Experimental Garden – Moon Flowers

October 2nd, 2007

Back to gardening! (At least until I get all my Vegas stories written.) After stalking it either too early or too late in the day several times, I finally was able to capture a picture of the flowering moon flower vine.

The moon flower is one of several flowers I planted as part of my experimental garden this summer.

Moon flower blooming in the dark of night

See, I have a super-scientific method of identifying the flowers that get the honor of going into my experimental garden. Here is the step-by-step process.

1. I mosey up to the seed display at my local garden center.

2. I scratch my head and think reeeeaaaalllyyyy hard about all the seed packets, considering carefully all the pretty pictures in bright colors. (I tend to prefer seed packets with drawings rather than photos. I think it’s because it helps me to fit these fantasy flowers more easily into the fantasy garden I carry around in my head.)

3. I pick up a packet, read the back of the packet instructions and descriptions, put the packet back and instantly forget what it said. I usually go through about 30 or so turns at this.

4. Finally, overwhelmed with all the information and choices, I just pick the pictures I think are pretty, without regard at all to instructions or descriptions.

Pretty cool method, huh? The beauty of this approach is that I never, ever know what I’ll end up with.This year, one of my picks was the moon flower.

I started the moon flower seeds in my indoor light garden–ending up with about eight seedlings. I had no idea where to put them, so they languished in their seed pots on my front porch for at least a couple of weeks while I gave careful consideration to where they should go. After much deliberation, I plunked them next to the garden fence in the flower bed.

I really thought that they had died because I didn’t even notice them for quite a long time after that. Now, please understand that my attention was taken up with drought, hollyhock rust and other assorted disasters of the garden variety. When I finally noticed them, it is because I was weeding and accidentally snatched up two of the plants before I realized the error of my ways. Instantly, I shoved them back into the soil and gave them my sincere apologies.

I kept an eye on them but wasn’t much impressed for some time.

Then…The other day, I was gazing out at the garden just as the sun was rising and thought I saw what looked like several pieces of trash that had blown against the fence. I was baffled by this because it would be a long journey for trash to make it into our yard, given that we live far far away from our neighbors and the trash would have to make the trip through the woods. Our trash, of course, is never allowed out to roam, so it couldn’t have been ours.

Well, curious gal that I am, I ambled outside with my coffee to see just what this trash was. Imagine my surprise to find flowers. Moon flowers!

They’re HUGE! I would say they’re about as big as my hand and perfectly white. They almost don’t look real the flowers are so very perfect. The vines have become quite healthy and spread everywhere–even onto the wind gauge for my new weather station.

Those wacky moon flower vines on my wind gauge

I was so happy with them that I went to show my husband the flowers later in the day. Guess what? They were GONE.

It turns out that the flowers are called moon flowers not because they look like the moon, but because they bloom at night–in the moonlight. Duh.

By the time day gets rolling along, the flowers curl back up and hide from the sun again until nightfall.

Moon flowers curling up to nap during the daylight hours

Intrigued, I did a wee bit of research. It turns out that the moon flower is a tender, perennial vine in warmer climates. I’m thinking that here in Zone 7 it won’t return next year without help, so if I want more moon flowers, I’ll have to save some seeds.

Several people online have also commented on the “pleasing fragrance.” I was hoping for another heady fragrance like the honeysuckle that blooms here in the spring. Now that’s a glorious smell! I didn’t recall smelling anything “pleasingly fragrant” near the moon flowers, so I rushed back out to push my nose into the flower. I must have selected the unscented variety, because mine don’t smell a bit.

So would I grow them again? Perhaps if I had a place where I could enjoy them at night I would. As it is, they’re in bed when I’m out and about in the garden. And to the uneducated eye the vines might look a bit like weeds.

So, there you have it. Moon flowers.

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I Am Not a Slacker – Garden Update

September 21st, 2007

It just looks like I’m a slacker because I haven’t posted since my insomnia episode on Wednesday morning.

But things have been so busy that I realized about five minutes ago–at about 6:30 p.m.–that I completely forgot to each lunch today.

