You just got Mooned!

I love the structure of the bud! Very architecturally interesting.

Starting to open

This reminds me of layers of a beautiful wedding dress.

Almost there!

Ta-Dah!



I planted moonflower vine seeds earlier in the summer not expecting any of them to grow, because, well, that's been my luck with seeds. However this year Nature bestowed upon me great and mighty powers and I was able to grow not one but THREE different types of plants from seed...BOO-YAH!!

You saw the nasturtium in an earlier post (I think....if not...Coming soon: Nasturtium!) and the morning glories have grown but not yet flowered. But the moonflower vine....oh, the moonflower vine...beeeeyooouuuutiful!!!

I am assuming it's called moonflower because it's large, white and the flowers open at dusk....you may all now revel in my super gardening intelligence....I am so smart! I didn't even have to Google that!

The vine has essentially taken over the large planter box and the old iron gate I have on my patio and is now making a slow creep toward the bushes in front of it, which is exactly what I wanted.

One thing I didn't realize is that these vines are self seeding and can be invasive. If you don't want moonflower vine taking over your yard ( I don't!!) you need to deadhead them immediately after the flowers die or pick up the flower heads that have fallen off. Excuse me while I panic and run out to the yard to pick all the old flowers up!!

Here's the info before I go!

Moonflower Vine
Light Exposure: Full Sun
Type: Annual
Height: 8 to 10 feet
Zones: 8-11 (although I live in Zone 5 and it grew!)
Flower color: white
Bloom time: Late summer, early fall
Best uses: Climbing vine


Special Notes: Moonflower vine is considered a tropical perennial and invasive in certain zones so you should be aware that it will take over and spread if you don't collect the flower heads!

VN Day (Victory over Nature Day)

Here's the tally so far...

Nature: 25*
Me: 30**

Well add ONE more to mine...making it a big, old, whopping 31!!!!!

YEAH, NATURE!! IN YOUR FACE!!!

Remember that blank patch of dirt I had in the early summer where I planted seeds (Morning glory, nasturtium and spanish flag). You don't?? Let me give you a visual.



Well look at it NOW!
Nasturtium

Morning Glory

Alright, so I will give it to Nature that she appears to have absorbed the Spanish flag seeds. However I consider it a worthy sacrifice to her for allowing the other plants to grow. Plus I would like to thank her for all the rain we've been having which saves me time and gives me ample opportunity to watch Real Housewives Marathons on Bravo (Oh, you know you watch it too.) Now if we could talk about the weeds.....

*Estimated but probably a lot higher
** Again estimated, probably a lot lower but let Nature get her own blog and keep track. Bleh! *sticks tongue out*

Geraniums are not just for old people!

For some odd reason I have had a dim view of geraniums ever since...well forever.

I hear "geraniums" and I think "old people garden". Why? I really don't know. I know older people and none of them grow geraniums.

I never considered them at all till this year for my containers but boy, am I glad I did.

Even though I typically only plant perennials in the ground, I am a big fan of putting annuals in pots on my steps and patio. It's nice because I can change my color schemes year after year if the mood strikes me. So this year, for some reason I picked up a pink geranium plant.

The best thing about geraniums is that they are an almost maintenance free flower with pretty foliage and summer long blooms. They can do with a little dryness every once in awhile which is great because sometimes I don't get around to watering every day. You should water them regularly but they should not be waterlogged and constantly wet. To get the flowers to continue blooming throughout the summer make sure you deadhead the fading blooms. Deadhead does not mean take them to see Jerry Garcia...it means to either snap or cut off the wilted flowers so new ones can bloom.

Here's the basics info on geraniums:
Basic Info
Light Exposure: Full Sun
Type: Annual, although you can "overwinter" them and plant again...I smell a project!
Bloom Time: Summer
Colors: White, Pink, Orange, Red, Purple
Best Uses : Cutting flowers, Interesting foliage, Low maintenence, container gardens
When to plant: Fall
Water: Minimal, soil should not be constantly wet