One of my favorite clematis vines is Clematis florida sieboldiana (the flower is similar to a Passion Flower Vine). It’s the perfect climbing vine for a container, because of its delicate nature. I use this one in container gardens with a trellis structure for support. Blooms appear in June, with a few sporadic flowers appearing throughout the summer. Because clematis vines are deer resistant, they are an obvious choice for gardeners with wildlife issues. Hardy to Zone 7B.
Black-eyed Susan Vine (Thunbergia alata) can be easily grown from seed. For a bright blast of summer color, use in hanging baskets or train on an obelisk. This climbing vine blooms profusely throughout the season. To achieve optimum results, and maintain flower production the whole season, provide morning sun and afternoon shade, especially in hotter climate zones. (Blue bottle tree from Felder Rushing, who has a new book out January 2013, Bottle Trees.)
Soak the seeds for 12 hours in water (or organic cow manure tea, available from Authentic Haven Brand) and then plant them in peat pots to germinate. In two to three weeks, transplant them outdoors after all danger of frost has passed.
Other seed varieties to look for: ‘Arizona Dark Red’ (reddish-orange), ‘Salmon Shades’ (pretty coral-salmon blend), and ‘Susie White Black Eye’ (pure white with a dark eye, just like its name).
One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine. He gathered some of its gourds and filled the fold of his cloak. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were. 2 Kings 4:39 (NIV)
Illustration: Ulisse Aldrovandi (1599)
Clematis ‘Star of India’ (1871) The Floral World and Garden Guide, a gardening periodical from the 1800’s, created by Shirley Hibberd.
Clematis ‘Thomas Moore’ (1869) The Florist and Pomologist, London, “Journal of Horticulture”
W. L. Petermann
1857
(via batesnursery)
Passiflora coccinea is a fast-growing subtropical vine, that enjoys a heavy feeding throughout the summer to keep up the spectacular bloom cycle.
The Laburnum arch with purple allium at Bayview Farm and Garden, owner Maureen Murphy, at Whidbey Island, Langley, Washington. (It should be noted that all parts of this plant are poisonous.)
Barbed wire trellis.
A lovely rendition of the morning glory in stained glass: the wide-open flowers and trailing heart-shaped leaves.
