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Bloom: Let’s talk vines
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Anonymous user Tue Apr 3, 2007 09:45:39 PDT
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0 responses 0 comments Languid tendrils arch over pergolas or weave a visual tapestry through fences and trellis. Vines are stunning, clever, and can be somewhat naughty. Observing the mischief they may get into can be part of the fun. Taming them can be well worth the effort.
Vines can create privacy and an enclosure in the garden. They establish quickly, soften walls, and give a home instant maturity. They can create shade, dappled light, and some even produce fruit.
Let’s start with an easy and instant eye-catcher. The elegant and lovely clematis comes in a variety of colors and fragrance. Try “Niobe” with dark cranberry red flowers or “Nelly Moser” in light pink with an appealing deep raspberry stripe. For the simple glamour of large and pure white blossoms, you can’t beat  “Madame le Coultre” or “Henryii.” Clematis Armandii, with its smaller, white, fragrant blooms, is putting on quite a show now with the early warm weather. This particular ever-to-green vine came through the recent frost with barely a tinge of burn.
Other unusual and tempting vines include Pyrostegia (flame vine) with 3-inch orange trumpets; Thunbergia grandiflora with blue or yellow trumpets;  Aristolochia californica (Duthman’s pipe) with pendulous cream and burgundy-colored flowers; and Vigna caracalla (snail vine) with lavender-colored blooms that resemble the shape of a snail shell.
A rambunctious favorite is sweetly fragrant Lonicera (honeysuckle). Give this vine plenty of space to roam. Two particular beauties of this species are Lonicera sempervierens “Magnifica,” a scarlet red-blossomed 20-foot vine, and exotic Lonicera hildebrandianna (giant Burmese honeysuckle) with tubular flowers in yellowish-orange.
If you are looking for vines that flower in succession, try pink jasmine, Lady Banks rose, wisteria or grapevines. In late winter Lady Banks and jasmine bloom in fall soon after wisteria and grapes have dropped their leaves. The wisteria blooms again in early spring, and grapes leaf out through spring and summer, bearing fruit in late summer or early fall.
Allow bougainvillea to meander into a spring flowering tree, and you will be rewarded with an unexpected combination of flowers, then later a combination of yellow leaves (Ginkgo) and rich magenta blooms.
You can also train edibles like grape, kiwi, beans or tomatoes to wind their way through an established climber like morning glory.
With our unusually warm weather, here are a few thoughts on tomatoes. Think in terms of color this year. The following are so good they are sought after by top restaurants.
• Black plum: large, oval, firm cherry, dark and rich.
• Black prince: beautiful salad-sized burgundy-brown.
• Caro rich: medium-sized orange.
• Cherokee purple: deep, dark pink, rich flavor.
• Great white: large, late, white beefstake.
• Green zebra: lime-green, salad-sized with gold stripes.
• Persimmon: deep orange, full flavor, firm.
• Pineapple: high-color yellow with red flames.
• Red currant: tiny red cherry, full flavor.
Most of the above are heirloom tomatoes chosen for flavor and color. More about tomatoes in a future column.
Remember to work on your soil with compost and fertilizer before planting. If the water stays warmer than usual, increase the amount of time your sprinklers run.
If your soil tends to have more clay, add large bark, sand or gravel to open up the soil. Do not add compost. Water frequently with shorter periods of time. With all soils, check to see how deep water is penetrating. Water retention will change as the temperature rises or falls. It is important to check your irrigation clock and change it as needed this time of the year.
For more information, visit: www.cricklewoodsecretgarden.com

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