Clothes Vine???

As far as I am concerned, the "Silver Lace Vine" (aka Polygonum aubertii) is a carnivorous plant.

We have a trellis in the middle of our yard which I assume the previous owner erected to divide the yard for the upper and lower tenants.  There is no longer a need to divide the yard, but this trellis adds a splendid amount of privacy from nosy neighbours across the lane - uncommon in such an urban environment.  So we're keeping the trellis... but the active climber entangled in it had to go.

The Silver Lace Vine is absolutely gorgeous.  It has these beautiful plumes of tiny white flowers, which remind one of a delicate sleeve of lace.  Its spear-shaped leaves are a brilliant green that perfectly cover and weave throughout anything you want it to cover.  Despite these good traits, in September of last year I hacked the vine at its root without remorse, and dug for hours to unearth and remove its pervasive root system.  My only regret is that I didn't think to take a photograph of it in full bloom.

The Silver Lace Vine ate our clothesline - twice.  It made our laurel hedge a second home, climbed all the way to the highest branch of our 40 foot tree, and was making a B-line for the electrical and telephone wires coming into our home.

After removing the root in September I left the rest of the plant stay in place to die over the winter.  I've been working away at it here and there when I'm out in the yard.  I have filled two 'yard scraps' bins with the deceased vine's brittle tendrils, and there is at least one more to come.  And that doesn't include the extensions that I'll never get down from the dark recesses of the laurel, or the highest branch of our tall tree.  Perhaps one day they'll be of some use in a bird's nest.

In its place I have planted a beautiful white clematis.  The clematis is a robust vine, but doesn't grow like it is on steroids.  Now that we are well into spring, it has spread upwards and outwards to cover the lower portion of our trellis.  When I saw its beautiful white flowers for the first time I knew it was a keeper!

Moral of the story... if you want to plant a climber, do your research, and don't choose one that is hungry enough to eat a clothes line!

Pale and Shovel

The plastic pale and shovel set was one of the best toys I had growing up.  I fondly remember making sandcastles at the beach, digging in the sandbox, and even tasting a mud pie (okay that was not a 'fond' memory, but making the mud pie was!)  Somewhere around the age of seven this sort of play lost its appeal to me and was replaced with Barbie riding My Little Pony.  Throughout my teenage years inside activities remained highly appealing and I never understood how my mother could spend hours getting dirty out in the garden.  Studying, socializing, and a healthy dose of egocentricity carried me through university to several years of renting basement suites.  Then an amazing transformation happened last year when my fiance and I bought a house and I found myself with a piece of earth to call my own.  The pale, shovel, and array of other gardening tools (including my gnome) were the best housewarming gifts. 

We will be in our house one whole year on May 1st.  I have watched my garden transform through four seasons and think I know what lies below its soil.  The neatly manicured landscape that the previous owner created has grown a little wild, and I have begun the slow process of replacing the purples and pinks with the more vibrant reds and yellows that I like.  I now own two gardening books that I actually read and have spent more money at garden centres than on my wardrobe.  I still have no idea how to prune a tree or divide my perennials - but at least I know they need to be divided!  And as the first anniversary of owning this house draws near I am turning my attention from buds and shrubs to edible greens with my trusty pale and shovel at my side.