Fine vining

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, April, 2007 | by Virginia A. Smith Inquirer Staff Writer

As an artist and gardener, Victoria Mowrer has a thing for funky vines, especially gourds that rocket round the clock in the heat of summer.

"They're very fun because they grow so fast, and I really am enchanted with their tendrils. They're magical," says Mowrer, of Strasburg, who sculpts the ugly-duckling fruits into charming birdhouses, mobiles and masks. (She regularly teaches gourd workshops at Jenkins Arboretum in Devon).

But creepers sometimes have an image problem. Mention "vine" to a gardener and count the seconds till phrases like "man-eating English ivy" come sputtering out of their mouths.

"It's true. Some of our worst weeds are vines," says Andrew Bunting, curator of Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College. He piles on a few more: mile-a-minute, Japanese...