This Sunday I will be speaking to the New England Hosta Society on Designing with Vines. Many gardening topics get me unduly excited, but anything to do with vining, scrambling or climbing plants sends me into the stratosphere ( as far as gardening goes). Dorky, yes, but grow any of the annual vines I am about to list, and you too will be smitten.
So here is my the list of vine seeds waiting for the first frost free days to get sown and work their garden magic:
Morning Glories: Grandpa Ott, Crimson Rambler, and Heavenly Blue which get a place in the garden every year and new additions for 2015′ Vega Star’, ‘Dragonfly Blue’, and ‘Kikyo-zak’ mix, and a newcomer from 2014 that has earned a permanent place, ‘Sunrise Serenade’.
Other repeat growers include: Basella rubra ( climbing spinach) vigna unguiculata ( pretzel bean), Runner Bean Painted Lady, Dolichos lablab (hyacinth bean’ Ruby Moon’),Antigonon Leptopus( Chinese love vine), Moonflower, cardinal climber , Nasturtiums’ Cherries Jubilee’ and’ Moonligh’t, Climbing Black Eyed Susan Vine , and Sweet pea ‘Cupani’.
New varieties will include two nasturtiums, ‘Glorious Gleam’ and a variegated one, A sweet pea called ‘Elegance Salmon Rose’ Thunbergia alata ‘Spanish Eyes’ ( climbing black eyed Susan).
As far as perennial vines go , I started seeds of a species clematis called c. columbiana , a native that will grow in the rock garden ,much like it’s it’s natural habitat,
and I have ordered replacements for some sad losses , clematis tangutica ‘My Angel’ ( unsure why it died )and Rosa ‘William Baffin’ ( rabbits) and am toying with replacing the bignonia I lost to cold last winter but am still on the fence about it. It would need a more sheltered location and those favored spots more often go to something more desirable and difficult than bignonia, we will see.
I am also hopeful that this is the year my climbing monkshood FINALLY blooms, fingers crossed!
While I was sitting here looking through the seed box( Pumpkin was helping) I managed to spill about 10,000 poppy seeds all over ,into, and under the couch. Really thrilled about that, but honestly ,given my luck sowing them and protecting the flowers from the rabbits, it was probably for the best.