Honeysuckle

The early Dutch honeysuckle has large cartwheel-shaped flower-heads made up of rings of curved, almost tubular individual flowers. These deepen in colour slightly as the flowers age, so the plants appear to have cream, apricot-pink and rosy flowers all open at once. The plants are vigorous twiners that climb rapidly up trellis or over arches, where they associate well with climbing roses or other varieties of honeysuckle, which provides a good way to extend the flowering season. They are also superb trained up into trees or covering old tree stumps. The Royal Horticultural Society has given it its prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM).