Plants of Ancient Pompeii: Giant Bindweed (Calystegia silvatica ?)
Karen A fresco in the House of the Golden Bracelet shows a vine with heart shaped leaves and white trumpet-shaped flowers. This plant has been identified by some scholars as a…
Plant Profile: Jouin Clematis (Clematis x jouiniana) ‘Praecox’
This deciduous semi-shrub/climber is a hybrid between C. vitalba and C. heracleifolia var. davidiana and is a member of the buttercup family, ‘Ranunculaceae, that also includes monkshood, columbine, and hellebore.…
Invasive Plants and Their native Alternatives: Gold Coast Jasmine (Jasminum dichotomum)
Gold coast jasmine is an evergreen woody climber or rambling shrub native to tropical western and central Africa but was introduced in the 1920s as an ornamental into Florida in…
Plant Profile: American Climbing Fern (Lygodium palmatum)
This twining deciduous vine is one of 40 species of climbing fern vines and is native to low open woods, sandy clearings, streambanks, and bog margins from Maine to Ohio…
Plant Profile: Actinidia kolomikta
This twining climber is native to eastern Asia and is grown for both its variegated leaves and its small fruits. The leaves emerge with a tint of purple and then…
Plant Profile: Sweet Autumn Clematis (Clematis terniflora)
This is not one of the big flowered clematis that you might be used to. The tiny flowers have a vanilla-like fragrance and are produced in great masses during the…
Plant Profile: Chinese Trumpetvine (Campsis grandiflora)
The trumpetvine that grew on a fence and tree on the property line of our Annapolis home always attracted a lot of hummingbirds when it bloomed but the head gardener…
How to Prune Clematis
The huge flowers of clematis vines are real eye catchers when they bloom and give a romantic look to most settings. But over the years those flowers will slowly diminish…
Plant Profile: Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata)
When we moved from an old historic brick house in Annapolis to the brand new brick house in North Carolina we were not thrilled with the starkness of the look…
Plant Profile: Clematis ‘Rooguchi’
The name “clamatis” conjures up visions of huge, colorful, often frilly blossoms on a vine. Clematis ‘Rooguchi’ is entirely different and has relative small, bell shaped purple-blue blossoms that nod…