Vines

Along a dirt path on the grounds of the Pennypack Watershed Association in Huntingdon Valley, about a dozen hardy souls worked on a monumental gardening task. Across the fields lay patches of snow and ocher grass, and beyond that were clusters of bare winter trees that looked subtly purple and blue through the soft morning air. The workers could see the tower of the Bryn Athyn Cathedral about a mile or so away on the highest hill overlooking the fields and trees. A charming landscape.

In an astoundingly short time, the Australian trio the Vines has gained a reputation as a savior of rock, gracing Rolling Stone's "Rock Is Back" issue and selling a large quantity of its egregiously mistitled debut, Highly Evolved. Tuesday at a jammed Theatre of Living Arts, the band offered a vision of rock that was sloppy (not disheveled), snide (not smart), and cynical (not irreverent). Its conception hinged less on originality - the Vines owe debts to Kurt Cobain and John Lennon - than the woeful-drunk antics of lead vocalist-Method actor Craig Nicholls, who apparently believes his own myth.

Our climbing hydrangea has finally taken off. It has taken a few years, but this spring it is luxuriant with growth and makes a nice pattern on the stone wall. Walls and fences can be beautiful by themselves, but frequently they look even better if partly covered with vines. Vines also can be useful in camouflaging an ugly service entrance, the neighbor's dog pen or some other unsightly area. If you're making a new garden this spring and need fast cover, consider planting an annual vine that could still give you lush growth this summer and fall.

One of the few things that Thomas Jefferson, patron saint of Virginians, tried hard to do, but failed at, was to make good wine in Virginia. Having developed a palate for good wine during his years as ambassador to France, he hoped to change America from a rum-guzzling republic into a wine-sipping one. But the hot and humid climate at Jefferson's Monticello vineyards produced only such funguses as black rot and downey mildew, the scourges that...

With the small successes of the Strokes and the White Stripes, labels and critics are in a frenzy to find the next big "new rock" thing. For Capitol, it's the Vines, an Aussie quartet that traffics in staged rage and grungy-chirpy songs. The band played the Khyber on Tuesday, and record-company folk were in the packed house. From the trim of their hair to the rapid-fire repetition of rock cliches, the Vines are tailor-made for alterna-gold as they package bits of the Beatles; the '60s Mods, especially The Who; and the Brit-ska of the Specials.

The Vines are the latest in a recent string of bands whose greatest competition is their own hype. Wholeheartedly embraced by the British music press and regarded somewhat more cynically on these shores, not unlike the Strokes and Hives before them, they're not as good as their hype, but better than the naysayers grouse. It follows, then, that Saturday's show at the Theatre of Living Arts was neither an absolute thrill nor a complete disappointment. The Los Angeles-based Australian outfit melds Brit-pop melodies with Nirvana anguish, a hybrid also found on Blur's self-titled record, but without the experience and panache of the more-tenured Blur.

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.

An alien invader is spreading fast across the hillsides, climbing quickly up tree trunks and creating shaded groves of leafy green towers at the Riverbend Environmental Education Center. "This is akebia," center director Kevin Peter said as he strayed off Valley View Trail and gestured dejectedly at a sea of fresh, one-inch leaves bristling in the wind. "They do a great job as a ground cover, but they escape and are hard to hunt down. " Weeds. The bane of any caretaker's existence.

Upper Merion is experimenting with a high-appetite, low-cost way to rid Bob White Park of invasive vines. Goats. Two of them. Township Park and Recreation Department and Public Works staffers have put their horns together and believe the goats will gobble the intruders, which have overrun 10 acres of parkland. The vines include Oriental bittersweet, poison ivy, grape, Japanese honeysuckle, mile-a-minute, and greenbrier. "If successful, the program will help the township maintain the natural beauty of parks in an environmentally friendly and cost-efficient manner," the township's deadpan spokesman, Ed Higgins, said Thursday.

Sometimes as early as 5 in the morning, sculptor Winifred Lutz is busy at work, piecing together the elements necessary to realize the vision of her latest project. She is not in the usual artist's studio. She is deep in the wooded area beyond the sculpture garden at the Abington Art Center, on the grounds of Alverthorpe Manor. Amid the fallen trees, deer paths and wandering wisteria vines, she is transforming a small arboretum that has been neglected for nearly 40 years. Her goal is to convert an acre of overgrowth and decay into an inviting natural setting.

