Lonicera 'Harlequin'

All summer long you'll enjoy the fragrance as well as the color of these trumpet-shaped blooms, which arise in big bouquets 5 inches or so across! Butterflies and hummingbirds flock to the blossoms, so be sure to plant 'Harlequin' where you can enjoy it day and night -- the scent intensifies in the evening hours, making this a great choice for the deck, patio, or outdoor "conversation" garden. (And if you don't have a conversation garden, sink a trellis into the earth, plant 'Harlequin' to twine up it, and arrange a few deck chairs around it! Instant conversation!)

'Harlequin's flowers last all summer long and often into fall, but I have to tell you that the foliage is at least as interesting as the flowers -- an absolute first in the Honeysuckle world! The new leaves unfurl in spring splashed with bright pink and cream, and this color lasts right into the heat of summer. Then in fall the foliage turns again, giving you a third season of new color! Not bad for a vine that grows so easily you can just plant and forget it!

In the sunny to partly shaded garden, 'Harlequin' makes a nice companion to everything from Hydrangea to Ice Plant. It's perfect to twine through an ugly chain-link fence, climb up a showy trellis or arbor, or even wend its way through the branches of open-habit shrubs and trees. It won't overtake Clematis, and adds much-needed fragrance to all the summer bloomers that lack a scent of their own. Indifferent to heat and humidity, it's the one you want for those dry, difficult spots. Let it scramble across the ground in areas where few other things will grow -- its vining habit can be horizontal as easily as vertical! And if you've got an ugly old tree stump or other unsightly garden presence, 'Harlequin' is ready for cover-up duty!

Space these plants about 2 to 4 feet apart, depending on how dense you want your coverage. Give it fertile, humus-y soil and water well the first season or two to get it established. If you want to cut it back, do so right after it flowers, so that it will have a chance to grow "new wood" for next season's bloom show! Easy, beautiful, and fragrant, 'Harlequin' is just waiting to transform your garden. Zones 3-9.