, removing a third of the flowering shoots. Apply a generous 5-7cm (2-3in) mulch of well-rotted compost or manure around the base of the plant in early spring.