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Vines are a wonderful addition to almost any garden, because they are fairly low maintenance, and look great growing on top of just about everything. Whatever structure you have, such as a fence, arbor, or large blank wall, vines growing on them is a beautiful solution for covering them. Whether you want to grow vines along the ground, up the side of your house or over an arbor or gazebo, you should be able to find a vine to do the job.

The different varieties of ground vines are great to grow right in your garden, where you can weave them in and out, between the other plants, either on top of, or even in place of mulch. Many of these vines are fairly hardy, and can take a bit of foot traffic from kids and pets. Ground type vines are a wonderful and leafy addition to your garden.

The twining type vines will need some kind of latticework or other support to climb on. This type of vine climbs by using little tendrils to wrap around things as the climb, and this is what holds them in place. Twining vines will need a little bit of guidance when they first begin to grow. Once they are established, they can find their way pretty much on their own. I have purple trumpet vine, which is a twining vine, covering my gazebo and two arbors.

Besides growing vines on the ground or latticework, they can be blended with the architecture of your home. Vines, like Ivy and Virginia Creeper, put out small tendrils, which have sticky little tips that grab and hold onto any surface. This type of vine can be planted next to your house, and will be covering an unsightly wall in no time.

When dealing with vines, I do have a couple of words of caution. Some vines can get out of control, and will attempt to take over the entire house. Ivy is famous for this, on top of which, when ivy has been removed from the sides of homes, it’s been found, there is frequently damage caused by the ivy. The other downside I’ve found is that ivy is a cherished home for every snail and slug in town. Snails and slugs can cause incredible damage to the rest of your garden.

Whatever type of vine you choose to grow, you should first do a bit of research to learn about the growing habits, as well as the pros and cons of using the different kinds of vines.