Vines can be the quick salvation of the new home owner.

Fast-paced annuals will twine up a hastily erected pergola almost

before summer starts, providing a cool, fragrant and beautiful

awning. Annuals and perennials (or hardy vines, as perennials are

called) are an inexpensive way of softening the lines of new

buildings, linking them to the landscape.

Decorative and functional, vines are often the answer for older

homes as well, the ground-covering varieties serving as cover for

foundations and banks, others spreading a carpet of flowering

greenery over walls, making fences seem friendlier and stone

buildings less harsh.

The methods by which vines climb will necessarily influence and

determine your selection. Some vines, such as grape vine, have

tendrils which reach out and grasp small objects to hold on to;

these vines need a lattice or fence. Others, such as Boston ivy,

have adhesive discs that fasten on to a brick or stone wall, and

still others, such as the climbing hydrangea, hold to a masonry

wall with small, aerial rootlets.

Finally, there are those that climb by twining around other

branches or poles, climbing from left to right, or right to left

(like honeysuckle). This type can be parasitic in the worst

sense, climbing over small bushes and trees and completely

strangling them.

No vine should be unsupported, however, and attractive vines are

those which are carefully trained and held up. Supports such as

arbors, trellises and per golas need not be elaborately

constructed, since their function is to display the vine, not

themselves. Wood or other material that does not require painting

is ideal, for the natural woods are really more suitable as a

background for vines than are the painted ones.

If you have a wooden house and want vines on the walls, it is a

good idea to construct a detachable trellis, hinged at the bottom

so that it can swing outward when painting is going on. There

will be sufficient flexibility in the tendrils to allow this.

Planting Vines

If you are planting annuals, ordinary digging in well-drained

soil should suffice. But if you are planting perennials, you will

want to plant them as well as any shrub; remember that if they

are planted close to the foundation, the soil may be poor

initially and may need preparation. The hole should be at least 2

feet square. Break up the bottom soil and mix in bone meal, peat

moss, etc.

If you are planting near the house, be careful to place the vine

far enough from the overhanging eaves so that water will not drip

on the leaves. In winter weather, wet leaves can freeze in the

evening and crack. Also, if the vines are placed against a sunny

wall they will get reflective heat, and so they should receive

extra watering in hot weather.

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 now to find a great selection of vines for your

garden