The bare stone walls of our main garden definitely need clothing. Although I have planted many of the cracks with sempervivum and sedum, they still look fairly naked. I have a "groundcover" rose called "Grouse" cascading down one small wall, and it obligingly creeps into small cracks and roots there as it works its way groundward. Many of the rambling roses also work well as cascading plants, because of their pliable canes.
Of course I also use vines in the traditional way -- as climbers. An unsightly utility pole in the yard has been dressed in wisteria. This same wisteria used to adorn the walls of the garden, until it tried to strangle my Celsiana rose, then reached further still to grab the rose arbor 8 feet away. Since it had never bloomed, I did what conventional wisdom recommends -- I stressed it. I chopped its massive roots into one tiny rootball and brutally ripped it from its home andunceremoniously dumped it into another one. It's doing a nice job of covering the pole now, but it still doesn't bloom. Some never do. I'm getting more color and spectacle from the Virginia Creeper that grows wild among my evergreens.
For bloom I depend on my silver lace vine which froths quite deliciously over the top of the arbor to my secret garden. And for simple, classic elegance, I depend on ivy to creep up the very featureless back of our house to lend it some character.
And while they are working to beautify my gardens, I am busy dreaming up still more ways to make use of all those wonderful climbing plants.
When you're done dreaming, don't forget to check out all the other great articles in Suite 101 Gardening.
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