They do very well in my zone, although my orange Thunbergia didn't do much. It grew to about eight feet and then promptly died, never to return. It was the first year in the garden and the soil still needed work, so that probably explains my luck. However, there is one in town that every year reseads, climbs a six foot fence and cascade back over the other side to the ground. By my estimates that is twelve feet of plant. It's a spectacular show and I admire it every time I drive by. Not knowing how they do in your zone, I would still recommend that you limit it to two of them for they are quite vigorous if they approve of their conditions. Even if you have to keep them trimmed up a bit, I think that beautiful structure would be perfect for thunbergia.

Mary lu,

I can't help you with the thunbergia, I've never grown it, but that obelisk is gorgeous! I'm thinkin' that whatever you plant will be beautiful :-)

Your peony is lovely, too. Have you considered a clematis?

bloominganne

MaryLu, I can't help with the BES either. I just wanted to oh and ah over your garden once again. I bet it stops traffic when people drive by. The obelisk is gorgeous and your DH is very talented.

MeMo

I've grown thunbergia twice from seed. The first time was in pots because I read that it could be grown as a hanging plant (not true). I loved the flowers though, so I tried again last year but the plants had fairly insignificant growth for me -- with thin stems and small leaves, it didn't vine far at all or fill much space. In a spot where morning glories would have eaten that obelisk, my thunbergia could barely be found. Perhaps it needs rich/moist conditions and full sun, but that's not what I gave it. :( Or maybe more time? if you're buying plants that already look good, you'll be ahead of the game. I started my seeds at about the same time I would start MGs (shortly before last frost).

BTW: if that is a current photo, then you are in a completely different zone 5 than me, and the thunbergia should do better for you! My peonies are just coming up and it will be at least a month before they bloom.

I have grown both here and at work for the past 2 years, trying to find the spot they like.I love to do them yellow and orange together.I am in wny.
1.In my front bed in the ground which is facing south all sun all the time and a little on the dry side,3 tiny plants covered a 4ft. step ladder.They looked like a large bush covering it so well by late july.The soil is nothing great just a bit of compost couple times a season.
2.In the ground same soil east side of building sun till 1pm only.These I grew on a chicken wire fence attaced to a wall. They did live all season but never went far. They don't like to be trained to go anyway but where they want.
3.In a large pot on the south of the building, great potting mix, all sun, but the trellis was short so they thrived but never got bushy.Some vines I have grown will go even if they run out of trellis, not these guys.Like some one said earlier will not be a hang.
So all in all I have decieded for my zone they must have:
heavy sun
good drainage,not wet feet
a large climbing place that is not flat
They like to be left alone can't be trained(like my dh)
So... from what I see of that wonderful structure your well trained dh build your good to go.And if you grow seedlings the seeds are large and easy to find so you'll never need to buy them again! This is my first wintersow, but I have several seedlings almost ready to be planted.
Sorry for the long trail, but I hope this helps someone

I am off to the local nurseries this morning. I am going to take a chance and get the Lemon BES. It might rain this afternoon, so decided that today is my "shopping" day. I hate shopping. So hard to make up my mind. Many times I come home with plants completely different than what I planned to buy!

Steven...hopefully I will have better luck. I'm sure if you were to plant it again, it would grow great for you! Your yard is just beautiful now and you have amended your soil a great deal! (Especially the back yard) :-)

Bloominganne....yes I had planned to plant 2 clematis on it this year. Had checked with the nursery last fall to see if they were going to get in more Kivistic clematis, as last year they lost their grower. Yup, they would be getting some in. So I waited....then I stopped last week on Monday and they had come in late Friday and SOLD OUT over the weekend. So now it is another year to wait as I have not had good luck with mail order clematis.

Memo...thank you. Yes, DH is really a sweetie. He has a few project he wants to work on this summer. One is to hang the 1859 bronze bell (we purchased last year) in a corner bed in the front of the house. He is thinking about building a brick arch to hang it in. Hopefully it won't grow legs and walk off that way!

party_music....the plants at the nursery are quite good sized and are blooming beautifully. So...fingers crossed. The picture above was taken on May 30, 2005 but not much has really changed. Just that the cedar has weathered gray on the obelisk. My peonies are all up with lots of buds. I expect them to be blooming in about 2 weeks. We have a very sandy soil that warms quickly in spring. I am finding that everything really gets an early start here. I usually start picking my strawberries on Memorial Day weekend. The lilacs are blooming now and I baked fresh rhubarb pie last week. Much different than the clay soil we had 160 miles north of where we live now. It is a joy to garden here.

Yes it will totally cover that and then some! I have some I planted a year ago and it covered a metal structure similar to that then reached out and grabbed my senna and began to cover that. He is now like ground cover and looks darling mingling with Porter weed.I really have to control it though as he wants to take over the world,happily I might add!{{gwi:138021}}This is some peeking and poking through all my garden