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| Pixabay/CC0 |
The use of climbing or vining plants in
your garden can add interest to a dull area, color, flowers,
attractive foliage all year or bear fruit for yourself or the birds.
Depending on the zone you live in, you can choose from evergreen or
deciduous, fruit and/or flower bearing, long or short lived and
climbing or ground covering. Evergreen vines on back fence can add
privacy and color throughout the year with little or no care. With
the use of trellises vines can be used to screen off various parts
of your yard or can be used to block items like your air-conditioning
or your compost bins. In fact, they can be used to add an ornamental
architectural element to your space in various ways.
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| Training vines, keeps the where you want them. |
Vining plants are often referred to as
climbers because of their self clinging and trailing ways, plus the
fact that they will use almost any structure or solid object as their
support system. For this reason, you need to make sure that your
climber will not ramble to unwanted areas by giving it training
lessons. A vigorous or full-grown climber, depending on the type,
can become too heavy for its given support system. So when choosing
a climbing plant, thought has to be put into not only its soil and
climactic tolerance, but also the type of support system and the
increasing weight that it may have to hold over years of growth.
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| Ivy vines are great climbers. |
Also make sure the way a climber/vine
attaches itself will not cause future damage – it is surprising the
holding and staying power of some climbers. The toughest attach
system is the self clinging aerial roots of Ivy vines and the self
clinging adhesive pads of Parthenocissus climbers, both of these
plants are grown mostly for autumn colors and are fast growers. It
is best to grow these climbers on a unpainted strong structure where
they can grow for years undisturbed, such as a brick wall or shed
because they have been known to literally take the paint off or the
mortar from a brick wall during the removal process. The other type
of attachment system climbers use is called twining, it is the
process of the climber to use tendrils or leave stalks to coil around
its support system, best for use on trellis, fences and training on wooden structures. Climbers/vines can also be used as
ground-cover by letting them just trail on the ground.
Other climbers/vines that are popular
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Clematis comes in a wide array of
colors and flower forms.
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Black-eyed Susan can brighten a dark
corner.
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Bougainvillea adds a old-fashion look
with its dainty flowers.
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Leaf vines are mostly grown for their
beautiful autumn colors.
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