cover image (above): Desert tolerant summer blooming queens’ wreath vine (Antigonon leptopus) on an arbor.  A good plant for honey in summer.

Vines are fun to grow.    Since they need very little root space to flourish, they will have ample room to grow, no matter if your yard is small or large.    Many vines have beautiful flowers, and the bloom period can be months long, offering another opportunity to fill your yard with color.

Vines for Shade!

Vines are good for arbors which are called ramadas in much of the Southwest.    Say you want summer shade and winter sun, vines are the answer, simply plant one that is winter deciduous (drops all it’s leaves).    If you want a year round leafy bower, plant an evergreen vine (won’t drop all it’s leaves).      Vines can be used for green foliage, seasonal color, screening, shade, overhead cover on an arbor or ramada, or simply because they are beautiful.     

Types of Vines

Vines are classified for landscaping by the way they climb.   

Types of vines: 
twine, 
grasp with tendrils, 
grasp with rootlets, or 
“clamber” – basically act as a weak semi-shrub with branches that must be tied into place.    

Landscape with Vines

When considering vines for your space, consider what you want covered – an outer wall, a fence, an arbor, or possibly the walls of your home.    Which vine you select depends on what you are covering and how you are going to get the vine to cover it.   

Twine or Tendrils

Vines that twine or climb with tendrils will need something to climb on. Generally a trellis or other support. If you want them up an arbor, you can tie them in place until they get up where you want them.

Rootlets

Vines that grasp with rootlets are fine on unfinished brick or block, but when they grow large, they can pull the stucco off walls.

Clambering

Think of bougainvillia or the Tombstone rose. Can’t climb on it’s own, but if you tie it to some supports it can eventually cover an acre if you want it to!

Native Vines

There are a vast number of native vines that grow well in the area.      Most of the ones I will discuss on this site are available at local nurseries.   Local. Not the big box stores – because they buy their plants nationally, not locally.

I adore native vines for a number of reasons.    First, and best of all, as natives to this area, they survive with local rainfall only.    Once they are established, I never ever need to water them again.    If I do water them, they reward my meager attention with blooms and growth.    As natives, they attract native butterflies into my yard.    All native vines twine on their own, and can be found existing in harmony with saguaros, ocotillos, and mesquite trees, at at elevation – oaks, pines, and the like.   

Snapdragon Vine – a Real Charmer

If you can only buy one vine, I love the delicate snapdragon vine (Maurandya antirrhimiflora).    It has tiny, heart-shaped, lime green leaves, and grows reliably year after year.    The leaves are cold-deciduous, but the vine recovers quickly in early spring.    A moderate grower, it can reach 10 X 4 in the second year, and more in future years.   

I started my snapdragon vine love affair in 2004 with a single plant.  Since then (and getting moved to a new house) it has seeded in in several spots.    At this writing, my snapdragon vines have been blooming since mid-March with small,    snapdragon-like flowers in pale purple, or pink.    I did have one with white flowers for a while, but I dug that area over during one winter and accidentally killed it.    I tell you this to remind you that if you garden – you will end up killing a plant or two. We all kill plants.   

Snapdragon vine flowers are visited by hummingbirds, butterflies, and a tiny native bee (might be a longhorn bee) so I am not sure who the official pollinator is supposed to be.    Who ever it is – they are doing a great job!    My single plant purchased in 2004 has now spread to several spots around the yard – but I wouldn’t call it weedy.    It only comes up in shady areas where it has something to climb!    If you don’t want it there, it is easy to yank out, or gently dig up and transplant.

October 2024 note. Summer of 2024 just kept going and going. In the face of this searing heat – the snapdragon vines continued to flower and feed the pollinators – and even an occasional hummingbird. I adore this delicate charmer!

Other Vines

More native vines – to come in print here (especially the edibles!) 

Passion flower vine – gorgeous blooms and edible fruit!

Meanwhile, here are some on my YouTube channel (marked in red because that’s “their” color): 

Arizona grape ivy, hierba del bue, a low water, fence covering, native vine

Arizona queens wreath vine – a native summer grower

desert milkweed vine – great for the monarchs!

‘Pam’s Pink’ honeysuckle – a clambering “vine”

Yep – Vine Care tips too – pages of them!

The Month By Month Guide offers tips for all of your landscape (yes even vines) in every month of the year.  I have a few copies left and am offering them to you – my loyal readers. When you buy from me you get a signed copy!

From the review:

“A great reference book is key to successful gardening in the region where you live. Arizona, Nevada & New Mexico Month-by-Month Gardening takes the guesswork out of gardening for anyone residing in the Southwest. With this book, you’ll know what to do each month to enjoy a thriving garden all year, from January to December. Chronologically organized, this guide is full of critical gardening when-to and how-to advice, along with illustrated step-by-step instructions.”

“The book’s author is Jacqueline Soule, a Tucson-based gardening expert. She knows this arid region inside and out, and she’s written several articles and books packed with her gardening advice. Arizona, Nevada & New Mexico Month-by-Month Gardening showcases Soule’s expertise in one easy-to-read guide.”

Profits from the sale of this book go to the Horticulture Therapy non-profit Tierra del Sol Institute.  

I’m Here to Help

Be sure to ask questions if you have them! I do all this writing and blogging and posting on social media so that you will succeed with your garden goals!

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