Skip to main content

Four O'Clocks

My father always planted these when I was growing up, and he recently mentioned that they used to grow outside the buildings he grew up in in the city. It was a traditional city neighborhood, and his cousins and aunts all lived in the same block. So happy to have these cheery summer blooms here at my home now too. I showed them to my nieces last month in the early afternoon, and all on their own they shouted, "let's go check them" at four o'clock. Apparently it is not the time that drives their late-day opening, it is the drop in temperature. I took the first picture tonight in the rain - about 7:00 pm. The others were taken in the early morning 3 days ago.





Labels:

Comments

  1. SissyAugust 14, 2011 at 12:54 PM

    oooo boy, those were so invasive for me! They grew out of giant tubers that took me a long time and 2 shovels to remove!
    I love your sentiment about the 'old neighborhood'. I am always looking for plants with a story!

    ReplyDelete
  2. SherryAugust 14, 2011 at 4:00 PM

    Wow, that sounds like a major job. These are definitely going to overtake the bed they are in. Maybe next year I'll try to prune them some. Plants really do have a way of becoming stories, and members of our families.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mary's Toad Lilies

All summer the rock garden was full of Lily stalks that didn't bloom. I knew they were some kind of Lily due to the leaf structure. There must be 30-40 stalks. I've looked at them carefully numerous times, and last time I examined them I thought maybe Cala lilies, that would bloom later in the summer. Didn't happen. I saw some budding on them a few weeks ago, and then forgot about them being so busy the last few weeks. It's been raining all day here, and I saw that the bird feeder we had wedged between some of the rocks in the rock garden fell. It's not a permanent solution, and it fell once before. We're going to have cement it or use a base pole to secure it for Spring. I went out to pick it up, and was greeted by lots and lots of blooming Toad Lilies! What a surprise. These inherited gardens keep constantly surprising me. I've been through a full year's cycle now, and thought I'd seen everything. I don't remember these last year at this time.
13 comments
Read more

Cornhusk Wreath

I made the cornhusk wreath featured on the Martha Stewart show last November. The steps involve dyeing the cornhusks (you can buy tamale cornhusks in your local grocery store), then separating them into strips while they are still damp, and pinning them to a straw wreath. Finish it with a thick satin ribbon. I chose apple green dye, so I can have it on the front door year-round. Closeup of the ribbon: I'm so happy with the results. To make your own, here is a link to the directions .
10 comments
Read more

Participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count!

Cornell University's Great Backyard Bird Count is happening now! They collect data on bird species and their whereabouts from all over the country at this time each year, and you can help. It's easy to participate - just look out your window for 15 minutes each day, today through Monday, and fill out a form on their website noting what species you saw and how many. Here are some notes from their FAQ: How is the information from the GBBC used? Bird populations are constantly changing. No single scientist or team of scientists could hope to keep track of the complicated patterns of movement of so many species over an entire continent. The information from GBBC participants becomes even more valuable as scientists try to learn how birds are affected by environmental changes. The information you send in can provide the first sign that individual species may be increasing or declining from year to year. It shows how a species’ range expands or shrinks over time. A big change,
10 comments
Read more