Prune hydrangeas, especially mopheads. Mopheads ( Hydrangea macrophylla ) typically have waxy, cabbagelike leaves and are the most colorful of all hydrangeas. (Other species are usually white.) You can prune them back to about two feet, cutting just above two buds that are emerging on the stem. Typically, mopheads bloom on old wood, so you want to leave enough of last year's buds on the stem to provide blooms for this year. If you're not sure what type of hydrangea you have, go to hydrangeashydrangeas.com.

State Store Pick of the Week Brazin "Old Vine" Zinfandel Lodi, Calif. $14.99* PLCB Item No. 3219 Vines are just like people: They may get less vigorous as they grow older, but they get better at what they do. For winemakers, "old vines" yield much smaller quantities of grapes than young ones, but the grapes are more flavorful. This complex and layered wine is loaded with brandied cherry and molten chocolate aromas. It displays some beautiful "legs" when swirled.

To explain why Chinatown needs a community center, John Chin likes to point out a tight, dead-end alley behind his father's old restaurant on 10th Street near Cherry. This was his childhood "playground" - a quiet spot where Chin and his pals played soccer. Chin, 46, born and bred in Chinatown, said the alley was the best the neighborhood had to offer. The nearest city recreation centers were in Northern Liberties or Queen Village. "This was our little, safe space," Chin said.

A crash involving at least one tractor-trailer closed the Vine Street Expressway ramp to westbound I-76 for more than a half-hour this morning. No word yet of any injuries. The crash was reported before 6:30 a.m. and the ramp reopened at 7 a.m.

HERE'S WHAT will make news in Philadelphia this week: DEVELOPMENT Chinatown high-rise The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corp. will seek the City Planning Commission's approval tomorrow of a new $69 million, 23-story residential-office building, currently known as the Chinatown Eastern Tower Community Center. The building is planned for Vine Street near 10th. "It's going to be bold and exciting," said John Chin, executive director of PCDC. The building is expected to be completed by mid-2012.

Amalthea Cellars 209 Vineyard Road Atco, N.J. 856-768-8585 www.amaltheacellars.com Auburn Road Vineyards 117 Sharptown-Auburn Road Pilesgrove, N.J. 856-769-9463 www.auburnroadvineyards.com Heritage Vineyards 480 Mullica Hill Road Mullica Hill, N.J. 856-589-4474 www.heritagewinenj.com Sharrott Winery 370 Egg Harbor Road (Route 561)...

If you motor through the busy intersection at Broad and Vine Streets, be forewarned: Philadelphia's newest red-light cameras were to be be activated there at 12:01 a.m. Monday. That brings to 20 the number of high-risk intersections equipped with devices to catch - and penalize - red-light runners. Violators will receive warnings for the next 60 days; beginning Dec. 2, the fine will be $100. "These new cameras will help protect all pedestrians, such as the students that attend Roman Catholic High School," Philadelphia Parking Authority executive director Vince Fenerty said in a statement.

Eastbound Interstate 676 through Philadelphia was reopened after a vehicle fire caused lane closures this afternoon, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. State police had reported several lanes going through Center City were shut down on the Vine Street Expressway after the vehicle caught fire in the afternoon. - Maria Panaritis

KINSTON, N.C. - The Gospel of John quotes Jesus as saying "I am the true vine," and some folks in eastern North Carolina think they may have witnessed a literal demonstration. A utility pole about a mile south of Kinston (right) has attracted attention in the last week or so from people who say the kudzu clinging to it resembles the image of Jesus on the cross. Kent Hardison goes by the pole every day on his way to work at Ma's Hotdog House, about a 90-minute drive east of Raleigh.

Make plans, even sketches, of fabulous plantings to be accomplished come spring - a drift of groundcover azaleas here, deftly placed vertical accents of verbascum there. But resist the catalogs' order blanks unless you're going to grow pansies, petunias, tender geraniums, begonias, leeks, cabbage or broccoli from seed. They should be sown indoors in February. For almost everything else, you have plenty of time to get realistic - and study more catalogs. Examine deciduous shrubs for ill-positioned branches.