Everyone loves honeysuckle, which along with jasmine is one of the two most popular sweet-smelling vines. If you have a honeysuckle in your garden, chances are it’s Lonicera japonica, the most readily available of the genus.
There is, however, a whole world of honeysuckles, from the easily found to the arcane. One of the most attractive, and toughest, is L. x heckrottii ‘Gold Flame.’ Whoever named this variety cut right to the chase. This U.S. native produces masses of large, peach and gold flowers, starting in midsummer and continuing in milder zones until nearly Christmas. It has that signature heady fragrance that delights humans, bees and hummingbirds alike. Adding to the appeal of this vigorous climber (to 15 feet) are attractive bluish-green oval leaves that provide a soft backdrop to the colorful show.
You can use honeysuckle vines in a variety of ways, not that anyone needs a reason to add one of these cheerful vines to their garden. Have a fence that you want to cover? Loniceras can accomplish that job quickly. Have an arbor that’s waiting for the perfect vining plant to complete it? Honeysuckles are Old World enough to make that look work. Because they eventually form a strong branching support, honeysuckles can even be kept pruned and grown as a shrub. I’ve done that with mine, up against a stucco wall, which it helps to soften.
Vining honeysuckles will climb anything you provide as a support. My neighbor planted two giant Burmese specimens and let them climb the posts framing his garage. The mature plants have now completely covered his garage roof, making for a spectacular show in summer and fall. Even in winter, when they’ve gone deciduous, the gnarled trunks have a stately beauty all their own.
One advantage this honeysuckle variety offers is that unlike L. japonica it will not take over your garden or become invasive. If you’re lucky, flowers are followed by red fruits, adding birds to their visitors.
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