Thursday, September 13, 2012

What We Did Last Weekend

First off, I am thankful that we had a little over 1 1/2 inches of rain in our gauge this morning.  Our watering restrictions are back to being voluntary.  That is good for me, because I can go slower, and use a nozzle to water close to the ground, because I don't have to get everything watered on the same day.  I work on some flower beds at church, where the watering days are the same, so it has been challenging.  Also, I don't have to worry about anyone turning me in for dumping whatever water, tea, or coffee that doesn't get finished each day onto plants.  A neighbor told me they found out they couldn't even dump their turtle water out on the wrong day.

Now, about the weekend:

I have enjoyed having morning glories climb up the side of our deck, onto a couple trellises, and clear up the light Larry's dad put up, which is not currently in working order.  Each year, we say we are going to limit the number of plants that grow, but with this summer's heat, the morning glories took great liberties.


This is where several clematises grow, but they were totally covered. 


Well, the morning glories did make it up the light!


Even though we attempted to pull all of the morning glories that weren't growing on the deck's trellis, even some of those escaped our hands.


This is a bloom from the one above, weaving through the 'Witchita Falls' goldenrod.


There were even a few trying to compete with the 'Sweet Autumn' clematis that will not be able to remain in this spot on the north side of the house where hostas are barely survivng Heidi's digging.


These have their roots in the herb garden.


These are in the herb garden.  They are offspring of the tye dye I had growing on the west side of the deck a few years ago.


The blooms are larger than the blue morning glories, and they stay open longer into the day.


Larry says he's pulling or raking out every morning glory that comes up next year.  I suggested that we go ahead and pull them down instead of after the first frost like we usually do.  I'm pretty sure the seeds were not developed.  I am glad the clematis is still doing OK.


Good job, Larry!


Can you see the white seedheads?  I'm thinking they turn a dark color when ripe.


These piles were larger than they appear here.  There was another one closer to the fence, behind where the blue watering can is.


It sure was a nice day!


Larry's water garden is now getting more light.


I told Larry, that since I have so much room in the front yard, and Heidi keeps digging in the hosta area, maybe I'm ready to give it up.  He said he'd put some rocks there, or I suggested something flat that we could put chairs on.  Oh, and he didn't like my idea of lining up square wash tubs along the house.

 
Gardening brings me much joy, but, like I lamented about in my last post, it can be challenging.  What are some challenges you have had?

15 comments:

  1. I've always had an affinity for morning glory--but it's so invasive. A vine took over one of the tomato beds this summer, another tangled its way into the squash, and then a few decided to behave and just fill in nicely on the bare bits of fence. Still, even though they are pesky, they make me think of my childhood. My mom always had morning glory covering a fence, and they somehow just seemed magical to me. (BTW--I just found your site, and I'm so happy I did! Looking forward to visiting often!)

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Julie. I enjoyed my visit to your blog, too, and look forward to visiting again. I love morning glories, too, and may decide to try to just have one grow up the pole, but I don't know if Larry will agree to it. I remember walking to elementary school, and thinking the bindweed growing on a fence was pretty.

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  2. Oh, did you really have to cut back the morning glories. They are so wonderful.

    I'd say staking and watering have been my biggest challenges this summer. I normally do very little watering but this year I have been constantly dragging around the soaker hose. With the rain I've been given a respite.

    And the soil is too rich, so my tall plants grow extra tall even with the drought. I ended up buying 10' rebar.

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    1. Hi Jason, Supporting plants has been a challenge for me, too. Keeping plants moist enough has been hard, too, because of the watering restrictions.

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  3. Sue, Thanks for asking. The biggest challenge has been the intense heat and despite the drought the day biting skeeters. I love morning glories, but, they can be a pain! I noticed that our local botanical garden ripped theirs out and planted Hyacinth Bean vines in their place. Are they ever beautiful

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    1. Hi Gail,
      I hope next year is not as hot and dry for us as this summer was. I didn't know there were day biting mosquitoes. We don't have them here. The dusk ones have chased me in many evenings, though. I've planted hyacinth beans before, but don't remember how they did. That might be something good to plant in the space, if we do end up not letting any of the morning glories grow. I will miss them, though.

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  4. I think the biggest challenge for me, at least for the moment is planning, oh and having enough time...

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    1. Hi D-Y, It's a good thing I visited your blog before replying to your comment. I see you are moving in October. Now, I understand why you are busy, and aren't sure how to plan. I am terrible at planning. I do a lot of arranging the plants as I go, and sometimes change my mind later and move them.

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  5. You are right, the ripened seed will be almost black, sort of like a peppercorn. I would leave those vines where they can heat up and decompose just in case some seeds could be viable. I love morning glories but they can take over the world in a very short time!

    I love the new header picture. I have never seen that view of the front gardens that shows the circular bed so well.

    My challenge has been the heat and drought! Glad to hear you got some nice rains too.

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    1. Thanks, Glenda,
      Now that I think of it, there are some darker seeds on the driveway. We went ahead and put the vines in the garbage can. I hate doing that, but didn't want to risk putting them on the compost pile.

      Yes, there used to be a circular bed in that area you saw, and when Larry cut sod to make a new flower bed, he didnt do much of a curve, so it still looks like a circle in part of it.

      I haven't been by your place lately. I'm having trouble staying awake right now, so hope to stop by tomorrow or the next day. We have our grandsons over every Saturday.

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  6. Oh yes, those morning glories! I grew 'Grandpa Ott' maybe 6 or 7 years ago. I STILL see offspring. They are beautiful but damn, they are so rampant. Larry did a great job of disentangling for you. I doubt those seed pods are ripe yet so you'll probably be okay next year. I am still on the prowl every spring, yanking out the seedlings. Eventually they'll give up. I hope.

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    1. Hi Grace,
      I am wondering how long last year's seeds will continue to sprout. I've seen photos of 'Grandpa Ott', and think it's a cool looking bloom.

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  7. Wow, that is quite a project! I can't believe how prolific Morning Glories can be. My husband always says he doesn't want to grow them because of that. Makes sense, but they are pretty flowers.

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  8. Those morning glories are rather hardy and vigorous aren't they!

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    Share something to get us through the winter!

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I welcome comments and questions from anyone, including those who do it anonymously. Some people find my posts by doing searches, and I like hearing from them. I guess spammers won't even read this message, but I will delete spam as soon as I see it.