HOW ABOUT HERBS 



Perennial Herbal Vines 



There are many interesting vines 

 to use in the landscape. Here I 

 taii< about those with herbal uses--a 

 special fragrance, medicinal proper- 

 ties, culinary uses. 



Vines can provide a strong de- 

 gree of definition in an herb garden 

 design They can block undesirable 

 views, provide a background for 

 other, more colorful, herbs, and when 

 trained on arbors or pergolas soften 

 the lines of the structure and pro- 

 vide shade over a comfortable gar- 

 den bench 



In searching for "different and un- 

 usual" as well as herbal, I went first 

 to my memory--to the Dutchman's 

 Pipe \Arislolochis macrophijlla (syn A. 

 durior) rambling all over the veranda 

 on my grandmother's northern Ver- 

 mont home, creating a cool dark 

 hideaway for us to play in when we 

 visited I searched through all my 

 herbal books, hoping to find an 

 herbal use for this plant Finally I 

 found one-a mention of a medicinal 

 use in an old kitchen herbal. I also 

 decided that its use as a shade plant 

 over an arbor in an herb garden 

 would earn it a place on my list. A 

 twining vine that grows well in sun 

 or partial shade, it has big heart- 

 shaped leaves and unusual green 

 and purple flowers that look like 

 miniature leprechaun pipes. We used 

 to pretend to smoke the little pipes 

 and make hats out of the big leaves, 

 using twigs to hold them together. 



My next choice is very exciting. It 

 is only hardy to zone 5, which leaves 



out much of New Hampshire, but 

 here it is anyway. Akebia quiuala (or 

 Five-leaf Akebia) has, according to 

 one of my favorite garden writers, 

 Allen Lacy, small chocolate-scented 

 rose-purple flowers in spring The 

 vine will grow in partial shade or sun 

 and will not get rampant in this cli- 

 mate. According to Lacy, this climate 

 keeps it under control-for— like many 

 vines-it can be a nuisance in warmer 

 climes He also states that it may not 

 fruit in this zone either, although he 

 admires the large purple or cream- 

 colored fruits that hang down and 

 look like mangos Wayside Gardens 

 describes its semi-evergreen foliage 

 as ornamental and dainty, but the 

 plant itself as "a very sturdy grower 

 that can be easily kept in bounds by 

 pruning." The Brooklyn Botanical Gar- 

 den calls it "one of the best foliage 

 vines for the North." For all those 

 attributes--and especially the fra- 

 grance--! want to give it a try. If any 

 of you growers out there already 

 carry it, give me a call 



The Hops Vine {Humulus lupulus) 

 has long been known as an herbal 

 plant. The female flowers are used 

 for making beer and have medicinal 

 uses as well Dried and stuffed into 

 pillows, the fragrance of the hops 

 flowers is considered to be sedative 

 and the use of such "sleep pillows" 

 was very popular in Victorian times. 

 The clusters of flowers, which look 

 like small green pine cones, are also 

 used in dried arrangements and 

 wreaths. This perennial vine is grow- 



ing at the site of Celia Thaxter's gar- 

 den on Appledore Island and also at 

 the Thomas Bailey Aldridge House at 

 Strawbery Banke. Its a hard one to 

 get started, but once established, 

 watch out Give it plenty of room 



Ground Nut Vine (Apois ameri-cana) 

 is a native legume vine that I would 

 like to find. It's a hardy shade-loving 

 vine that dies back to the roots ev- 

 ery year, which no doubt keeps it in 

 bounds It flowers in mid-August, 

 producing clusters of fragrant coral 

 and white pea-like blossoms; in the 

 fall, it produces a crop of edible 

 nutty tubers which East Coast Native 

 Americans used to harvest for food. 

 They are described as tasting like a 

 potato or Jerusalem artichoke 



Finally, there is a Clematis vine 

 that fits into the herbal category. 

 Traveler's Joy (C/f»ifl(is vilalba). with 

 its fluffy whorled seed heads and 

 light sweet fragrance, is said to have 

 edible sprouts I like the seed heads 

 for arrangements, but you must pick 

 them early, before they become frag- 

 ile and shatter. Because it flowers in 

 late summer/early fall with a shower 

 of creamy white blossoms, it is a 

 marvelous accent in the autumn 

 garden. 



These are some choice perennial 

 vines There are some wonderful an- 

 nual vines for the herb garden as 

 well Maybe next time.. 



Tanya ]ackson, a well-known area 

 herbalist, can be reached al 603-431-6774. 



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