Still crazy for crossvine
Welcome back to our coop
No, this isn’t an old post. Yes, I recently posted pics of my ‘Tangerine Beauty’ crossvine. But I can’t help it. The flowers are so exuberant right now that I can’t help but post about them again. Didn’t I say they were in full bloom a couple of days ago? Now they’re really in full bloom.
So you can breathe a sigh of relief. I won’t be able to post about them much longer.
More crossvine
I promised Yolanda Elizabet from Bliss a photo of my over-the-fence neighbor’s house, which my crossvine matches. I’ve speculated that they must be enjoying the flowers on the other side of the fence. Either that or they curse the day their fence-mate planted anything as rambunctious as a vine along the fenceline. Who knows? But based on their house color, they obviously have a playful sense of design, so I hope they enjoy it as much as I do.
A closer look.
A different Bignonia capreolata. I just planted this “wild” variety of crossvine, which is red with yellow, on my new trellis-screen, and it’s putting out a few flowers too. I had a hard time finding this crossvine. Most local nurseries carry the cultivar ‘Tangerine Beauty,’ but I could find this one only in 5-gallon sizes and only at Natural Gardener.
The ‘Blue Elf’ aloe’s flowers are standing tall.
This is for Yolanda too. It’s a picture from the back of my rain garden. I was telling her that I consider it a woodland garden even though there’s just one shade tree. In a yard as small as mine, you work with what you have! The cedar elm, not pictured, stands to the right and shades this entire bed for most of the day. I have raised the canopy to about 7 feet, however, so it isn’t dense shade. As the tree grows, I may lift the canopy even more.
Several understory trees add to the woodland feel: Texas redbud, Southern wax myrtles, and a tiny, “purple” smoke tree (foreground, right). Beneath these, purple spiderwort (Tradescantia occidentalis ) has seeded itself freely along the dry stream that carries water into this bed from the rain barrel’s overflow valve. Coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus ) grows below the smoke tree.
A closer look at the smoke tree and spiderwort. I like the color combination of their leaves and flowers.
For anyone in Austin thinking of planting a Chinese smoke tree, learn from my mistake and give it afternoon shade and extra water (mine gets it from the rain barrel runoff) unless you want to see it defoliate every August. I initially tried this tree in a mostly sunny spot, as the nursery label advised, and watched as it lost all its leaves during the hottest part of the summer. It refoliated in October. This was not the effect I was after. So I moved it into the shade of the cedar elm, where it has remained nearly the same size after about five years, though it is much happier now and sees fit to keep its leaves until autumn.
One of my only other purple-leaved plants is oxalis. I understand some varieties can be invasive, but this type, commonly found in local nurseries, is well-mannered.
A close-up
Standing on the trampoline to get the photo of the orange house, I realized that I have a new vantage point on my garden from there. Looking toward the house, you see the rain garden on the left, the trellis-screen and patio in front, and the container pond close to the porch.
Panning to the right, the Mexican plum comes into view, along with a ‘Marie Pavie’ rose and an ‘Indigo Spires’ salvia coming back.
Also, some weeds. I still need to get after those.
Dear Pam,
What a knockout!
Which came first? The crossvine or the neighbor’s paint job? This looks like a mutual admiration neighborhood for sure. Just gorgeous.
J.
That house has been spicy orange since we moved in six years ago. I really like the bold color. While I can’t easily see the house from my yard, thanks to the privacy fence, I was happy to notice the serendipitous pairing once the crossvine took off. —Pam
Well, I for one am not tiring of the crossvine photos… and am impressed with the trampoline vantage point pictures. The combination of house and vine is terrific.
If someone sees the purple oxalis in my yard they might wonder if it throws seeds – ever since we moved in I’ve been spreading this plant around the garden. They’re such small plants, but the amount of purple around here is finally increased to where you can see it. It’s fun to see that you like it, too.
Annie
It does take a few oxalis for them to become visible, doesn’t it? Have you tried the green ones with the white flowers? I have a couple under a rosebush, and they seem like pretty tough plants and dependable bloomers too. —Pam
Wow! How is it I’ve never heard of crossvine? But that is specatcular, no wonder you’ve posted about it twice. What a feast for the eyes! Love the shots of the rest of your lovely garden, too.
It’s hardy to Zone 6, Lost Roses. Is that out of your range? I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. —Pam
I’m still crazy for your crossvine, too. After seeing your photos last year, I had planned to plant some along the back chain link fence. I thought they’d coordinate well with the bluebonnets and lighten up my garden a bit which is filled with blue and purple flowers (my favorite colors) and looks a bit depressing, even to me. Well I didn’t get to it this year. So I’ll have to wait another year for crossvine. Until then, I’ll feast my eyes on your photos.
I thought you liked the coral honeysuckle last year? Both vines have performed great in my garden, but I’m partial to crossvine and have planted it in several places. Anyway, I’ll bet it would spice up your blues and purples. —Pam
The crossvine is beautiful! Your garden is just gorgeous, Pam. And I love those oxalis. I have some planted here, but they’re kind of a bright pink. I much prefer your delicate, serene oxalis!
Thanks, Colleen! —Pam
Hi Pam,
I tried to leave a comment earlier but your blog wouldn’t accept it for some reason.
So here’s another attempt: thanks very much for the pictures! Your neighbours are not afraid of colour. Their house is a great background to your crossvine.
The pictures of your raingarden have given me a clearer idea of what it actually looks like which is very, very pretty! The spiderwort and the smoke tree look great together. I use a lot of purple plants too in my garden like berberis, ajuga, heuchera and a Japanese maple tree. A smoke tree I have too, who could do without?
I’m sorry about the comment business. I recently put a spam filter on the comment field because I was getting SO much spam. It worked—no more spam. But I sure don’t want to discourage legitimate commenters, and I wonder if anyone else has had a problem. I hope not—love those comments! Thanks for trying again, Yolanda Elizabet. —Pam
I can understand your enthusiasm for the Crossvine Pam. It’s magnificent!!! It looks so much like Trumpet Vine, which is hardy in our area.
Your photos from the trampoline give us lovely views of your garden, and your close-ups are so bright and clear. I’m sitting here oohing and aahing 🙂 I adore the delicate Oxalis! Your rain garden is looking lovely with all the Spiderwort and mix of colors. I forgot to mention how lovely the mountain Laurel is too. Wish I could smell it!
It does look like trumpet vine, but it is evergreen and not as rampant, I believe. However, it doesn’t bloom for as long either. Thank you for all the nice words about my garden. I appreciate it! —Pam