Vines are some of the most under-utilised backyard plants. In spite of their versatility, their full potential is seldom realised. Apart from their ornamental qualities, including seasonal flower and bright berries, vines can be used to disguise unattractive elements in the garden. They are also effective in giving shade over arbours, pergolas and decks and in creating privacy in outdoor rooms.
Among the vines are some of the best edible landscape plants out there. Food-bearing vines can grow in places where fruit trees and vegetable beds would never fit, and they often present the fruit at a nice pickable height to eliminate the hustle of stooping or climbing.
Success with vines is surprisingly easy and truly rewarding. They provide an easy way to utilise the vertical space in your garden and you can have fresh home-grown fruits and vegetable in no time at all. Here are a few tips on how to make that happen:
Choosing the right vine
Consider the growing habits of the vines you choose. Vines are often grouped according to their climbing mechanism. Clinging vines have specialised growths like little suction cups or claws along their stems that can hook on to any surface they touch. Sprawling vines on the other hand lack any form of support and will require to be supported.
Twinning vines wrap around anything that falls in their way. Others may have small twinning tendrils at the bases of their leaves that wrap around anything they can reach.
Understanding the support mechanism of the vines you choose will help you decide on the right support structure to provide. If you are in the market for food-bearing vines, first pick things you actually like to eat so the food does not go to waste. It is also advisable to choose varieties that grow well in your region and are resistant to local diseases and pests. These are usually the ones available at your local nursery or seed supplier.
Growing structure
There are many ways to provide support for vines ranging from arbours to trellises and wires strung between secure anchors. Whichever structure you go for, it is important to plan well in advance. The structure should be strong enough to hold the mature weight of the vine chosen and should be designed to fit the vine’s growth habits.
It is also important to ensure that your growth structure is in keeping with the rest of your landscaping ideas and architectural concepts. The key is to keep it simple. If you have an existing tree or big shrub in your backyard, you can simply let your vines ramble over it the way nature often has them. This can be very enchanting if the two make good companions.
An arbour is the classic structure for vines. It can be as simple as two posts with a cross member or arch spanning the top or more elaborate depending on your landscaping plans. A strong chain link fence can also be turned from an eyesore into a wall of colour and food with a passion fruit vine twinning through it.
-The writer is a landscape architect
