Cait's Garden

A little bit of tropical rainforest mystique accompanies a trumpet vine, even in the Midwest. Campsis radicans (trumpet vine or trumpet creeper) is a hardy perennial and an old-fashioned garden staple that has sometimes fallen out of favor due to its tremendous size and its tendency to spawn many seedlings. It requires strong, tall support and some housekeeping every year. Still, if you have the room and the patience to tame this wild beast, er, vine, you will marvel at its exotic orange trumpet-shaped flowers in midsummer. The hummingbirds will thank you, too.