I have an annoyingly blank and ugly stretch of privacy fence along the side of my yard. It’s absolutely necessary, due to the traffic on the other side, but it sure ain’t purty, as they say. I’ve tried for almost NINE years to get something growing on it that would hide the whole thing. I’ve planted every kind of sturdy, easy-to-grow vine you can think of. Some that can be downright monsters. All have failed over time. (I’m thinking they salted the earth along the fence line when they installed it! Gack.) Anyway, I finally tried planting several vines in huge pots along the fence, hoping the enriched potting soil would fix the problem. One of the vines was a wisteria vine. Wisteria! A vine that has been known to swallow entire HOUSES in some parts of the south. Ha. The Fence of Death wasn’t impressed.
But a few months ago, I noticed that a Mexican flame vine I planted over three years ago had decided to grow. Keep in mind, this vine had died back to about 3 leaves and was maybe 6″ tall all this time. And brown and unhappy looking. Now, the flame vine has risen up in rebellion against the evil fence, and in doing so, swallowed up the pathetic wisteria and finally, finally begun to bloom. In a fiery splash of day-glo orange, it is something to see right now. And since we haven’t had a freeze this year, I’m thinking (though I wouldn’t dare voice this out loud) that it might be here to stay, this time.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you…tada!…Marcia’s Mexican Flame Vine! Um…sorry about the sad pictures. The light was bad, and I can only do so much with an old, outdated iPhone. But you get the idea. It’s splendid!
Mexican Flame Vine On The Fence Of Death
More of the Same, On The Same
I tell you, folks. Life is good. And life with a thriving Mexican Flame Vine is even better! What kind of problem areas do you have in your yard? Anyone else got a Fence of Death to deal with?
Who's Your Granny? 
Beautiful. She just jumps up at you. Fuego,Forzare. I bet you got help from Harry Dresden.
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Hahaha. How did you know? Harry brought his blasting rod over here, and we fuego-ed and forzared all over the place! And then we went outside and looked at the flame vine. *snort*
(Did I just say that out loud??)
😀
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😮 I can not believe you said that out loud. I’m sharing this on facebook, to shame you. Shame you I say
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Hahahaha. Go ahead. See if I care. Harry can bring his blasting rod to my house any time he wants! And his forzare staff, too. Wicked grin! Nicki and I were talking about cougars the other day, and their fondness for younger men. I asked her, “Well, if Courtney Cox and YOU are cougars, what am I?” Without missing a beat, she replied, “A saber-toothed tiger!” Hehehe. So that’s me, with all this talk about fuegoing. Only in my distant memories, though. Fantasies and memories! But that’s fine with me. Nothing like a good fantasy to spice up one’s day, I always say. It gets a gal through washing the dirty socks!
And now, could we please get back to my glorious flame vine? Before any other readers here get the totally wrong idea? Yes, wrong, I say. I’m a sweet, little ol’ gray-haired granny, and I can barely remember a single forzare from my misspent youth!
😀
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Glorious. What is the flame vine related to? Looks kind of like a red aster, if there were such a thing.
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The Latin name is Senecio confusus, Sue, if that’s any help. I believe that it IS a daisy/aster relative, and the flowers do look like daisies or asters. We do have a native climbing aster here, too, but it’s lavender. The stems near the ground have gone from tiny little things to woody stems about 1/2″ thick in just a few months. I really thought this vine was a goner. I’m hoping it will continue to thrive and spread over the whole fence.
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Oh, Marcia; I’m currently looking for some shrubs to plant in our backyard. This ‘Mexican Flame Vine’ is gorgeous… I’ll have to ask our nursery if they are available here in Oz….
And your pics are gorgeous, too…. 😉
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Thanks, Carolyn. All I know is that these are warm weather plants. South Florida is really where they grow best. They can freeze in the winter, but here in Central Florida, they will usually come back. You can google the Latin name for more growing info, but you’ll still have to see if they are available, I suppose. Good luck.
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The Mexican Flame vine is simply beautiful. I enjoy reading your post.
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Thank you, FPW! Glad you stopped by and took the time to comment. It really is a spectacular thing in bloom, and it can get HUGE. I hope it continues to thrive out there.
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Oh, I have lots of ugly corners–I am not familiar with this vine–I am f going to do some research…what a bright spot it makes.
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Hope you find out it grows where you are, Alice. It’s really a beautiful thing when in bloom, and very robust most places. That’s why I was so shocked when it seemed to die for me, but apparently it was doing just fine beneath the soil, and made a really nice comeback this year.
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Love it, and I don’t think I’ve seen it, but I don’t know names of plants as well as you do. You are sure a talented woman with all your diverse interests! 🙂
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I don’t know how talented I am (thanks) but I AM interested in a whole bunch of things. Especially nature related. It makes life more fun! Never gets boring to me.
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