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Vines and Other Climbing Plants to Decorate Your Garden

Vines are perfect for covering unattractive walls, boulders, stone walls or barren spots in your landscape. Most vines are climbing plants, meaning that once you get them started, they climb with little or no assistance.

Although they're easy to maintain, most vines aren't self-supporting and require support from a garden trellis or a wall. Flowering vines, like wisteria and honeysuckle, can add a color and beauty to any house or garden and come in several varieties. Some flowering vines are climbing plants that climb vertically and horizontally, while other are creeping plants that creep along the ground and make great ground cover.

Climbing Plants in Your Garden

Vines are a great addition to the garden because they quickly smooth over any eyesore and can grow on virtually any structure. A simple post, garden shed wall or barren ground will often work just as well as a more elaborate garden trellis. If you want a vine to grow a certain way, you can actually train the vine to travel alongside a rope or sections of a building.

Your choice of a climbing plant will depend on its location as well as the purpose of your garden. Ivy is a good choice for the walls of your house due to its ability to grow on virtually any surface. However, if you have a garden trellis or your garden is geared towards attracting birds, flowering vines are more decorative and the flowers' nectar is a better lure for the birds.

While flowering vines and other climbing plants are easy to start growing, they require regular maintenance to prevent them from growing out of control. When pruning a vine, avoid cutting main leads that attach to other parts of the vine. Severing a main lead can lead to dead patches that are difficult to disengage from the rest of the plant. Of course, most climbing plants are hardy and can survive a fair amount of pruning.

Types of Vines

A diverse range of vines, including flowering vines, is available for home use:.

Clematis, known as the "queen of climbers,” is a hardy and vigorous climbing plant. This purple or pink flowering vine can easily be grown by the amateur gardener.
Honeysuckle, a sweet-smelling white and pink flowering vine, doesn't necessarily need a vertical support structure. As honeysuckle grows, it wraps around itself in a twine-like fashion, creating a cascade of flowers.
Ivy, a popular vine among homeowners, is most commonly used as ground cover. The deep roots of ivies discourage soil erosion on steep slopes. The lush, green foliage of ivy can also be seen climbing the trunks of trees or even the sides of brick homes. Ivies grow on virtually any surface one they're established.
Wisteria vines are well known for their longevity, hardiness and beautiful hanging lavender flowers. These flowering vines do very well at high altitudes.

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