Five Native Vines

The Need for Vertical Privacy in Storm Damaged Southern Landscapes

"I don't want to see the people that live there or all their junk!" Thanks to Hurricane Helene, I hear this a lot. We have tons of new open space – most of it unwanted.

If you need some vertical privacy, the first step is to either be patient or get out your big-boy checkbook. Even if you do that, you simply have a very, very hard time getting shrubs big enough to screen immediately. Vines are the same, but the huge advantages to vines are that you can get very tall, vertical privacy in a very narrow space.

Choosing the Right Vines: Native vs. Non-Native

I am afraid of many non-native vines. I would never, ever plant Asian jasmine, Confederate jasmine, or even creeping fig – all become maintenance nightmares. Please, just don't. There are some great non-natives; evergreen clematis and butterfly pea work and charm me. But here are five spectacular natives that have been part of our nursery industry, gardening world, and landscape practice for many decades - tried and true from small to large.

Top 5 Native Vines for Southern Gardens

1. Carolina Jessamine: Fragrant Evergreen Beauty This vine boasts handsome, glossy leaves and is easy to keep in scale. Its enchanting fragrance and golden flowers make it a harbinger of spring, while providing an elegant, glossy cloak of dense evergreen foliage all year round. Perfect for a chain-link fence, privacy fence, or mailbox, Carolina Jessamine flowers in March

   

   Though it can be grown tall and high, Jessamine loses bottom leaves, so it works best on a 4-10 foot tall fence.

2. Crossvine: Colorful and Fast-Growing A bit larger than Carolina Jessamine, crossvine can cloak a garage wall in just a few years. Evergreen in Zone 8, its flowers come in a range of colors from yellow to deep red. In a recent hurricane-damaged garden design, I was pleased to see the installation of 'Tangerine Beauty,' which will flower in April.

   

   Crossvine on a creative pipe and cable trellis we designed for an area with wall height restrictions.

3. Smilax: Evergreen and Indestructible There's an odd pocket of people who love this plant around Muscle Shoals and Florence, Alabama. I've always wondered about the social history of their relationship with smilax. Evergreen, glossy, and impossible to kill, several species of smilax make excellent porch plants, looking good all year long

   

   Smilax for afternoon shade in Alabama.

4. Kentucky Wisteria: Lavender Blooms and White Flowers Native to all of the Southeast, Kentucky Wisteria features lavender flowers that drip to 5 inches in April or May. My favorite is the South Carolina selection from horticulturist Clara Mac. 'Clara Mac' Wisteria has pure white flowers.

   

   Native wisteria ‘Clara Mac.’ If you like lavender, check out the South Carolina variety ‘Amethest Falls.’

5. Muscadine: Fruiting Vine for Privacy and Snacking If you want something bigger and with fruit, muscadines offer late summer snacks. Although they lose their leaves, if you leave the bare stems intact all winter, they provide a good deal of privacy. Muscadines need a larger fence or annual pruning like shearing, or you can cut them right down to the ground. For small spaces, I like the tiny-fruited, delicious, self-fertile variety 'Razzmatazz.

   

   Nesbit is another self fertile hybrid. It’s used here in a very tight modern neighborhood and shows off it’s fall color.

Learn More in "Secrets of Southern Gardening

In my new book, Secrets of Southern Gardening, there's an entire chapter on creating shade. Filled with color photos and input from many experienced horticulturists, the book is in layout now and hopefully available this summer. Please keep your eyes out, and if you know of media or organizations interested, please let me know.