Growing vines can be addictive. They're instantly satisfying to an inpatient gardener, as some of them can grow to monstrous sizes in just months. I've been reticent to grow vines until I'm sure I won't be spending my days getting rid of their seedlings (see my woes on the trumpet vine below), but I have so many fences, bare walls, and things just in need of green and lushness. I just love how quickly vines grow and cover a wall, a trellis, a fence... instant green, instant color (and sometimes, as in the case of sweet peas, loads of flowers...…

A year after we were married we and a group of friends walked on an ancient pilgrimage path in northern Spain. Just before our arrival in Pamplona, we passed by a fence that was covered in passionflower vines. I stopped the entire group--about 12 of us--to marvel at just one of the flowers. All those tricks, special tricks, wheels and spins. It was a theatrical flower. Each bloom could've been a circus if it wasn't purple. After moving to Texas, I was surprised to learn that passionflowers were native here; I'd never seen anything like them in the midwest. So...…