The Grapevine That Ate the House

All the rain this spring has done wonders for our grapevine. Just 2 years ago it received a severe pruning to allow us to paint the house. After painting, we built a rustic twig arbor for the grapevine, and began training it across the picture window overlooking the backyard, hoping to keep the house cooler.


This year it has exploded, growing so heavy it broke the arbor, and is now sagging in front of the window completely blocking the view. It does keep the house remarkably cooler, to give it credit. However, it looks like it will devour the house --note it climbing the second story window screen.

The Golden Glow is also incredibly vigorous this year, blooming frantically through the crushing grapevine. That will need to be moved next year. We are now sketching designs for a new grapevine arbor to be built this fall, once the leaves have died back so that we can see what we are doing.

Longer-term plans call for a pergola on the deck, and we will then train the grapevine across the pergola to give us desperately needed summer shade (yesterday it was over 100° F on the deck).