Calling All Green Thumbs!

I'm not sure if any of you out there reading this are green thumbs, but I need a little help. First off, I should tell you that I am not much of a gardener. I prefer things that are low-maintenance and gardening isn't often one of those things. Yes, I grow some mean crocuses, tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths, but those are bulbs I planted years ago and only have to trim up once they are dead for the season.

So, when I found this ...

growing in our daylilies, I figured it was a weed. At the time it had no leaves and was probably another foot taller. My husband hacked off the top, and then we figured out it might be an offshoot of our maple tree about twenty feet away. Since my dad loves trees and is always up for a free addition to his little arboreal collection, I thought we could give it to him. But now that it has leaves, I am wondering what the heck it is.


Not a maple, that's for sure. Any clues? That tree-like stem in the middle is part of the plant. If anyone could shed a little light on what this plant might be, I'd be very grateful. I'd hate to give my dad a weed ... that'd just be mean.

Alright, on to problem number two ...

A couple years ago, probably around the time I planted the bulbs, I planted a little sweet pea plant that I hoped would grow up our faux wrought iron fence and give our front walkway a little romance. What do they say about the best laid plans? Grrr. Anyway, my sweet pea (that I thought was dead the first year) is now a monster of a plant and, like my weirdly wavy hair, is incredibly unruly. It grows every which way but up the fence, choking out most of the plants around it. My husband, bless his heart, tried to deal with it by just lifting it up and through the fence, but there are other plants back there it could choke so that wasn't a long-term solution.

Here is what I came up with ...

(Yes, that is a gnome ... his name is Gerome.)

The brighter, kelly green you see criss crossing the plant is a long line of twisty tie. I basically made a fence out of twisty tie ... anybody know of another way to encourage such a head-strong vine to grow on a fence?

I should have taken pictures of my bulbs when they were prettier so you'd know I am at least a half-way decent gardener. Oh well ... not a biggie. If my hydrangea blooms this year I'll try to snap a picture or two to share with you.

Have a wonderful day! Thanks for the help!