6 Amazing Vines & Creepers Perfect for Indian Gardens
Give your garden a picturesque look by draping it with these beautiful, easy-to-grow vines
Vines bring colour, texture and height into your garden. Their creeping and climbing habit makes them special because they can grow in ways that shrubs and trees simply cannot. For this reason, vines have great potential to become the foundation plantings in the garden, which tie it together, softening hard lines. Here are six great members of the vine family that can add to the beauty of your garden.
Blue Passion-flower vine
This hardy, easy- and fast-growing perennial vine has beautifully intricate, fragrant flowers and shiny, rich green leaves. Native to Southern Brazil and Argentina, it is an evergreen plant at tropical temperatures. It is one of the best plants for attracting butterflies.
Botanical name: Passiflora caerulea
Local name: Jhumka lata
Size: Climbs to 15–20 feet
Read more about climatic zones of India here
Ideal climate type: 1, 2a, 2c, 3a
Garden Tip: Don’t train (tie up and trim) your passion-flower to be too neat and compact, since the branches allowed to hang loose and droop will be the ones most inclined to flower.
This hardy, easy- and fast-growing perennial vine has beautifully intricate, fragrant flowers and shiny, rich green leaves. Native to Southern Brazil and Argentina, it is an evergreen plant at tropical temperatures. It is one of the best plants for attracting butterflies.
Botanical name: Passiflora caerulea
Local name: Jhumka lata
Size: Climbs to 15–20 feet
Read more about climatic zones of India here
Ideal climate type: 1, 2a, 2c, 3a
Garden Tip: Don’t train (tie up and trim) your passion-flower to be too neat and compact, since the branches allowed to hang loose and droop will be the ones most inclined to flower.
Rangoon creeper
This beautiful vigorous twining climber native to India, blooms profusely throughout summer with clusters of fragrant white trumpets that change to pink, red and finally a deep maroon. The fragrance of the blooms is most striking at night.
Botanical name: Quisqualis indica
Local name: Madhu malati, Madhu manjiri
Size: Climbs to 70 feet
Ideal climate type: 1, 2a, 2c
Garden Tip: With some support, this vine can easily cover fences, pergolas, arches and walls. The growth rate is generally rapid, and it does not need heavy fertilisers. Rangoon creeper likes medium to bright light.
Take a look at more garden designs
This beautiful vigorous twining climber native to India, blooms profusely throughout summer with clusters of fragrant white trumpets that change to pink, red and finally a deep maroon. The fragrance of the blooms is most striking at night.
Botanical name: Quisqualis indica
Local name: Madhu malati, Madhu manjiri
Size: Climbs to 70 feet
Ideal climate type: 1, 2a, 2c
Garden Tip: With some support, this vine can easily cover fences, pergolas, arches and walls. The growth rate is generally rapid, and it does not need heavy fertilisers. Rangoon creeper likes medium to bright light.
Take a look at more garden designs
Skyblue clustervine
The small white-throated ultramarine flowers of this vine are like a reflection of a clear blue summer sky. The leaves are small, shiny and heart-shaped, with pointed tips. Native to tropical America, the skyblue clustervine grows well both in a pot or in the ground. The creeper looks gorgeous with its many flowers spread on it after the rains and in the cooler season.
Botanical name: Jacquemontia pentanthos
Local name: Pentantha
Size: Climbs to 20 feet
Ideal climate type: 1, 2a, 2b, 2c
Garden tip: This is a great plant for attracting bees as well as butterflies. Just give it some support and the vine will twine happily over the fence, trellis or other plants, or use as a groundcover without support.
The small white-throated ultramarine flowers of this vine are like a reflection of a clear blue summer sky. The leaves are small, shiny and heart-shaped, with pointed tips. Native to tropical America, the skyblue clustervine grows well both in a pot or in the ground. The creeper looks gorgeous with its many flowers spread on it after the rains and in the cooler season.
Botanical name: Jacquemontia pentanthos
Local name: Pentantha
Size: Climbs to 20 feet
Ideal climate type: 1, 2a, 2b, 2c
Garden tip: This is a great plant for attracting bees as well as butterflies. Just give it some support and the vine will twine happily over the fence, trellis or other plants, or use as a groundcover without support.
Garlic vine
Native to South America, garlic vine is one of the most rewarding flowering vines that you can grow. As the name suggests, it smells like garlic when the leaves are crushed. Its compact habitat and constant flowering make it a popular ornamental plant in gardens in the tropics. The flowers start off purple with a white throat and change to a lighter shade of lavender with age, eventually fading to almost white. You can see three different colours of flowers at the same time on the plant.
Botanical name: Mansoa alliacea
Local name: Lasun vel, Lata parul
Size: Climbs to 6–10 feet
Ideal climate type: 1, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a
Garden tip: Because of its large size, garlic vine is recommended for outdoor gardens with a trellis. It is a vine with a moderate growth rate and one need not worry that is will become an unruly resident in the garden.
