The Vine is the Friend of the Bad Architect

I came across the above statement over 40 years ago, as a student studying architecture. It stayed with me as it is loaded with confusing meanings. Today it seems rather old-fashioned but never-the-less, every now-and-then, it still pops back into my mind, triggered subconsciously … and I end up pondering it all over again!

Virginia Creeper colonising a graffiti-covered sub-station

Recently, it was triggered by the role of hedges (the ‘vine’ in the broadest sense), which disguise the way buildings are often seen. Many buildings in our suburbs, our towns and villages, are often first seen through or around screening plants. These plants create soft boundary conditions – fuzzy layers – something I enjoy. I created the same thing many years ago, disguising my front door with Pittosprum, Fatsia and Daphne evergreen shrubs. There are so many planting options to choose from for this kind of screening, apart from the ubiquitous privet, leylandii and yew – and I hope to write about some of them in the future.

Alternative hedging, layered to disguise a tall garden wall, full of autumnal colour

But this blog is a more literal interpretation of the ‘vine’ – it is about actual climbing plants. Thirty years ago I designed my first (unbuilt) ‘eco-house’ – zero-carbon in terms of energy use, with a passively arranged plan and external walls partly finished with rough-cut natural stone, to help climbing plants to grow from ground level up to the second floor eaves line and to provide a home for spiders, insects, butterflies and birds in the nooks and crannies of the stonework. I wanted to support biodiversity, as I had witnessed a massive decline of most garden-friendly species in my own short lifetime. I was very worried even then! Sadly the decline in biodiversity has continued. The WWF-UK just recently reported that humans have now wiped out 69% of all life on Earth! Many species are extinct or on the edge of extinction. There is no going back from extinction! This is not an issue that needs to be debated in terms of cause and effect, such as anthropomorphic ‘climate change’. We are responsible for this loss! The rate of biodiversity decline continues unabated. The policies of our world leaders are insufficient to halt this global decline, so it is down to us – to change the way things are done from the bottom up – and to spread the word! We gardeners represent a fantastic resource to help slow or even reverse the tide of biodiversity loss, by orientating our gardening and planting specifically towards nature – turning our gardens into thriving locations supporting our local flora and fauna. And it is not just horizontal planting I’m thinking about, but vertical opportunities too.

Clematis adding colour, structure and wildlife habitat to an old stone wall

Which brings me to the ‘vine’ – or vertical planting in general – we should all, if possible, have at least one wall of vertical planting – that does not need technology to keep it functioning – extending our garden environments upwards. Gardeners have some great choices that can cover walls and gazebos, with structure, colour and scent. Various kinds of ivies, wisterias, climbing roses, jasmines, honeysuckles, clematises, solanum, passionflowers – even brambles, to name a few (a number of which can be found in SeeHow) – some deciduous and some evergreen. If encouraged, these plants will create wonderful green walls – great to look at and great habitats for biodiversity too. Espalier fruit trees and real vines (for grapes) can also be added to the list, offering the added benefit of a seasonal harvest for biodiversity and and for us too!

Fantastic crop of apricots in northern Scotland (and very sweet to eat!)

Ivy, although great for biodiversity, is rather invasive and does need to be kept in check – not easy. It will quickly colonise any walls, buildings, telegraph poles and also trees if allowed (preferably not). Trees already provide their own vertical habitats for specific biodiversity, so an ivy blanket is unnecessary.

A lock-up disguised by dense ivy provides an excellent wildlife habitat where there was none

SeeHow is mainly about colour in the garden. Sticking with this theme. a very colourful alternative to ivy (not yet in SeeHow) is Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia Creeper). This beautiful climber was listed in Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act in 2010, which means it cannot be planted in the wild and must be carefully controlled in any garden. However it is a very common sight in many European countries, often left to its own devices to cover property boundary walls and fences – a form of ever-changing colourful hedging.

A Virginia Creeper hedge in a full spectrum of autumnal colours

It is also often used to spectacular effect to cover whole building facades, providing additional habitats for all kinds of insects. It is deciduous and produces a wonderful range of deep red hues in autumn, with leaves of all different sizes and stages of maturity. It provides a real splash of colour, marking the onset of the colder weather and is one of the most spectacular climbers in terms of reach. It also produces clusters of berries, like small purple grapes – inedible to humans but birds love them!

Virginia Creeper providing spectacular colouring to both house and boundary fence

For me, all buildings should give back more than they take. They should replace more than is lost in their creation. They should be designed to evolve and benefit the natural world, as well as provide for us humans … in a partnership of equals.

The ‘vine’ is the friend of the good architect.

The above Text and all Photographs are copyright of Wincenty (Wicek) Sosna. Please contact SeeHow for permission to reproduce in any way, in part or as the complete text.