Snail Vines

I love these "snail vine" flowers we planted in our yard. They have unusual spiral buds that give them their name, which open into pretty purple flowers that have bloomed continuously since we planted them. They're quick growers (so we find ourselves needing the trim back the new growth on the ones around the garage door each month, otherwise it starts to feel more and more like the entrance to a secret garden ea h time we go in and out of the garage). And they do seem to attract lots of aphids, so I'm learning to deal with that too. (But we've started to go to Richard Wright's free classes at the Walter Anderson nursery in Poway when we can, so we're slowly learning about how to care for our flowers and fruit trees. The other day someone called Michael & I "aprhentice gardeners," and we thought that was a fitting title).