Pictured: Iron Crossvine, Bignonia capreolata. NATIVE

Houston is a great city for growing vines. We have courtyard walls and residential fences that are spilling over with Bougainvillea, Creeping Fig, and Passion Flower. Every spring, the walls of Jasmine perfume entire neighborhoods with their sweet white star-shaped flowers. Vines are very useful for bringing lush texture to small spaces and spaces with tight corners and vertical surfaces. Some of the most commonly used vines here include Confederate Jasmine, Creeping Fig, and Bougainvillea. There are dozens of other species that are easy to care for and bring unique flowers and textures to the garden. Here are some of my favorites for their colorful flowers, all in the red-pink-purple tones, with links to more information and photos of the flowers:

Chocolate Vine, Akebia quinata.

Coral Vine, Antigonon leptopus.

Iron Crossvine, Bignonia capreolata. NATIVE

Clematis, Clematis spp.

Coral Honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens. NATIVE

Evergreen Wisteria, Millettia reticulata.

Purple Passionflower, Passiflora incarnata. NATIVE

Rangoon Creeper, Quisqualis indica.

Pictured: Left to right and top to bottom are Chocolate Vine, Coral Vine, Iron Crossvine, Clematis, Coral Honeysuckle, Evergreen Wisteria, Purple Passionflower, and Rangoon Creeper