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