IALWAYS MADE A BEELINE to see Dan Long and his Brushwood Nursery booth of climbing plants at a big annual spring sale nearby, but in the event chaos could never pester him long enough to ask all the questions I had stored up—which Clematis I was pruning wrong; what vines I could overwinter indoors; what climber would play nice with what other intertwined. Thinking (as I am) about adding more vines to the garden this year? My Q&A with Dan may help with some choices, growing tips and combination ideas—plus I am offering two $30 gift certificates to kick off A Way to Garden’s 2012 giveaway season. [read more…]
vines
giveaway: vines q&a with brushwood’s dan long
January 4, 2012 By 442 Comments
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clematis ‘roguchi,’ summer-into-september star
September 9, 2011 By 11 Comments
YOU’D THINK WITH SO MUCH WIND AND RAIN that the high-fliers of the garden—the vines—would have been knocked off their pedestals quite literally. Somehow in spite of it all, vines like Clematis ‘Roguchi’ have managed to hold their ground—er, airspace. A look at one somewhat upwardly mobile hero of the sodden September garden. [read more…]
clematis: sexy seedheads, but where’s the seed?
October 13, 2010 By 13 Comments
TALK ABOUT A CURIOSITY ITEM: The seedheads of certain Clematis certainly qualify as botanical oddballs. Did you ever wonder, as I did today passing by the ripening ones on my Clematis tangutica, just which part in each of those wild wig-hats* is the seed itself? [read more…]
the sunny disposition of clematis tangutica
September 6, 2010 By 18 Comments
MAYBE IT’S THE EXTRA-DRY YEAR that postponed its bloom cycle, but suddenly my Clematis tangutica cultivar–looking like not much but a tangle of vines and leaves for months—has gone mad with flowers. The bumblebees and I had grown impatient, but now all is forgiven. [read more…]
partners in twine: vines happily climbing shrubs
April 26, 2010 By 4 Comments
PERENNIAL VINES SEEM TO JUMP OUT OF BED when spring arrives, look once around, then quickly grab onto the closest neighbor–thorny or not–for support, as if they know they’ll soon be too tall to stand up straight on their own. What’s a few scratches, compared to falling flat on your face? [read more…]