Now, I am not a big girl. Very tall, but not big. In fact some people who try to flatter me still say I’m skinny. That’s not quite right either. I do love regular meals and good food. So when I say things have been so busy that I forgot to eat lunch, you should take me at my word for it that things have been moving a wee bit fast for comfort.

Just to whine a little bit more, let me offer as evidence that I was at my desk working on a report at 6:20 AM this morning–and not because I was worried about that blasted weather station. (BTW, I managed to manually set the time, but now the wind speed indicator doesn’t appear to be working properly.)

Really, it isn’t easy being me.

With that as background (not to say excuse), let me tell you that I dutifully wandered around the garden snapping beauty shots for Bloom Day on September 15. And even though it’s late, here’s what I’ve got for ya’.

First, there’s the overview. I had to sneak upstairs to take this picture from the bathroom because my husband laughs at me for taking so many pictures of it. But really, at some point I’m going to put all these photos of the colonial theme garden overview together. It’ll tell a poignant story of the changing seasons and then he’ll be sorry that he laughed at me for taking so many pictures of it.

The garden on September 20 (I think)

Then there’s that problematic butterfly bush. See, I planted it in a naive state, not believing the tag when it said the thing would get to be 10′ tall.

“Surely this little thing can’t get to be 10′ tall. What were these guys smokin’ when they wrote this tag?”

Well, here it is 12′ tall.

We’ll be relocating it in the spring. Although I really and truly enjoy seeing the dozens of butterflies that are on it all summer long I would also like to see out the kitchen windows again. Not to mention that those poor hydrangeas are getting smothered.

Crazy butterfly bush

What’s next? Oh, those crazy black eyed susan vines. I didn’t give them the kind of climbing support they like, so they improvised by climbing on the elephant ears, cone flowers and roses. These vines really need a small, slender support to twine around. Note to self: Provide a small, slender support for the black eyed susan vines next year.

Black eyed susan vines

Great. What’s next?

Oh, the Chinese forget-me-nots are blooming. These were among the flowers I planted from seed in my “experimental garden.” I really love them, although I have to say they should be planted en masse for effect.

Chinese forget-me-nots

I truly love my fu dogs too. I love them with the dead nettle (horrid name; wonderful plant). They seem to be winding down, but are still lovely, I think.

Dead nettle with fu dogs

The chives and cock’s comb make a nice combination.

Chives and cock’s comb

I have had so much ice plant growing that I have pulled up handfuls to give away.

Ice plant

After being eaten to the nubbins numerous times by a ravenous rabbit, the mallow that Lucia gave me is finally growing. I expect I’ll see a lot of mallow next year.

Mallow

These annuals labeled “million flowers” are doing nicely still. I planted them in the garden near the boxwood, hoping for something that wasn’t high maintenance. They have bloomed and bloomed and I haven’t deadheaded them the first time. Sweet.

Million flowers

Then there are the roses. I have a love/hate relationship with roses. When they look good, they look very, very good. When they look bad, they’re awful.

Some that are blooming now are the baby doll roses.

Baby doll roses

If ever there was a rose that I would classify as hearty, it would be the new dawn rose. It’s a climbing rose and has bloomed all summer long. The flowers are beautiful and the scent is divine. The thorns keep the deer away. Stinkin’ deer.

New dawn roses

Speaking of stinkin’ deer, here’s what they’ve done to my shrub roses (name forgotten and really must be looked up).

Deer-ravaged roses

See how they’re blooming on the top and not on the sides? That’s because the young deer eat here for lunch.

There are lots of other things still in bloom. The one flower I’m a bit baffled by is the volunteer flower of the year. I think it’s a morning glory of some sort. It’s coming up in the most unusual places. Although it looks charming, I’m quite cranky with it because it took over my cucumbers this year before I realized what was going on.

Volunteer flowers

Okay, that’s it for now.

Gotta go pack because I’m headed to Las Vegas first thing in the morning. Although it is the location of a big research conference, I’m actually going compliments of The Venetian, which seems to think I am a big-time gambler because of a single night’s lucky winning while I was there on business last year. I’m going with my poker-playing friend Angela, who is a total hoot and shot a Tommy gun and went to a girly show the last time she was there. We will be skipping those attractions, but will no doubt find some trouble.

Ciao for now!

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