All vine and dandy (From York Press)

All vine and dandy

9:30am Saturday 26th November 2011 in Gardening

GINA PARKINSON revels in an ornamental vine that comes into its own when other plans are fading away

HARDLY any work is done in our garden as we go from November into December and the lengthening list of tasks has to be put on the back burner for a few months.

It’s hard to pop outside for an hour or so in the shorter winter days and any spare time there is only seems to occur when the heavens open or temperatures drop to freezing.

So the plants near the house begin to take on a more important role, seen in their autumn glory from the windows or within easy reach for a few minutes of pottering.

An eye-catching specimen at the moment is an ornamental vine that scrambles against an east-facing garage wall and up into the branches of a rowan tree that towers above the building.

Until a couple of weeks ago, the rowan was bowed with berries, flaming reddish orange fruits that stood out against the clear blue sky, together with foliage that had begun to take on its autumn hues.

The dark stems and leaves of the vine offered a deep wine contrast as the strong stems flung themselves upwards to grab on to the nearest branches of the rowan.

Now the tree has been stripped of berries by the blackbirds; their feast took no time at all and the dark stems have been left bare.

With the bright colours gone, the area looks quite different, especially in the soft misted light. The vine, Vitus purpurea, is deciduous and will soon lose its foliage but for the moment it can be enjoyed in its full maturity.

Large leaves as big as your hand are deep reddish purple and glow in the light as it burns through November mist to bathe the garden in low sunlight. The vine grows with clematis and winter-flowering jasmine, each plant front of stage at different points of the year. In late autumn it is the turn of the dark vine, although already at the back of the wall the jasmine is readying itself and has put out a few flowers where it has space to find the light.

Vitus purpurea is a strong-growing climber that needs a decent amount of space for its long stems.

In spring the new growth is beautiful, frosted pale green and pinkshaded leaves unfurl from the emerging stems that elongate rapidly, twining around wires and other branches until a wall is covered in their growth.

The maturing foliage increases in size and deepens in colour as the months pass and looks especially attractive when grown with a contrasting coloured climber, such as silver-leafed ivy or the autumn yellow of Actinidia chinensis.

Silvery coloured or interestingly textured plants can also be grown around its feet since the growth of this vine extends from the base of its stems. Euphorbias are a good choice, especially the more tender species with variegated foliage or dubiously frost-hardy habits like ‘Portuguese Velvet’. These like the sunny spot the vine also enjoys and the sheltered wall may offer some protection from frost.

Vitis vinifera ‘Purpurea’ is relatively easy to look after as long as it has space to roam fairly freely.

It isn’t self-clinging but given a support of wires or trellis it will find its own way of holding on.

The stems may need tying in if they get too rampant in summer, especially if it is being trained on to long, horizontal wires.

Alternatively it can be left to grow up through a tree or large shrub.

Pruning, if needed, should be done in early spring with any surplus stems being cut back. This will help the plant produce larger, better coloured leaves. It is best planted in full sun or light semishade against a sheltered wall or fence.

Gardening calendar

SCARCROFT and District Allotment Association has produced a 2012 calendar picturing photographs of its plots.

Several pictures illustrate each month, ranging from plant close ups to longer views of the area including one taken from a hot air balloon and all photographs have been taken by members of the association.

This would make an ideal present for a gardener. The calendar costs £5 and is on sale at Pextons on Bishopthorpe Road and also in the Scarcroft Road Allotment shop which is open on Sunday from 10am until noon.

Gardening TV and radio

Tomorrow

8am, BBC Radio Humberside, The Great Outdoors. Presented by Blair Jacobs and Doug Stewart.

9am, BBC Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther and Joe Maiden.

2pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Members of Othery Gardening Club in Somerset look to Chris Beardshaw, Matthew Biggs, Anne Swithinbank and chairman Eric Robson for solutions to their horticultural problems. Anne Swithinbank also visits a nut forest near Totnes in Devon. (Repeated from Friday).

Friday

3pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. This week panellists Pippa Greenwood, Bunny Guinness and Matthew Wilson visit Hailsham Pavilion in East Sussex together with chairman Peter Gibbs. Pippa Greenwood also looks at biosecurity at Quarantine House in the Kew Gardens research facility. (Repeated on Sunday at 2pm).

Saturday

7am, BBC Radio York, Julia Booth. Presenter Julia Booth and plant expert Nigel Harrison hold their weekly plant surgery.