Climbed a pole to see flowers? (5)
I believe the answer is:
roses
'flowers?' is the definition.
(rose is a type of flower)
'climbed a pole' is the wordplay.
'climbed' becomes 'rose' (raise and climb can both mean to go up or increase).
'a pole' becomes 's' (abbreviation for South, as in South Pole).
'rose'+'s'='ROSES'
'to see' is the link.
(Other definitions for roses that I've seen before include "Fragrant flowers" , "''They are not long, the days of wine and ...'' (Dowson)" , "Popular flowers" , "Bloomers" , "Thorny plants" .)