What every garden needs, whether it’s a large greenhouse or a backyard hobby, is some extra decoration. Sure, you can buy loads of good-looking pots and ornamental watering cans, but the best way to decorate a garden is with other types of plants.
The best possible choice for any garden decorator is, of course, vines. They’re extremely easy to maintain, they grow very fast, and they look stunning. Every wall and fence in your little forest will look so much more alive, which gives every garden that lush and verdant look.
We certainly don’t mean those vein-like wallflowers that just make everything look unattended. There are various kinds of gorgeous vines with stunning flowers of colourful shapes. It’s like having another garden around your garden, and yet you don’t need to provide it with much attention, as it will take care of itself for the most part.
If your garden is out in the open without a roof above it, vines are a particularly good idea. You literally won’t have to look at them even once and they will still grow like there’s no tomorrow. For every starting gardener, this is the next level.
There are numerous vines that could satisfy your specific taste, so we’ve put together our top ten for your convenience.
Top 10 Vines to decorate your walls and fences
1. Morning Glory
Many who see this vine find it hard to believe that it’s not just a gorgeous flower with a weird stem, and that’s where its beauty lies. Morning Glory is a vine that blooms with a beautiful flower, with soft, purple, petals and a white middle that gives off an extravagant scent.
You could almost call it the high-class aristocrat of vines, based on how pretty it looks and how nice it smells. These shades can be altered by the type of seed and the surroundings, so instead of purple, there can also be white, blue, and pink.
2. Canary Bird Flower
Much like the birds for which it is named, the flowers of this vine have a dashing yellow hue, which always stands out amongst the green leaves that surround it. This vine doesn’t grow as fast as the others, but its breath-taking final bloom is worth all the hassle.
The Canary Bird Flower is native to Peru, but not endemic, meaning it successfully grows anywhere if it’s planted in the right conditions. What this vine needs is not attention; it’s the proper lack of it.
3. Cardinal Vine
The optimal choice for every garden-loving minimalist is definitely the Cardinal Vine’s miniature and discreet bloom. It’s stylish, it’s classy, and it’s discrete, so if you have certain plants in your garden that you wish to highlight, you can simply get this particular vine.
This vine adds a slight, but still quite alive, shade of red. The yellow core is there to add another slight colour variation, and it gives off a savoury aroma. Its flowers close in the afternoon, so it’s the perfect choice for any early bird.
4. Black-Eyed Susan Vine
We’re not quite sure how this kind got its name, but we can take a wild guess why it would make sense to call it Black-Eyed Susan. Its beige feather-like petals remind us of a young woman with gorgeous skin, while its pitch-black core adds another layer of authenticity to its look.
These vines are best planted in overhanging baskets since that makes them longer. However, if you’d like to see more of the beautiful Susan faces, you should grow the vine in a regular pot. This technique provides the vine with a boost in blooming and ensures a colourful garden.
5. Cypress Vine
The Cypress Vine blooms with adorable star-shaped flowers, varying in colour between pink, white, and red. Its emerald foliage is also exquisitely shaped and offers a unique viewing experience. Needless to say, this is the perfect decoration for any gardener that’s fond of cute flora.
These flowers also close somewhere in between noon and dusk, so you can take the advantage of early sunlight to watch them in their full glory. The Cypress Vine doesn’t grow as fast as its competitors; it can sometimes take even up to five months for the flowers to appear. Regardless, it is definitely worth the wait.
6. Climbing Snapdragon
The exquisite pointy-leaved vine called Climbing Snapdragon is one of the most confusing among its kind. It looks nothing like an actual snapdragon and it seems quite frail, but it’s in fact extremely durable. Its flower is a gorgeous tube with purple, pink, blue, or red edges and a white interior.
For those that wish to add a plethora of colours to their garden or their fences, this is an ideal choice. You can get all four kinds of climbing snapdragons and have them twirling all over the place, creating a splendiferous display of hues.
7. Moonflower
Although it is closely related to Morning Glory, the Moonflower vine greatly differs from those mentioned so far. Aside from the other unique properties that make it truly stand out, the Moonflower vine opens its flowers at night. It climbs up to 17 feet over shorter periods than most vines, and it can be planted anywhere.
Its beguiling white petals spread evenly around its yellow core, creating a perfect circle of softness. We recommend raising it at a bedroom window because there’s nothing quite like watching it ‘come out of the shadows’ in the moonlight.
8. Sweet Pea
A famous gardener once said: “A garden covered in sweet peas is where every 7-year-old girl would stay forever.” If this is your cup of tea, Sweet Pea is what you’ve been looking for.
Its sweetly coloured with pink, red, crimson, and violet hues that all combine in a single petal will leave most flower-lovers breathless. You can even raise it at your little girl’s window and have her cut it as she sees fit. You shouldn’t worry if she cuts too much, Sweet Pea’s blooming potential increases with every chopped off piece.
9. Mandevilla
Another beautiful plant under the name of Mandevilla comes in red, pink, yellow, and white editions. If you combine pink Mandevilla with Sweet Pea, you will have a scene from Beauty and the Beast in a few months’ time. These vines come in various shapes and sizes, from the bushy and low-hanging kind to the ever-skyward pillar twiner.
However, you always need to keep in mind that Mandevilla is a tropical vine used to blooming in high temperatures. It also requires attention and proper care, unlike the majority of its kind. If you’re keeping Mandevilla vines out in the open, even with the weather being warm during the day, it can eventually decay in cold night temperatures.
10. Nasturtium
Aside from its gorgeous yellow petals speckled with dark-red splats near the core, the Nasturtium vine stands out for another reason. This is one of the rare edible vines, which means you can put its petals (and even the entire flower) into whatever meal you’re making.
Its gently sweet taste fuses immaculately with any salad (both fruit and vegetable). That being said, this vine should be planted in mediumly rich soil, as it tends to put leafing ahead of blooming in an abundance of resources.