Sunday, February 15, 2009

Welcoming New Friends

2009 is proving to be a year where I try to reach out and get in touch with the things that have brought me joy in the past. First it was reading, after spending 2008 reading maybe five books, I nearly matched that total in January alone.

Something else I have loved is probably best described as garden watching, because I have great plans to garden, I normally start out well and lose steam as the Texas heat soars. Today I discovered a great wealth of photos and more important information on gardening across the blogsphere.

Now I have a flower bed in my front yard, that includes four roses that thrive despite my neglect. A recent flowerbed clean out by someone who was being helpful but not too knowledgeable took out a few of other items that grew so I have really blank palate.

So, this week I will order those seeds, stop by the nursery and recruit the assistance of my neighbor to create those beds in my backyard. I look forward to inspiration from the experienced folk out there!

First question: I am looking for a flowering, SCENTED vine to grow on my gate. I know I could do honeysuckle but looking for other ideas to consider. I bought a jasmine last year, which has grown a little bit but I have to admit I never smell it.

I live in Dallas, TX which is Zone 7 I believe. Any suggestions?

13 comments:

  1. Hello Ruth, first, thanks for adding my blog as one you follow. Scented vines...hmmm. Sets the mind to ponder. You said you bought a jasmine, but not what kind. I will research some ideas and get back to you.
    Janet

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  2. Hmmmm, scented vines, that's a good one. Sweet autumn clematis should do wonderfully for you, it is scented and blooms in the late summer. I also like Tangerine Beauty, a cross vine that blooms in spring but I'm not sure if it is scented. Never really noticed on mine. How about mandeivlla? I think it is an annual, not sure as I don't grow it but it should be scented. Good luck choosing! Thanks for checking out my blog and following it. I hope I can help you with some plant things, it seems to be my thing. Take care.

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  3. Hi again Ruth, I am thinking about fragrant vines. When you mention honeysuckle I assume you mean the white/ yellow one that seems to be everywhere. that one is Lonicera japonica- and invasive. There are a couple honeysuckles that are 'different'--one is Lonicera periclymenum var. serotina 'Florida' crimson and white blooms. Lonicera sempervirens is a coral colored honeysuckle and a native. It is not as fragrant as the japonica. Another Lonicera sempervirens is "John Clayton" which is a yellow bloom and mildly fragrant.
    There is another Clematis (Tina's suggestion) that I have read about, but don't know from personal experience.... Clematis montana var. rubens Odorata the name alone should tell us it is fragrant. Masses of pink vanilla scented flowers in early summer. There are annuals that you could choose from that will bloom a little longer- you just have to plant again the following growing season. Vigna caracalla, is the Corkscrew Vine...they claim months of fragrant blooms.
    This is just a handful of ideas.
    Janet

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  4. Clematis are wonderful. I'd kill to be able to grow jasmine. I always smell them at the plant stores but my cats would eat them when I brought them in for winter. I also really like hummingbird vines and wisteria as well as many varieties of climbing roses.

    I guess I'm not great with scents since my allergies impair my sense of smell.

    Nice to meet you! I see you have just started following my blog. Are you a member of blotanical?

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  5. My first thought was Jasmine but you tried that before. Tina made some good suggestions and I've found that she's a good one to listen to ;)

    You might try a moonflower but they will open in the evenings only. If you go for a honeysuckle please follow Janet's idea and get a native. There are too many of the other kind running rampant!

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  6. Hi Ruth, I have been meaning to read more books but the gap has been just too long I guess...You've got some wonderful suggestions regarding the scented vine from some wonderful bloggers.
    Thank you so much for following my blog. Good luck with your garden plans. Have a great week!

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  7. I too thought of Jasmine, coz they hit you with their fragrance the moment you near them.
    I've heard of perfumed passion flower (which I'd love to grow myself) being fragrant as the name suggests, besides it's gorgeous too! Good luck with your vines - I am crazy about them. Do keep us updated.

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  8. I also thought of jasmine, star jasmine (trachelospermum). It's an evergreen and its scent is so good! We are in zone 7. Another nice evergreen and scented vine is clematis armandii. You will many great ideas on all the great garden blogs.
    Thanks for following my blog. I'll be looking forward to seeing what you do in your garden. It is so much fun to see what you can create!

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  9. Hi there, I just found you comment on Aunt Debbi's Garden from a few days ago. If you are in Dallas, you are in zone 8a. Star jamine is a good evergreen choice for us. If you want an annual moon flower is scented and looks fantastic when planted along with morning glories. My personal favorite is blue passion flower. Autumn Joy clematis is pretty, but blooms only in the fall. Honey suckle is fine, but it will take over if you are not careful. The bee border is darling.

    Enjoy

    Debbi.

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  10. WOW thanks everyone for the great info. I am creating a spreadsheet to take to the gardening center this weekend, or I might order seeds.

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  11. Hi Ruth!

    Thanks for following me on Twitter! I am a known plant-killer who is trying to get reformed by some very amused friends! I absolutely LOVE honeysuckle; it's my all time favorite flower. How do you grow it? I live in Sacramento, California, but I want to plant it indoors, if that's possible. Shows you how much I know about gardening. No wonder my friends laugh at me!

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  12. I totally understand about the jasmine, but try a Confederate Jasmine. Grows like a weed and smells our whole yard up...lol! Here a link: http://www.mgonlinestore.com/CJasmine/

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  13. I'd love to give you a suggestion on the vine, but here in chilly, damp eastern Canada we have the opposite success stories in our zone. I do love our clematis, which isn't scented but is visually gorgeous.

    As a different sort of 'vine' suggestion, I have a rambler rose called 'American pillar' - a heritage variety which appeared in the early 1900's - which I refer to affectionately as The Monster Rose. It takes over the world. Literally. You could grow it as a vine-like substitute, with this dire warning: it has sharp, lethal thorns, and it needs drastic pruning if you don't want to end up in Sleeping Beauty's thorn-encircled castle.

    Why would you want to do that? Because the sprays of roses are intoxicating and very, very fragrant. And here in Nova Scotia it blooms for weeks, so I would imagine in your zone it would bloom for quite awhile.

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