Another Use for Climbing Vines

Tired of graffiti-covered walls and buildings? Want to stop repainting them every few months?

Plant vines.

The relief won’t be free. It won’t be immediate. But it will be reasonably permanent.

Some work will be necessary, though it’s little in comparison to what’s now required. Concrete at the base of buildings and walls will have to be cut. Suitable soil will need to be provided. Water also is needed. Buildings already have water. Plumbing can be extended to drip water the vines. Free-standing walls may require a different water delivery system. Mobile tank units can be scheduled to deliver a weekly--or more often--supply of water. In some areas it may be necessary to bolt a strong steel cage to the wall to protect the emerging plant.

Vines aren’t trees, but some can eventually bulk large. Wall candidates are Ficus pumila (creeping fig) and Ampelopsis brevipedunculata, (Virginia creeper). There are many more, some with showy flowers. Hedera helix (common ivy), should be used only in exceptional circumstances.

Vines can also contribute to the removal of pollutants from the air.

Now you know why eastern colleges are seldom concerned with graffiti. Architects plant vines to hide the ugly structures they design. Serendipitously, vines also cover existing graffiti, and make new graffiti difficult to create.

FLOYD WALLACE

Santa Ana