Planting vines and climbers is a fun way to add beauty to your garden and a way to add more green and flowers without losing gardenspace. Since Im planning my new garden I made a list of viners and climbers that will fit in a tropical garden in plantzone 8. It covers everything from climbing flowers for sun or shade, vining perennials and annuals.
Vining plants are a beautiful way to add color and texture, create a living privacy screen, and round out your garden’s design with a vertical element.
Here are my climbing and vining favorites for the garden:
Akebia Quinata
Akebia quinata is an unusual climber, with little stunning flowers which have a spicy chocolate/vanilla kinda smell to them, therefor it is also known as the chocolate vine. Because of the shape and abundance of little flowers it is a very pretty vine to grow on a wall or trellis. Because of the cup shaped hanging flowers that grow in bunches like grapes I think the best view is from below.
Plant your Akebia in a warm spot in the garden, since the flowers are prone to damage from late frosts. They stand out against a background of light purple, three-lobed leaves, most colourful in full sun. In mild conditions the leaves last all winter but in cold areas they will shed. After a particularly warm summer, large sausage-shaped fruit dangle enticingly from the stems. In dutch it is called the Schijn Augurk which translates to ‘ Fake Pickle’
Grow Akebia quinata in moist but well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade, ideally with some shelter provided.
The Akebia grows really fast (easy to prune) and flowers in april/may.
Lonicera x Heckrottii
Parttime Ninja 