Going Up In The World

Going Up In The World!

Sometimes you just have to go up in the world! When we garden , we so often concentrate on the horizontal or eye level aspects of garden design that we forget another facet of garden design, vertical gardening.

Vertical gardening is a godsend to those of us who are limited on space or who have room enough but want to break things up a bit. My personal opinion is that we need to utilize that "wasted space" more often. I think that many of us shy away from this aspect of gardening because we either find it intimidating or we have a connotation that vines and climbers are unruly and will take over the world. While it is true that by their very nature many vining and climbing plants are vigororous growers, there are many well mannered and easy to manage vining and climbing plants that can and should be used in the home landscape. Without further adieu, let's look into a few of them.

Annual Vines:

Vines and climbers can either be annual or perennial. If you have never grown a vine or climber, perhaps the easiest way to get introduced to vertical gardening is to grow a few annual vines. All of the following require a fair amount of sun to do well:

Morning Glory:

The easiest annual vine that I know of is the Morning Glory. This climber grows vigorously around any support thrown at it. One of the prettiest yards in my area has a morning glory vine growing around the light post out front. The blue flowers are stunning, and I always slow down to admire it when I drive by. Morning glories enjoy full sun, and come in various shades of pink, red, white and blue. The seeds are easy to handle, so spacing and thinning are not a problem. Soak the seeds overnight in warm water before planting and plant them when the weather has moderated and the soil has warmed, about early May in our region. Depending upon variety, morning glories grow from 10 to 20 feet tall. They are easy to cut back when they hit the top of their supports.

Moonflower:

Another good annual vine is the Moonflower, the Morning Glory's kissin' cousin. As its name implies, it blooms in the evening and night. Unlike morning glories, this plant is scented, and makes a wonderful entranceway or back porch plant. Give it support to grow, and bend the top over when it hits the top of its support to help induce flowering. Again, soak the seeds overnight and plant in the ground when the soil has warmed. Moonflowers are capable of growing up to 30 feet, can be pruned or bent over when they reach the top of their supports.

Spanish Flag:

Here's another vine that requires the same culture as the Morning Glory. Spanish Flag has freesia-like flowers which are yellow-orange with red tints. This grows to about 15 feet tall.

Cardinal Climber:

Cardinal Climber, with its brilliant red flowers, is attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies and grows to about 15 feet tall.

Sweet Potato Vine:

The Sweet Potato Vine grows to about 5 to 10 feet long. This is grown primarily for its foliage.

Black Eyed Susan Vine:

Black Eyed Susan Vine grows about 8 to 10 feet tall. It has yellow daisylike blooms with dark purple centers. Newer varieties are peach-colored and rosy-colored, offering more choices in this easy-to-grow vine.

Scarlet Runner Bean:

Scarlet Runner Bean, with edible pods, grows about 8 feet tall. Flowers are scarlet red. This is a good choice to grow if you are concerned about young children sampling plants as it is a bean.

Cup and Saucer Vine:

The Cup and Saucer Vine has violet or white flowers with the base of the flowers looking like saucers. These are fragrant and grow to 30 feet.

Sweet Peas:

This discussion about annual vines wouldn't be complete without Sweet Peas! These grow to about 8 feet tall and are very fragrant with many beautiful colors, including true blue. Sweet Peas have inedible seeds, so use caution around children.

Perennial Vines:

There are many good perennial vines that are well adapted to our region. These can be counted on to return every year. Note: I didn't forget about clematis! Those will be in an article all to themselves!

Honeysuckle:

Many of the honeysuckle varieties are fragrant, some are not. They are all great attractors of hummingbirds. There are many good varieties, so I won't list them here. One I will list, but not as a recommendation, is 'Hall's Honeysuckle', also known as 'Japanese Honeysuckle' and properly known as Lonicera japonica. This is NOT a good variety to grow, and is aggressively taking over a lot of woodland areas. Some states have banned its sale or importation and use, so check with your extension agent before you purchase this honeysuckle. See if it's becoming a problem child in your area first. Keep the honeysuckle vines pruned on any variety to keep them within bounds.

5 Leaf Akebia:

Hardy in zone 5 at its northern limits. Prune this one after flowering, as it blooms on old wood. This vine bears maroon colored flowers in the spring, with a spicy fragrance. It grows rapidly and can get to about 30 feet tall, so this is a good one for a strong arbor or a strong fence.

Trumpet Creeper or Trumpet Vine:

This vine can get away from you, so be careful with it! Prune it diligently in the Spring back to a few buds. They have trumped shaped red-orange flowers, which hummingbirds and bees adore. This is hardy in our zones 5a to 6a region. Give it very good support. I wouldn't grow it anywhere near a tree or shrub, it is so vigorous that it might put a stranglehold on the poor plant! It is good for covering retaining walls and sturdy fences.

Silver Lace Vine:

This is similar in growth habit to Trumpet Creeper, so follow the same rules regarding placement and pruning: Great for retaining walls and sturdy fences, don't plant it where it can climb into a tree or shrub. This has small white flowers.

With most of the perennial climbers, keep in mind that a good, sturdy support is needed. They can carry a lot of weight on them, unlike most annual vines.

Vines and climbers add much needed vertical interest to the home garden. It can be as simple as a Morning Glory, or as dramatic as a deep blue clematis. They can soften the corners of a building, they can accent the nook of a garden. They all will add great visual interest, and are not that hard to grow or maintain, if we learn about their requirements and pruning needs. An arbor with a well grown climber can add a cool note to the summer garden, and a place to escape for young and old alike. I hope you will include a few of these plants to your garden. If you do, I'll bet you will be pleased with how a few well placed vines spices up the looks of your garden!