Vitis purpurea – Purple grape

Credit: Carolyn Herriot

There are few climbers as qualified as being a stunning ornamental edible plant as Vitis purpurea, the purple grape. Not only do the leaves turn progressively darker as the grapes ripen, but the grapes themselves are sweet and delicious for drying, juicing or fresh eating. As you can see from the picture this grape is incredibly productive, a fact that may be attributed to the fact I feed my vines with wood ash from the woodstove in late winter.