June is a lovely month to be in the garden – everything is bursting into bloom and you can really enjoy being outside.

Now the evenings are longer and brighter you can use your garden or patio as a great extension to your home – whether it’s in the countryside or in a smaller, but equally treasured, urban environment.

When outside space is at a premium, it’s often a good idea to look at growing climbers so that you can pack as much floral variety as possible into a small area.

One of the most stunning, versatile and colourful climbers is the clematis – easy to grow and with varieties that flower at different times of the year.

Clematis can be grown in containers trained up an ornamental obelisks or wigwams of canes or hazel poles to create a focal point to your patio – compact varieties are perfect for this.

If planting into beds then don’t feel obliged to provide a structure or trellis for support as many clematis can simply be planted in amongst shrubs and left to grow up through them for support.

Dozens of clematis varieties are available, with new ones being introduced every year, in varying shades of colourful pink, red, purple, lilac, blue, cream and white.

Most enjoy their heads being in the sun, but some will also grow well in partial shade.