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Wednesday, September 24, 2008

glory


This was our first year with morning glories, although they should always be a staple at a farm if you ask me. Now as summer softens into autumn and before cold nights make the silk of these blooms wither, I want to publish this gallery.




We have at least a half dozen varieties all mixed together in our 'polka-star' drape of morning glories.



This bloom has two varieties mixed in itself!



When sweet Lesley planted the seeds under the picket fence Memorial Day weekend, we didn't envision that the skilfull tendrils would grow up over the two posts, and meet and weave in the middle into a perfect "M" - for our last name. (That white tank visible behind the "M" is our propane tank, for our furnace. We supplement with a wood burning stove.)

Below is Lesley's foot on Memorial Day weekend. In her jammies she drank coffee with her papa in the Adirondack chairs, after she had picked some honeysuckle for me, and before she planted morning glory seeds, and also radish and carrot seeds in the veggie garden. Her jammies fabric looks like morning glories wove it. Ahh - she's the best morning glory of all.





















Here is a blossom before opening. Don't worry, those wrinkles and crinkles will iron themselves out smooth in the sun, just like laundry on the line.






















The delicacy and spiky leaves of this magenta variety astonished me the other day. I've never seen those before.



Lesley minored in fibers at art school, but I don't think she studied how to make a draped curtain of morning glories, although she did make dye from poke berries for one of her projects. I'll tell you about that another day.


morning glory

Ipomoea


40 comments:

Nautankey said...

Beautiful snaps. The first one looks as if the flower woke up to wish good morning to the sun. Really nice ones

Gwen Buchanan said...

Ruth this morning glory "M" arch is fabulous.. I haven't planted them here yet.. But now I have to remember to give them a place of honour next year.. I love walking through places like this it feels like an experience.. magical... Sometimes the best inspiration comes from happy accidents... and that top photo, Wow!!

Are these recent pictures and are they still blooming now? so many beautiful colors and the lushness.. Irresistible!!

aww yes..... Buy Gold.. Crazy marketplace!!!

...and the sweet bantams having a relax on the lawn chair.. these must be the ones that do everything together? I love them .. thanks for showing their sweet quirks!!!

Ruth said...

Dear Nautankey, I'm honored (I should write 'honoured') by your visit, thank you. I sure enjoyed reading your story at your blog, about the . . . well I won't give it away.

Ruth said...

Ah Gwen, I like sitting here with you in the morning, like we're drinking tea in one or the other of our studios - or under the morning glories.

Yes, the photos I just took, let's see, I think it two evenings ago. Keep in mind that Lesley planted hundreds of seeds that Don had collected, thus how prolific they became. I have absolutely no doubts that whatever you do with a morning glory place of honor will blow me away.

Oh dear, gold - which is what some say we should invest in. I'm so upset this week by the immanent trillion dollar bailout that I want to stop the world and get off. How much is real estate up in the Bay of Fundy, well not in the Bay, but you know what I mean.

Yes, the bantams are the ones that turn together, strut together, sleep together, they are sooo cute!

Ruth said...

What I meant by that question is, how viable is it that Don and I move up there? 'Course we might have a time selling our place . . .

Amy said...

ahhh such a soothing post. The rewards of all of that memorial day work is beautiful. Amazing color on these MG's Ruth...simply beautiful!

Gwen Buchanan said...

Hi Ruth, We are living in very unsettled and troubled times, that's for sure. hard to keep our minds off of it, with wondering what will come next.....

But one thing for sure is I'll be planting Morning glories next year, if they are still blooming now, they are for me.. I love the lushness of them!

I just checked my thermometer out front and the temp today so far is about 18C/65F ... the one on my blog is saying it is much cooler than that.. it must be measured somewhere distant from here... We haven't even received frost yet... but the view I look at each day towards the bay and West Quaco had it a week ago.. We are lucky I guess... I think this big bluff we sit on holds the heat...

As per property... I would say depending on where and what you were looking for, the price varies greatly..probably somewhere between 100,000.00 and 300,00.00 But I have seen places that need some TLC farther inland on the market for 30, 40, 50, 60,000 and up. here is a link to the MLS that I use.. hope it works for you.... http://www.realtor.ca/index.aspx?cul=1

Real estate has gone up here as the baby boomers from Ontario have started heading down... just takes some careful hunting and seeing what fits into your own lifestyle... There are a couple places close to the village for sale that I feel are overpriced here at the moment... for 179,000, and 249,000... just depends.. The market for homes is very up and down depending on the location of course.. always some negotiating to be done...

