Introducing "About Town with Geno's Garden"

Nice New Vine at LaBou on Watt  and El Camino in Sacramento

I'm always snapping pictures as I drive around ... sometimes it's something I admire, like a cool landscape or a planting combination ... sometimes it's something I don't like, like a particularly offensive pruning job (a big pet peeve!). So starting today I'm going to have a weekly feature, About Town with Geno's Garden (and, no, it won't always be placed in Sacramento ... I do go other places, you know ...). I've got lots of back stories, but I'll start with a recent vine treatment that caught my eye.

This is Pandora jasminoides, commonly known as Bower Vine. Native to Australia, it likes regular water and some shade in the valley (ain't gonna get it in front of LaBou!). It's not zoned for our area, but it is sold here. I think the main problem is if we have a big freeze. Oh, and too much heat. Besides this white with pink throat version, it also comes in pure white ('Alba') and pink with red-throat ('Rosea')and blooms all season, from late spring to early fall.

Vines hold on to their support structure by twining around things (grapes, morning glories), attaching themselves with little sticky feet (ivy, creeping fig), or with our help or the help of a tree or something (roses).

Evidence of the late occupier of this structure. What vine do you think it was? Also, notice the attachment method (I saw a similar product at Home Depot, a 3' x 50' roll of vinyl-covered 2 x 4" squares for about $50.)

These vines were only planted a couple of months ago, but they're in a race to get to the top!

I'm always on the lookout for ways to create height without taking up too much room. I love the feeling of an enclosed garden, but, most of us don't have enough garden real estate to give up to an 8' wide hedge, and these days I'm looking for plants that work without having to be bullied into doing the job with lots of pruning (I like to save my carbon footprint for something important, like trips to Ben & Jerry's!). I'll be keeping an eye on this vine to see how it does in the long haul and will be reporting back.

Whether you need garden design, coaching, seasonal maintenance or planting, Geno's Garden can help! Call me at (916) 764-5243, or email hansonja@aol.com.