'Medusa' is another with extremely dark green, highly polished leaves that would be quite lovely with a light background; perhaps pouring over the top of a gray stone wall.
'Parsley Crested' illustrates again just how variable ivy leaves can be. The edges of the newer leaves really do resemble tightly curled parsley, while the older leaf edges are hardly curled at all. This is one you'd want to keep trimming to force new growth - another candidate for that special small spot of a very special ivy.
There are many more vines for our gardens than I've covered in this series - annual and perennial.
I've grown some who have departed for the great compost heap in the sky for various reasons. Silver Lace Vine (Polygonum aubertii) is one. I had it growing for many years up a dead pine tree. The tree was blown over in a storm and the vine never recovered. It is a fast growing vine that can cover the side of a barn in no time flat. In late summer, it's smothered in small white flowers. Not for the small garden, but if you have the space, it is a lovely vine.
Campsis radicans is a lovely vine who is either wanted or a pest, depending on where it puts itself. Hummingbirds love it. I have allowed it to climb a huge Chamaecyparis, while keeping an eye on it so it doesn't overpower the shrub. Mine has taken years to bloom; this year producing a dozen or so flowers. Next year, I'm going to try Tom Clothier's chance discovery to see if blooming doesn't improve. His photo is of the cultivar x tagliabuana 'Madame Galen', one that I also have, but in too much shade and she has never bloomed. This is really a vine who needs sun to bloom for you, although it will grow and survive in shade.
There are other vines I am longing to grow. Bignonia capreolata is on this list. Akebia have also fascinated me and are on that magic list of plants to get and grow. Then, there's always Actinidia, the hardy Kiwi, another most interesting vine. Not to mention Aristolochia - several species of "Dutchman's Pipe" vine, all native to Southeastern North America, in moist woods along rich river banks. Hardy to at least zone 6, this one has always intrigued me. Then, there's Tropaeolum peregrinum (maybe not entirely hardy for me) as are the Jasmines like Jasminum stephanense, treasured for their late winter fragrance in the south and mild climates. The list could fill many books!
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