Native to South America, garlic vine is one of the most rewarding flowering vines that you can grow. As the name suggests, it smells like garlic when the leaves are crushed. Its compact habitat and constant flowering make it a popular ornamental plant in gardens in the tropics. The flowers start off purple with a white throat and change to a lighter shade of lavender with age, eventually fading to almost white. You can see three different colours of flowers at the same time on the plant.
Botanical name: Mansoa alliacea
Local name: Lasun vel, Lata parul
Size: Climbs to 6–10 feet
Ideal climate type: 1, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a
Garden tip: Because of its large size, garlic vine is recommended for outdoor gardens with a trellis. It is a vine with a moderate growth rate and one need not worry that is will become an unruly resident in the garden.
Bengal clock vine
This is a vigorous evergreen vine, native to northern India. From a distance, this twining, flowering vine looks like a morning glory and even up close, the flowers are quite similar. The curious name clock vine comes from the fact that it twines around a support in a clockwise direction.
Botanical name: Thunbergia grandiflora
Local name: Neel lata, Kaag phulee
Size: Climbs to 6 to 10 feet
Ideal climate type: 1, 2a, 2c
Garden tip: This plant can be in bloom almost all times of the year but will sulk during cold months. The rampant growth of this vine can be somewhat controlled by withholding irrigation – once established, it needs only be watered occasionally. Provide climbing support, tying up shoots until well established.
This is a vigorous evergreen vine, native to northern India. From a distance, this twining, flowering vine looks like a morning glory and even up close, the flowers are quite similar. The curious name clock vine comes from the fact that it twines around a support in a clockwise direction.
Botanical name: Thunbergia grandiflora
Local name: Neel lata, Kaag phulee
Size: Climbs to 6 to 10 feet
Ideal climate type: 1, 2a, 2c
Garden tip: This plant can be in bloom almost all times of the year but will sulk during cold months. The rampant growth of this vine can be somewhat controlled by withholding irrigation – once established, it needs only be watered occasionally. Provide climbing support, tying up shoots until well established.
Flaming trumpet vine
This vigorous, fast-growing vine native to Southern Brazil, Northern Argentina and Paraguay is well suited to Indian soils and climates. Its magnificent orange flowers appear in winter and last right through to spring. It will easily cover a boring fence or garden shed but you can also grow it on a pergola or an arch from where the flowers can hang down. It is another great pick if you want to bring butterflies into your garden.
Botanical Name: Pyrostegia venusta
Local name: Sankrant vel, Orange bignonia
Size: Climbs to 10 to 20 feet
Ideal climate type: 1, 2a, 2c
Garden Tip: It will flower at its best in a sheltered sunny location, and requires support to grow. These attractive flowers are a magnet for sunbirds, bees and butterflies.
This vigorous, fast-growing vine native to Southern Brazil, Northern Argentina and Paraguay is well suited to Indian soils and climates. Its magnificent orange flowers appear in winter and last right through to spring. It will easily cover a boring fence or garden shed but you can also grow it on a pergola or an arch from where the flowers can hang down. It is another great pick if you want to bring butterflies into your garden.
Botanical Name: Pyrostegia venusta
Local name: Sankrant vel, Orange bignonia
Size: Climbs to 10 to 20 feet
Ideal climate type: 1, 2a, 2c
Garden Tip: It will flower at its best in a sheltered sunny location, and requires support to grow. These attractive flowers are a magnet for sunbirds, bees and butterflies.
Read more:
How to Attract Birds and Bees Into Your Garden
How to Make Your Garden Sing
Tell us:
If you enjoyed this story, like it, bookmark it and share your thoughts in Comments below. Join the conversation!
How to Attract Birds and Bees Into Your Garden
How to Make Your Garden Sing
Tell us:
If you enjoyed this story, like it, bookmark it and share your thoughts in Comments below. Join the conversation!
Climatic zones of India are divided into three types:
1. Tropical rainy climate
(The west coast of India, including parts of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and the Andaman-Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands)
2. Dry climate
a. Tropical semi-arid
(North, central and south Maharashtra)
b. Sub-tropical arid
(Rajasthan and Gujarat)
c. Sub-tropical semi-arid
(Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, western Madhya Pradesh, Delhi)
3. Sub-tropical humid climate
a. Sub-tropical humid
(Foothills of the Himalayas, Bihar, northern West Bengal, Assam, Orissa)
b. Mountain/Alpine
(Mid-Himalayan mountain range)
All the plants mentioned in this story are acclimatised to our Indian climatic conditions and should be easy to grow in your gardens with the right care. Opting for these varieties is one of the best decisions you can make to fill your garden with stunning flower forms and prolific blooms.
Find landscape architects and contractors near you