Let's Plant Some Vines by Gretchen F. Coyle

Alliance for a Living Ocean

2007 Long Beach Boulevard
North Beach Haven, New Jersey 08008
(609) 492-0222

Vines add another dimension to your seashore garden. They can be planted for color and interest along a fence, for dimension over a trellis or stump, and up pillars and posts. Using your imagination is the most fun thing here as vines grow most anywhere. Frederick Law Olmstead voices his opinion on vines by saying that they "are the superabundant creative power, infinite resource, and liberality of nature - the childish playfulness and profuse careless utterance of nature."

When I plant a vine, I am never sure where it is going to go and how big it will get. That's half the fun. Most times, vines can be encouraged (trained) to grow in certain patterns. Other vines grow according to nature, the wind and the sun. Some vines are so big that they can be credited with supplying shade, while others add interest and height to a rather uniform garden. Wherever they go, they add architectural and quaint romantic appeal to your other plantings.

Vines and climbing plants have become quite popular in the past few years. Many annual and perennial vines are suitable for a seashore garden. Start by thinking what and where. What kinds of vines are you interested in planting, and where are you going to put them? Too many vines in a certain area can create a mess.

Another question to ask yourself is how will the vines attach themselves; are they scandent (ascending), meaning they have to be tied with supports, or are they twining vines which attach themselves by winding them around supports? Or maybe they are vines that have tendrils, which have little offshoots clinging to everything. You must know whether the vines you select need sun or shade. We prune our perennial vines on a monthly basis during the summer so they will not get out of control. Sometimes in very early spring, we drastically cut back all our perennial vines. Amazingly enough, they come back heartier than ever.

The three heartiest perennial vines that immediately come to mind are natives; trumpet vine, honeysuckle, and bittersweet. All three should have a trellis or fence on which to cling. Trumpet vine has a gorgeous display of red orange flowers in late summer. Honeysuckle provides dainty blossoms with a delectable aroma in early summer when there is no wind. Both trumpet vine and honeysuckle attract hummingbirds. Bittersweet has both white flowers in late spring and yellow fruit with red berries inside for fall. It is a favorite for dried fall arrangements. At "Little Beach Farm", we grow trumpet vine on an old arbor, which was once the entrance to a circa 1920 house on West Avenue in Beach Haven. We got the arbor when the house was being torn down about fifteen years ago. Now trumpet vine spills over the sides providing a beautiful display of flowers in August. Bittersweet and honeysuckle grow along fences. We keep the bittersweet neatly trimmed as it is next to our mailbox, climbing up posts and along the fence. Our honeysuckle is allowed to ramble along a back fence going wherever nature takes it.

Wisteria is another perennial vine that thrives along the shore. It likes sun and emits fragrant lavender flowers in late spring. Our wisteria is constantly growing from spring to fall so it must be trimmed if it is to be confined to a specific area. We have some wisteria growing on a trellis along the bayside of our cedar shake house. The tendrils must be cut regularly as they tend to grow up under the siding. Buy only mature plants as it takes young seedlings about seven years to start to bloom.

The perennial vines I have mentioned above not only bloom at their specified times, but also a little bit from spring through frost in the fall. Virginia creeper is a native vine, which I urge you to stay from, as it tends to take over. It climbs all over our dunes smothering beach peas, sweet peas, and rugosa roses. So only use it if you want to fill an area in a hurry.

Wild sweet peas and beach peas grow all over our dunes. Years ago they were liberated from lots about to be developed. What started out as just a few vines, have spread unbelievably. Now I have pink and lavender blooms most all summer. These are easy to grow, plus bring back memories of the 1950's when Long Beach Island really was abloom with native flowers of all kinds. If you cannot locate these beauties, call me, I will be happy to give you some of our vines, which thrive in the sand with absolutely no care.

Clematis is my favorite perennial vine. Each year in May, we have a spectacular show of colors such as purple, lavender, white and pink. Our clematis vines are spread evenly along a fence that encloses our vegetable garden. People come by every spring on bike and by car to see our clematis in bloom. Our vines were planted about eighteen years ago and are still going strong. Every few years, John cuts them back almost to the ground in late fall or early spring so we don't have a lot of dead growth under the new. Clematis vines do not like their roots exposed to the sun in any form, so each year, I pile quite a lot of eel grass or seaweed around the roots (and about six inches up each main stem) of the vines to protect them.

Climbing roses are not really vines, but should be included in this article. These climbing perennials will give a display of color in June; some varieties continue to bloom sporadically throughout the summer. Climbing roses of all colors should be helped along in some way. We tie ours up with narrow Velcro strips which can be purchased in a roll from the "Garden's Alive" catalogue, a must-use-catalogue for organic gardeners. If you don't have one, look for the "Garden's Alive" ad in most every gardening magazine. Climbing roses are perfect climbing up posts and then spreading along a porch roof or trellis. Make sure you get salt tolerant hearty stock. The only negative aspect to climbing roses is that they must be deadheaded on a fairly regular basis as soon as the blooms fade. This can be a real job if the roses have grown above a level you can reach. But this one chore should not deter you. Roses are usually quite disease resistant. For a splendid effect, combine a few colors and varieties.

Annual vines are fun and whimsical. I usually order morning glories, nasturtiums and black-eyed Susan vines from gardening catalogues during the winter. In late April, I start them outside (or maybe inside in March, if space permits) in different types of pots; hand-made troughs made of cement, perlite and peat moss; galvanized tubs with holes punched in the bottom, and other such oddities. Nasturtiums and morning glories are usually placed up on a table or wall so they will be a mid-summer delight of trailing flowers easily visible to anyone who visits. I literally plant, water occasionally and ignore. They never fail me, blooming continuously until November when I finally throw them out.

I plant black-eyed Susan vines in large wooden tubs with a large stake down the middle and four placed around the sides tied to look like a teepee. The vines grow up and cover the teepee for a special yellow and black effect that lasts until frost. Last summer, I found an old wooden straight chair without a seat. I wedged a pot into the empty seat area, placed the chair in a conspicuous spot in the garden, and watched it grow. The comments from garden lovers were very positive.

Vines are not new to gardening; they are just making a comeback. Try some of these beauties in your garden, on a porch, or hanging down from a deck. Most important - have fun in your garden and garden organically.