The virtue of a vine is unmistakable. The beauty of foliage and flower alone makes a vine worthy of space in any garden. Yet it can also offer coverage of an ugly fence or wall, provide architectural structural beauty, act as a screen separating garden spaces or frame a garden entrance.

Flowering vines attract wildlife such as birds, bees, and butterflies. Many have fragrant flowers and wonderful, bold colors as well as interesting shapes ranging from trumpet, tubular, and star-shaped flowers to colorful bracts with many smaller flowers.

Most vines either twine, cling or arch. The structure that you choose to train your vine onto will depend upon its growth habit and the ultimate size it can grow to. Some vines have more delicate branching while others, such as wisteria, develop strong, large woody vines from which the foliage and flowers emerge. That type of vine needs an extremely sturdy structure. Most other vines are easily trained onto a trellis or arbor. And of course the ‘clingers’ need a fence or wall to attach to.

We’re excited about the summer blooming vines we have in stock and invite you to look at our list below. They are blooming in the garden center and will continue to bloom for you at home, providing years of enjoyment.

Click here to view pics of summer vines

Many gardeners give up on their roses in the summer, believing they only produce quality flowers in the spring. Rose blossoms do tend to be smaller in the summer and the colors not quite as vivid because the summer heat forces the blooms to open before blossom size and color pigment have completely developed. But given the proper care, combined with a few simple pruning techniques, roses will re-bloom every six weeks until the first frost.

There are two ways to prune roses during the growing season, and both will encourage new blooms to set. Most roses have leaflets (with three to seven leaves) every couple of inches along the stems. In order to produce blooms you need to prune at least to the second five-leafed leaflet. (Pruning just above will eliminate nasty dead stems called coat hangers.)

If you also want to prune for size control, you can go as far down as two leaflets above the previous cut. Pruning beyond the previous cut tells the rose you don't want it to bloom. Remember that hybrid tea and grandiflora rose stems tend to grow at least 18 inches after each pruning before blooming, so if you only prune the minimum amount you will have a very tall (and possibly leggy) rose by the end of summer.

Because roses are constantly growing, they are in constant need of food. It's important to feed roses every 6-8 weeks with a quality rose food like Whitney Farms Rose & Flower Fertilizer. Continue feeding through September, and you will have quality rose blooms into fall. So don't give up on your roses. With a little help, they will provide loads of blooms for you all season long.

Who's your bud? Not the budworm. When the weather warms up, you can bet this pest is on its way. The budworm (a type of caterpillar/moth) is gunning for your geraniums, petunias, snapdragons, and other flowering plants. Knowing the budworm's diet, habits, and the effective control methods, you will be armed and ready for combat.

It can be hard to spot budworms. They are very small and they tend to take on the color of the bloom or foliage they are infesting, further enhancing their camouflage. You will see irregular chewing on the blossoms and round holes through flower buds and leaves. The numerous black droppings they leave behind are one of the telltale signs. Many gardeners may not know they have a problem until the damage becomes severe.

Controlling this pest depends on the amount of planting. With a small patio of plants, physically removing and killing them should be effective. A larger yard would require spraying. Insecticides that contain Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), such as Safer BT Caterpillar Control, offer reasonably effective biological control. Because the Bt must be ingested by the insect to be effective, it may take a few days before you no longer see any signs of budworms. Plant sprays containing Sevin are also effective in controlling budworms.

Now that you know what to look for, and what to spray, you'll be armed and ready at the first sign of attack.