Oh wouldn't that be so great!!!!.. having you and Don for neighbors.. Then we could really sit on an actual porch and or have an evening cocktail or a homebrew .. life offers so many challenges, opportunities and roads to go down.... But we only live once...

take care my dear!!!

Ruth said...

Amy, oh I'm glad you found it soothing. Thank you, and yes, the colors of the flowers themselves have taken my breath away.

Ruth said...

Gwen, I wonder if your climate is very like Cape Cod? I've been surprised at some of the pictures I've seen of that area and what can grow there. But there is so much open land with sun, and sandy, well drained soil, that some plants really thrive there.

Don and I are seriously considering moving in another 10 years and becoming nomads, renting places here and there and everywhere, teaching English, or whatever. Let's see if we can - and want to - make it a reality when the time comes. We don't have plans to move soon, but if a certain administration gets voted in November 5, I might feel desperate enough to leave. Thank you for the real estate link! We might as well start browsing.

Yes it would be brilliant to be neighbors! Don and I have done many things in our lives and lived many places. One thing we are not afraid of is change. In fact for a while there it felt like it was what we wanted all the time.

Enjoy the rest of your day, Gwen!

Gwen Buchanan said...

Sounds like you have exciting plans in store... and you are not afraid of change.. good combination!!!

sandy said...

That arch is great. Before one of the weddings we had here, the bride's mother planted morning glory seeds along a fence and I was so surprised at how beautiful they were when they bloomed. Every year they came back, for about three years and then we had a cold winter and they didn't bloom anymore after that.

Beautiful photos. I can see how much you love your most favorite morning glory.

Ruth said...

Gwen, I hope our health holds out!

Ruth said...

Auntie Sandy, there is something about an arch. You just want to go through it, you know? We were talking about morning glories for the wedding arch too, all white to blend well with all the sunflowers that will be around too. Yes I've heard that about morning glories coming back, so now we'll have to watch for them next spring. I remember Anet, I think it was, saying hers didn't come up this year.

Yes, that Lesley is something else, I miss cuddles!!

laura said...

Morning glories are one thing I must, and do, have every year. For one thing--they require no care. All my other gardening aspirations, along with the plants that valiantly try to uphold them, are generally dead by mid-July. I am the daughter of a man who filled in the backyard with cement. (Great for roller-skating.) I've tried different colors of morning glories, but there is nothing, NOTHING like that blue.

sandy said...

ruth I responded again over at my blog. an explanation so to speak.

Ruth said...

Laura, well glory be to the morning glories then, they have saved you from gardening failure.

There was a time in my life when I disliked that blue - hard as it is for me to believe today - because it seemed artificial. Now, it just sends me.

Anet said...

That is just breath taking! I cannot believe how amazing the M arch is! I have tried for three years now and have failed at growing Morning Glories:( I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I plant them on the sunny south facing side of the house.
I am just blown away, next Memorial day will Lesley come to my house and help me plant some Morning Glories?

Loring Wirbel said...

The tendrils on the picket look more like a big heart to me - or the kissing camels formation at Garden of the Gods Park. Awwwww. Apropos.

Ruth said...

Anet, I don't know how ours worked, since we've never tried before. I remember you saying earlier this summer that yours weren't growing. I bet Lesley would be happy to lend her deft planting fingers for a magic fairy touch.

Ruth said...

Loring, oh! Garden of the Gods. We took the kids there on a cross country trip to Colorado when my brother's family lived there. We have photos of Peter climbing up up and up at about age 2. But too bad, I don't remember the kissing camels. Oh, I just Googled images, and yeah, I see the resemblance!

http://www.jessleephotos.com/kcv_MG_1087.jpg

Ruth said...

I meant on a cross country trip through Colorado to California.

rauf said...

Never knew it was morning glory Ruth, pretty common here, no smell i think. Lovely M there on picket fence.

Ruth said...

Thanks, rauf. Yes, no smell, and I can imagine they would grow well in India.

rauf said...

i have stopped wondering and feeling embarrassed about how much i do not know Ruth. It is pretty easy and comfortable for me to say
'i do not know' Its freedom.

