The air is sweet with honeysuckle

Gardening

May 28

Little did we know when we planted our honeysuckle that it would give us such great privacy in our backyard.

Beyond our fabulously covered fence line, honeysuckle gives us a fragrant backyard in the spring and then again toward the end of summer to early fall. Even when it’s not in bloom, it offers a lush, green backdrop to all our backyard activities.

There are nearly 200 varieties of honeysuckle, with 20 of them gracing the landscapes of North America. They can be used as ground cover, but more often are climbers, following a trellis, wall or other structure.

Some honeysuckle is considered invasive, so it can take over the area where its planted and shade out many of your other plants. Bush honeysuckle (which we don’t have) is extremely invasive and some horticulture specialists indicate this should not be planted in your garden or yard as it grows quickly and takes over everything in its path.

Honeysuckle loves the sunshine, so plant it in a place where it will get at least 6 hours of sunlight per day. Most varieties grow well in hardiness zones 5 to 9. It also performs best in an acidic to moderately alkaline soil. And finally, keep the soil moist, but not soggy.

The thicket of the honeysuckle on our fence is quite dense, and we’ve had a couple birds nest in it in the past, which was fun. Honeysuckle also attracts hummingbirds, so this is an added plus.

The best part of honeysuckle is that it’s a perennial, so it bounces back every year. It’s fast growing, maturing in three years. This is when you can expect its peak performance in blooming and the enjoyment of its fruit & honey aroma.