Climbing plants and vines can add beauty and visual interest to your garden landscape. Flowering plants growing up the side of a pergola or climbing an arbor create a colorful focal point for garden displays. Vining plants can turn a shed or garage wall into a floral canvas. When planted to climb a fence, climbing plants can create a beautiful living privacy screen.  ...read more

A beautiful vining plant that produces large, colorful flowers from late spring through fall, Clematis is a garden favorite (see our previous post). With proper pruning this old-fashioned perennial will produce years of thick, lush foliage and abundant blooms. But there’s the rub. After a few years of improper or negligent pruning, clematis vines can become top heavy, the greenery and blossoms bushing out above unattractively barren stems. Unfortunately, pruning clematis is not a simple matter. This flowering vine is divided into 3 pruning groups based on peak blooming period and whether flowers are set on old or new growth.  ...read more

Large palm-sized blooms in vibrant purples, pinks and bright whites set against a background of thick green foliage; Clematis provides a stunning garden display from spring through fall. Trained to a trellis, this flower-covered vining plant adds color and visual interest to blank exterior walls. When planted to twine up a patio fence, the flower-laden tendrils of this attractive vine create a dramatic natural screen. A clematis-covered pergola can provide an enchanting entrance to a well-planted garden or can be used to create a quiet oasis of shady seclusion along a sheltered garden path. ...read more

Climbing plants quickly outgrow the support capabilities of their slender trunks. As vines grow and flowers bloom, the weight of all that growth makes plants top-heavy. If climbing plants are not adequately supported, plant stalks can bend or snap, damaging and in some cases killing the plant. ...read more