Morning Glories and Moon Flowers

For those who’ve been reading my blogs, you know that this has been a rough summer. Not in a disaster sense but in the oh-crap-now-what kind of way. In the midst of all this I find it’s the little things that get me through.

In late spring, I planted flower seeds in several large planters in the back yard. We don’t have a lot of sun and the only great spot to plant seeds and have a chance for them grow is directly outside the kitchen window. It also happens to be directly over the septic tank so I can’t dig there. Instead, Mike built a low platform in that spot and I have five large planters on it.

For years I planted strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, and other fruits and veggies which the birds, deer, and squirrels have enjoyed. Once I had a lovely crop of strawberries that were almost ripe and saw a squirrel sitting on the stair railing with something bright red in his little paws. I swear he held the strawberry up for me to admire before he sank his sharp little teeth into it.

More recently, I’d been growing several types of mint to use for teas. I never could get them harvested at the right time or maybe I was drying the leaves wrong, but the tea they made was not as strong as I wanted, no matter how much I used.

This year I took a different tack. One pot is filled kitchen herbs which the local wildlife ignores. The rest I filled with flowers. Three of the planters contain different mixes designed to attract bees and butterflies and I have been delighted with the results. The bees and butterflies have arrived as promised and I’ve even had a few hummingbirds enjoy the blooms.

The final planter is one that sits directly outside the kitchen window and for this one I had special plans. First I put a trellis in the planter and on each side of the trellis I planted seeds, morning glories on one side and moon flowers on the other. With great anticipation I watched the vines creep up the trellis and broad leaves fill the space.

The moon flowers appeared first, their large white blooms opening in the late afternoon and shining like pale orbs throughout the night. The morning glories showed up a few days later, their happy blue, purple, and pink faces greeting the new day at the same time the moon flowers closed. They both bloom each day and I love this combination of morning and nighttime flowers. For weeks now, this flower show has assured that I smile several times a day.

Fall is coming and my trellis will soon be bare, but that’s okay. I’ll plant chrysanthemums and pansies to brighten the colder months knowing that in the spring my trellis will bloom again.

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