Envy

I've written about this honeysuckle before. It's Lonicera reticulata 'Kintzley's Ghost' and I grew it in Connecticut and I am growing one here. But I have never, ever, no not ever, seen one growing over an arch like this.

This is phenomenal. During the pandemic my son, bored and isolated at home, decided to do some stonework and install an arch at the entrance to his Denver back yard. He has no background in home projects, few tools and no experience doing landscaping installations. But he had YouTube videos.

He did all the stonework, put in a metal arch and planted a vine. Now look.

I can't get over what five years has produced.

Here it was just planted in 2020 after all his hard work on hands and knees putting in the paver stones.

Here it was in late 2021. He had carefully clipped the extending shoots to the top of the arch as it grew.

And four years later it is over the arch, down the other side and looking to come in the kitchen door.

I am showing you all this because I was just there visiting and because I have a severe case of envy.

For reference, here is my very same 'Kintzley's Ghost' honeysuckle vine, planted in my Santa Fe garden in 2018. Two full years before he thought about putting one in. Here's mine this summer after eight years.

It's nice, it's healthy and it remains a bushy thing clinging to the fence. I want it to scramble along and over the fence top, and I have tied the shoots to the fence to do that, but it doesn't go anywhere.

To be fair, most of the Lonicera reticulata vines I have seen in botanical gardens and on private tours have been shrubby and bushy like mine, not long graceful cascades draped over a high arch. So I was happy enough with my display. Until I saw his. 

Now I am having fits of green envy while being incredibly proud of the gardener he has become. The rest of his yard looks great too.

Kintzley's Ghost is an heirloom native plant that has an interesting story. You can read about the plant here.  You can read about the story here.  You can read about my son's incredible garden in a future post when I make another visit to Denver.