History of a ballon flower

I said I'd post more pictures of the balloon flower and here they are. They start off looking like some sort of horticultural origami; first green, then blue. I wish I'd been able to catch a couple more; one before the first open one and one just after. They're quite striking in the early morning when the sun first touches on them. The largest of the blossoms is nearly three inches across.

Marvellous Morning Glories

I've been planting the standard pink and blue morning glories for several years now because I love them as a screen. I usually mix them in with the climbing beans in the garden, because the beans themselves don't offer much color. I've also used them as an accent in the flower beds. Just throw down a few seeds, give them someting to climb on (like a piece of driftwood or any old stick) and bam! there's a mass of color to accent an otherwise plain area. They're especially useful where other plants bloom early and leave an empty space when they're done, or in a spot where other plants bloom late and a bit of color is needed earlier in the season. This year I planted a different variety that isn't meant to climb. They're meant to form a small mound covered in 1 1/2 to 2 inch blossoms in a variety of colors. They're supposed to be useful as a border or in window boxes.

With the terrible growing conditions we had they got off to a very slow start. I thought they weren't going to come up at all for a while there. When they did come up I didn't pinch them off early enough so they got quite leggy. The ones in the border sort of lay along the ground, but the ones in the window boxes have started to hang over the edge. For all the dissapointment, I definately will try them again next year. Why? Because the few blossoms they have produced are spectacular! Next year I think I'll start them early in the house which will give them a better start.





The final photo here is a wild morning glory. While walking the trail that runs behind the house I saw these small (1/2 inch or so) blossoms. I followed the vine to the ground and dug up a few roots, took them home and planted them in the cold frame. They died back and I sort of forgot about them, but they came back the following spring, though they didn't do much so I left them where they were. Last spring I moved them to the same area where I put the clematis. I figured one or the other would grow and at least there would be something to cover the old rusty chainlink fence besode the shed. Well, last summer everything grew, but nothing bloomed. This spring the clematis and the wild morning glory both came up and grew like mad. The clematis bloomed but the wild vine didn't. Then along came a bright golden bug that turned the morning glory leaves to lace. I figured that was a sort of bonus because the bugs preferred the wild vine and left the clematis alone. I started to think the wild vine was never going to bloom. Then, last week I noticed a few buds and this is what they opened into. I'm so glad I was patient enough to let them be until they produced. The flowers are two inches across, and though there won't be a huge number of them, it looks like I might get some seed, so their tribe should increase. I'd like to start them in among the virginia creeper which is a good screen, but not all that attractive before the leaves turn red in the fall. I realize that some people are cringing at the idea of propagating bindweed (which in most circles is considered to be a noxious weed), but I'm of the attitude that one person's poison is another's meat, and the flowers are worth the work of keeping it contained. Of course, I may feel differently in a couple of years.

Clematis times five

The clematis are unbelievable. I can't wait to see what they do in a summer that isn't as rainy as this one has been. I have five varieties blooming now and one to go. The first to bloom was the Rhapsody. It's still blooming, and has plenty of buds to go on with.

Next was the John Huxtable. It's still blooming and has plenty of buds left as well.

That was followed by the Jackmani superba which has also been prolific.

The Louise Rowe was supposed to be a dark lilac, at least that's what the picture showed when I bought it. It produced only a single spectacular blossom in an almost pure white. The reason I say it's spectacular is that the flower when fully opened was nearly eight inches across. I can't wait till next year to see if its going to produce as well as the others have done this year.

The Ville de Lyon is also spectacular. It's covered with buds as well. When the sun falls on the flowers in the early morning they seem to glow as if the light originates from within them.

And I'm patiently waiting for the John Warren to bloom. It has alot of buds but they're at least a week away from opening. Its at the shady end of the fence right next to the shed, so its probably not getting enough light. I may have to take out a couple of branches to let in more light.

The Last of the Lilies

The last of the lilies have finished blooming now. I took these final photos last week. I really like the orange one with the yellow edges, but the red one is pretty too.




These day lilies seem to bloom later than the old fashioned orange ones. The weather this summer hasn't done will by them either. Of course, I don't think it helped that I moved a couple of them late in the spring. As a consequence the white one and the pink one never bloomed at all. These two, however, have plenty of buds and will provide a great show well into next month.

Miniature Roses

I've bought mini roses before and never had much success with them. This year, however, they took, and they're blooming like mad. In addition to the yellow, red, and red/orange ones there's a pink as well that I haven't managed to get a good photo of.

Fall is coming

The brown-eyed susans are blooming. I've always loved them, even as a kid when they only grew wild in the ditches. These are rudbeckia cultivars. They started as a single clump given to me by Margo next door a couple of years ago and they've turned into several dozen large clumps. Much as I love them though, they make me a little sad because they signal to me that fall is coming with its shorter days and winter will follow soon after.


The Gallardia are still in full bloom. . . .

. . . and the purple cone flower is doing its thing as well. I got these from France who lives two doors down. They've turned from a single rather sickly clump to four medium size clumps that put on a spectacular show till late in the fall. I picked up a white variety this summer, but I won't know till next spring if it's survived or not. It's been reduced to a couple of leaves sticking out of the dirt. I don't know why, but I keep buying the sickliest plants in the bunch just to prove I can bring them back to life. Most times it works out quite well.

The hibiscus are finally blooming. I put them out in the garden in the last week of June, and they usually begin blooming by mid-July. This year, however, its been too rainy and cloudy and they just started producing buds at the end of July. They were well worth the wait though. This blossom is nearly six inches across.


This one too, and I can't wait to see if the red, yellow, and white ones produce the same size blooms. They usually bloom through the winter in the house, but the blossoms are not quite as big indoors.

This is called a balloon flower. It is so named because the bud swells just like an expanding balloon which pops open. It is a member of the campanula family and is also known as Chinese bellflower. I'll try and get some pics of a bud as it comes on. It's been in place for a year and this is the first flower.

I seeded some nasturtiums for the first time last year. They did well, but for some reason I didn't put any in this year. It turns out I didn't have to because they self seeded. It is unusual that they did so because we're zone four here and the seed shouldn't survive the winter on the ground. I'm glad they did.

I also seeded Malva Zebrina last spring. It didn't do well. It only started blooming in the late fall, but since I was under the impression it was a perennial I assumed it would come back this year. The original plants never came back this spring, and I forgot about it, but here they are. They self-seeded and have just begun to bloom. I'll collect some seed this fall and try and start them in their own bed and see what happens.

First fruits

The Meteor cherry that bloomed so profusely in the spring is the only one that bore fruit this year. The Montmorency had a few fruit, but the birds got them all, and the Stella only had three and some sort of insect got them. I really didn't expect the Meteor to do all that well because its planted in very poor soil (more sand than soil actually), but it proved me wrong. There weren't enough to do much with except eat them out of hand, but it was only planted last summer (about this time) so any fruit at all is probably a bonus. The cherries are quite tart, and will make an excellent dried fruit once it starts producing more.


As this photo shows, the birds just come on in and help themselves. Next year I'll hang some old DVD's in the fruit trees. I've heard that the movement will keep the birds away.

The gooseberries produced this year as well. Not enough to make a jar of jam, but more than it has in the past so there's hope for next year.

Finally have the first zucchini. I was worried that they were never going to produce a female flower. Now I just have to wait for the rest of the squashes to produce. I hope we get enough warm weather for the buttenuts to produce something.