For covering walls of houses, boulders, stone walls, etc., the

ivies are, of course, used more than other vines. Boston ivy is

the quickest growing. Japanese bittersweet [Euonymus radicans) is

a good vine for walls, too; evergreen, it grows well on the north

sides of buildings as well as on exposed locations.

Winter-creeper, in both large and small-leaved varieties, is a

hardy vine for wall planting.

Other vines that can cling without aid to concrete, brick and

stone include Chinese trumpetcreeper, English ivy, Lowe ivy and

Virginia creeper, sometimes called woodbine or American ivy.

Virginia creeper is the ivy that twines around trees and covers

the ground in woodlands, and while it makes a good building

cover, it does become heavy and require thinning out as it grows

older. Virginia creeper is also effective for providing shade.

(Other shade-producing vines are grape, Dutchman's pipe and

silver vine.)

Many vines which are not self-supporting can be trellis-trained,

and can add color and beauty to a house. Among the more showy

varieties are wisteria, with its clusters of white to purple blos

soms; clematis, which has a large flower appearing from early

summer until fall; and trumpetcreep-er, with its tropical-looking

clusters of big scarlet and orange flowers during late summer.

There is also trumpet honeysuckle, which has clusters of red and

yellow perfumed flowers; and climbing hydrangea, with its large

white clusters. Some of the annual vines, such as the hyacinth

bean which grows on strings and has many flowers, or the scarlet

runner bean which has showy flowers, are good for shade, too.

For covering banks and ground where you have difficulty with

grass, you might try periwinkle (also called running myrtle), an

evergreen which has blue flowers all summer. Another evergreen is

pachysandra, mentioned elsewhere; and there is moneywort which

flattens against the ground.

Some attractive and fragrant-blossoming annuals that you might

also consider are: nasturtium; bal-foon vine, which is good to

cover fences; cypress vine, with a large number of small

star-shaped flowers in orange, red and white, and the familiar

morning-glory and moonflower plants.

About the Author

Paul Curran is CEO of Cuzcom Internet Publishing Group and

webmaster at Trees-and-Bushes.com, providing access to their

nursery supplier of a range of quality plants, trees, bushes,

shrubs, seeds and garden products.Visit their

vines section to find a great selection of vines for your

garden