"Persistent Climbers and Twiners!"
Every summer I fight to eradicate a persistent, pesky vine from preying upon my border plants, shrubs, and beloved rhododendron! While I have never completely identified the exact species, I think this "climber" is in the family of summer annuals like a "Morning Glory." One thing I know, although it has heart-shaped leaves that are configured alternately on the stem, I have no love in my heart for this "twiner!" Nearly every season, this vine will spread like a canopy upon the tops of the rhododendron until it shades and smothers this plant that we prize for its beautiful lilac flowers. When I unloose the vine and pull this mass down to dispose of it before it completely suffocates the plant, it fills up half of a large lawn-waste container! Where is this rambler going? This vine is the enemy! Just this week, I was surveying the roof and siding of our house for any wind damage from a recent storm. I looked up some eight feet at the corner molding behind a...