December may not seem like a great time to be working on garden projects, but it's actually an excellent time to get things accomplished without eating into precious planting and cultivating time. This month, my husband made me an early Christmas present: an arbor over our garage doors.
For the past few years I've pictured it, pretty and practical, overflowing with wisteria vines that practically beg visitors to come in for a closer inspection. Early on, we encountered a problem: we don't get nearly enough sun in this corner of the property to coax those big beautiful wisteria buds to bloom. The northern exposure ensures only morning rays, and the other portion of the house blocks out a lot of those.
Not to be deterred from my "vision," I've decided hummingbird vine will have to grace the new arbor. It's a bit more tolerant of low-light conditions, and I'm convinced I can still get a few orangey-red buds to make an appearance--as well as some hummingbirds!
The best thing about the arbor is the structure itself. It breaks up all the white space above the doors and really does offer a welcoming entryway along the front of the house. The bonus comes during this time of year, when we layer it with greenery, add a wreath and top it all with a red bow. Merry Christmas!
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