Tuesday, June 27, 2017

I grow a few cultivated flowers. Flipping through flower catalogs, I only want them all. In my fantasy world, My entire front pasture is a a huge flower garden. In this dream, I till rows and rows of zinnias and sunflowers effortlessly.

But I am lucky to keep the grass mowed and my two flower beds clean of grass. I planted tomatoes too late. The vines are promising. But tomatoes don't produce when it gets too hot. They also don't flower if you plant them in the shade. The chances of the plants making it to September and producing fruit is possible. We always try to get a few to ripen before the first freeze in November. It has never happened.

The first frost is always mischievous. The Confederate Rose plant starts blooming and is quite a delight. The plant is related okra (a vegetable we eat), cotton and hibiscus. We have a Confederate Rose that grows about 20 feet tall. I am so proud of it. And then that frost gets it every Fall. I cut it down to the ground for beautiful new growth the next year. I've let it grow from a former year stalks. You have those weedy dead limbs for so long. Even when it has reached it's Zenith, you can walk around and snap dead limbs.
Confederate Rose

My favorite plants are wildflowers. Lately, the wild potato vine is blooming. The flower should remind you of a morning glory. It is a native species of morning glory. It is supposed to have a large, edible tuber that is edible and people historically ate them. The big drawback is they are a purgative. But if you think about it, consuming a large number of carrots will be a purgative. Since the grocer sells plenty of carrots and turnips, I'll forgo digging up a wild potato.




Below are some beautiful daisy like flowers growing on the roadside. No I don't know the name.



21 comments:

  1. We've been so busy doing other things to the house. Next year, I shall garden to my hearts content

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    Replies
    1. They certainly aren't making enough hours in the day. And if they do, I'll take a nap.

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  2. Garden catalogues are known as 'garden porn' here. And we often succumb.
    Love the wildflowers and the confederate rose. Morning glory is classified as a noxious weed here - beautiful as it is.

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    1. "Garden Porn" sounds reasonable. We have invasive species of morning glory and a few native. They are pretty. But a lot of invasive plants are pretty. People would not have planted them otherwise.

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  3. One year when we lived in Montana, we planted tomatoes. We did have them into the middle of November. Lots of people covered their plants when the frost was forecasted. Such pretty things growing in your area! Not much grows here other than out of control bougainvillea bushes. You cut them way back and within months (3 at the most) they need to be trimmed again. Pretty but have thorns.

    betty

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    1. August gets so hot here. If they don't burn up, we may see a few tomatoes. Home grown taste better than any others.

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  4. Never heard of a Confederate Rose.
    Hope your tomato plants make it.

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    1. One day, I'll have a big garden. But meanwhile, I'll take what I get.

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  5. Your Confederate Rose is related to our Rose of Sharon. We have several, and love them! One of the nice things about Summer is the flowers! Thanks for sharing yours.

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    1. It is. I thought about listing Rose of Sharon. They are beautiful.

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  6. Great shots. The frost sure can be a pain. Carrots are a purgative? Damn, I must be eating fake carrots then.

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    Replies
    1. Nah, as much gas shared in your jokes, the carrots are doing their job.

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  7. Looks like a Brown-eyed Susan along the road. I would be lost without a garden

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    1. I don't know how you do it all. Early to bed, early to rise, you work all day long with little wasted effort.

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  8. I love my garden. Tomatoes go in the second week of April and then we usually have them from June through October. I got 160+ pounds last year. Want some?

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    1. It sounds delicious. Next year, I'll get them in the ground early.

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  9. I don't know the name of many, but I adore wildflowers myself. So varied and abundant! I like your plants a lot. We have a running vine we call potato vine, but it does not flower.

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  10. We planted a bunch of petunias in pots, but our squirrels and/or chipmunks keep digging them up to bury their treasures. Sigh. At least the lavender and hydrangea are doing well.

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  11. My tomato plant is filled with little green ones so far. I expect I'll have some ripen within a week or so. I don't plant as much as I used to since I can't keep up.

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