Ruth said...

rauf, it took me several weeks after Lesley planted these seeds to be able to immediately find the name 'morning glory' when I was talking about them. I'd stop and think, look for the words in my pea brain, and they wouldn't come forward! Finally now I remember what they are. For me it was not not knowing the name, but not being able to remember it.

The thing is, there are many different names for flowers and plants from country to country, and unless you are into gardening, there isn't much reason to know the names.

But in the broader topic, yes, my friend, 'I do not know' is freedom, and it seems to me we could stand to say it, and hear it, more often.

rauf said...

Ruth, There is so much of garbage, filth in my head that sometimes i wished i never went to school. that garbage sometimes affects my decisions. My degree is just a piece of paper, useless piece of paper. i do not know how to live without electricity. i have become a slave to comforts. i still look for short cuts. That is why i take off to the wilderness, to live without telephone or electricity, but that needs a lot of training, not unlearning. Though the word 'unlearn' has become a kind of fashionable, you can't really unlearn. New learning overlaps the old one. i give up being a monkey and come back to the city, i am too old to give up my comforts. Lucky are the ones who have realised this at a young age and training themselves to live without modern amenities.
We have to differentiate what is useful and what is useless.

rauf said...

oh sorry Ruth, that was headless.
what i wanted to say is, not knowing the basics is a crime. Like the names of the trees plants fruits, flowers and their properties, and insects pests, parasites of your area is essential. The system of education that i had was quite useless, Very little practical knowledge.

Ruth said...

rauf, I think you suggested once that college students should spend some months - maybe summers - living out on the land, maybe with tribals somewhere, so they can learn to survive without electricity, etc. I like that idea.

I am wondering now that I'm thinking about it, why it is, when our kids are in school, they don't learn the very specific plants and species in their local area. I think that is rare, although I'm pretty sure home schoolers learn that way.

Bob Johnson said...

No Way, Poke berries, how cool a plant and name. Amazing the way a few seeds turned into an huge M,just beautiful, great shots, and the spiky leaves are too cool.

Amy said...

ahhh so what did you think of that?? did you watch tonight? I'm smiling ear to ear:) xo

Ruth said...

Thanks, Bob! Yeah, poke berries, we have them all over the property here. The ink that the Declaration of Independence was signed with was from poke berry juice!

Ginnie Hart said...

Back in August this trellis was just a beginning thought, as I recall, Ruth. It makes me want to go back and look at my photos. I can picture Lesley and Brian standing underneath that arch and being crowned with Glory as they start their new life. Oh, how special, since SHE planted the seeds! I especially like how you said her jammies look like morning glories wove the fabric. :)

Ruth said...

Amy, I was very pleased with Obama's demeanor, very happy. Imagine having a president like that representing us in the world!

Ruth said...

Boots, for a long time it was just leaves, the beautiful heart leaves (and I didn't see those spiky ones back then). And now you say that about the wedding arch, it would be cool to have Lesley plant the morning glories for that on Memorial Day weekend again. :)

Anonymous said...

Your morning glories and their setting are lovely. Mine self-sow every year so there are surprise morning glories all over the garden. Saving the seed is easy, too. You have my favorite red variety - "Cardinal Climber". They attract hummingbirds. Every year for as long as I can remember my Dad has planted the "Heavenly Blue" variety in honor of Grandma and delights in pointing them out.

Ruth said...

Ingrid, you are the best! You always come through in a pinch. "Cardinal Climber" - who knew! Don and I were wondering today if it was really a morning glory, but we only planted morning glory seeds in that spot.

Unknown said...

wow, i am speechless. they really do have a mind of their own! wouldn't that be beautiful to be our "alter"? :D

i miss the farm so much. i wish i could visit every single day. but of course, when i say that, i really mean you and papa. :)

Ruth said...

The farm misses you too, dawtuh, I really mean we miss you.

Yes, I think the morning glory leaves, even if the flowers don't bloom, would be a great arch for the ceremony.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

I Love your flowers, the morning glories are so sharp.

It must be so great living on 5 acres of land.

I love walking round the place and enjoying other people's plants and flowers, and secretly taking the photos.
Annkschin.blogspot.com

Ruth said...

Oh hello, Ann. Flowers are good subjects to photograph. They don't usually move, and they don't mind being stared at. At least I don't think they do.