Aaahhh, those bloomin' indoor vines!

Blooming indoor vines

By Amy McDowell

The Linnaean House at the Missouri Botanic Garden is the most enthralling building I have ever set foot in. It is a brick-sided greenhouse built in 1916, proudly touted as the oldest continuously operating greenhouse this side of the Mississippi River. A brick path snakes through the center of the earth floor and plants on both sides of the path sink their roots directly into the ground. Vines clamor up the brick walls inside and outside the building. When the large wood-frame windows are left open in the summer, the scents of camellias and jasmine wisp in and out.

The earthen floor anchors plants and gives my soul an indoor soil connection far beyond potting soil in containers. Planting beds in the dome at the Des Moines Botanical Center are similar, but the scale of the Linnaean House creates an intimate, homey atmosphere. If only I could live in such a building.

I am left to recreate the divine environment on a pot-bound scale, but a handful of blooming vines cooperate with the conditions in my home. The following tender vines are some of the simplest. They require very bright light, like that in a southern- or eastern-facing window, and are content with average home temperatures and humidity. Most will bloom all winter with regular water, little fertilizer and an occasional trim. Spray to keep the bugs at bay. Once a month, use insecticidal soap or mix your own with a drop of dish soap and a teaspoon of rubbing alcohol in a 16-ounce spray bottle filled with water.

Black-Eyed Susan Vine (Thunbergia alata) originally bloomed golden with a dark eye. I grew it in that loud clashy color, but now they are available in tamer citrus colors, pink blush and pure white. The new colors look great beside the cool colors of Browalia (B. speciosa major) and trailing Lobelia (L. erinus). Browalia blooms with 1-inch blue stars all winter, and the Lobelia has dainty dark purple flowers.

Other vines that bloom indoors include smelly Lantana (L. montevidensis), ivy geranium (Pelargonium peltatum), red-and-white glory bower (Clerodendrum thomsoniae), finicky Fuschia (F. magellanica gracilis), delightfully fragrant snail vine (Phaseolus caracalla) and fan flower (Scaevola aemula).