The vines of spring/summer range from the earliest of all vines -- wisteria -- to common star jasmine, somewhat common honeysuckle and clematis to tropical bougainvillea and even more exotic passionflower. Most bloom throughout summer and, best of all, they can be planted now! In fact, with cold-tender tropicals like bougainvillea, it's vital that you get them in as early in spring as possible in order for roots to get established before frost hits.
Let's start with the earliest blooming of all vines, wisteria. The true sign that spring has really arrived is when wisteria blooms on naked branches. The fragrant purple and sometimes white or pink flowers started blooming around six weeks ago in my area of the central coast of California, and are nearing the end of their bloom now. The only downside to these hardy, vigorous vines is that they are so vigorous. The deciduous twining vines will grow into a snarl of stems if left to grow without pruning.
Probably the showiest of all vines are bougainvillea. The big downside with these tropical vines is that they're extremely tender to cold winters. Personally, I've lost two through the years and have given up trying to grow one. However, if you're lucky and have a southwest-facing wall that will serve as some frost protection, you might be able to get one established. It all depends on how harsh a winter we have after planting. You simply can not beat the masses of bright red, purple or orange flowers all through summer.
Most locals already know about star jasmine, which are among the most widely used plants in California. These glossy green privet-like plants are often used as groundcovers with their multitude of white, star-shaped flowers that spread their sweet fragrance in summer. But put a trellis to star jasmine and -- voila -- you've got a climbing vine.
Other jasmines include primrose jasmine, which bloom bright yellow flowers, and angelwing jasmine, which have bicolor purple and white pinwheel-like flowers.
Honeysuckles are almost as common as jasmine. The giant Burmese honeysuckle (Lonicera hildebrandiana) features 6-inch-long tubular fragrant flowers that open white and then turn to yellow and orange.
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