"Motordome" wrote in message
om...
...my mother and I planted a climing hydrangea next to our back porch
with the hopes that it would climb up the lattice work and upwards to
cover the side of our house. That was nearly 20 years ago--I recently
went home to see my parents after a long stint in the Navy, and lo and
behold, the hydrangea had grown to terrific proportions! Not only had
it grown up and around our porch lattice, but 2/3rds of the way up our
house! At the base of the plant, it measured nearly 4" in
circumference, with a nice layer of bark around it, and it was STRONG.
My mother, naturally, has a green thumb, and I suppose she imparted
her love for gardening onto me: Now I have my own house, and I'm
thinking of planting a hydrangea so that my children can enjoy it the
way I now can enjoy my mother's...I still remember her saying, "It
will grow all the way up the lattice, and clear to the roof of the
house, given time..." I also remember thinking, "No way...that'll
take years!" Well, it's been years, and her words came
true--Unbelievable! Thanks Mom, for giving me an appreciation and a
love for the earth, and all things green! Has anyone else had a
similar experience?


An elderly couple bought the house next door a few years ago. I was
thrilled because the previous owners who were a very nice, quite, and
considerate young couple took no interest in gardening. When my new
neighbors started to tinker with the landscaping the builders installed and
planting new shrubs, I knew there was some potential. I started giving them
divisions of perennials and they started to ask for advice (not that they
listened, but they did ask.) One day they told me that they wanted to
screen in their back porch with some lattice. The porch was really a small
deck and was 8 feet off the ground. I had been looking at the ugly void
under that deck for several years and was so glad that they decided to dress
up the area that I volunteered to help. It took us a day's work to screen
in that deck and it made a world of difference, but it didn't look quite
right - sort of too pristine considering its proximity to the wooded area a
few yards away. After reading this newsgroup and seeing many positive
comments about climbing hydrangeas, I suggested that they might consider
planting one that could grow on the new lattice. They agreed and a couple
of weeks later I found a very nice specimen at a plant sale at an arboretum
I was visiting while out of town. The plant settled in the first year
without much promise. Winter came and it looked like some dead branches
someone stuck in the ground. The next spring it started to grow a bit and
yielded one or two small flower. The next year it doubled in size and
produced several more flowers. I am looking forward to seeing what it does
this year. If the growth rate matches last year's, it will be no time
before it covers that lattice.