Aren't they the prettiest little things?
Sometimes simpler is better and this flower is there!
Their "kindergarten flowers" appeals to my inner child :)
I love your pot with the bent-cane tower for them to climb. Very lovely. It will be super when it reaches the top. Be sure to post pictures when that happens.
"Pam's Flower Tower"...kinda has a nice 70s ring to it. Me like!

Thank you for being so thoughtful.

~Annie

Annie, I'm beginning to think the simple flowers are some of the prettiest.

I did a topic today about 4 o'clocks. A plant I don't see in gardens very much.

Same with Morning Glorys.

I call some of these plants "God's Garden" because one Spring I had surgery and was unable to plant any flowers, but by June the gardens were loaded with 4 o'clocks, Periwinkle, Moonflowers and Morning Glories!

I didn't have to lift a finger to plant these!

Love your black eyed susan vine. I found one in the nursery myself this spring and planted it at the base of a birdhouse pole for it to ramble up. The darn thing doesn't seem to be very good at climbing. I have to keep tying it up.

Oakleyok, yours is beautiful. Like Rita's, mine doesn't seem to know how to climb very well. Plus it doesn't seem to have put on much growth in the three or so weeks it's been planted. I hope it perks up with the warmer weather. I was counting on it for some much needed height and color. This seems to be turning into one of those summers where everything I plant stuggles for one reason or another.

Totally Confused

It needs to be really hot (hot days, warm nights) for them to flourish. Give it some time. When the heat hits your area, she will take off. We are having 85-90 degree days and 70s at night here in Okie right now.

They are extra beautiful mingled with Morning glories..I think anyway.

~Annie

The one's that are on the bamboo are wrapping pretty good, the other's I have on a plastic type trellis needs bread ties to keep them going up.

Annie, it is going to be so hot today! Mid 90s. So far not a lick of wind, high humidity.

I was outside earlier and because of not having wind, all sorts of insects were biting at my legs! I'm inside for the day. lol

I've been in and out all day. Those pesky Buffalo gnats have arrived. Even goggles don't keep them away from my eyes. They always go for the eyes and then my eye lids and cheeks swell. I've been weeding mostly. Moved a few seedlings and planted some Dutch Iris bulbs "Miss Saigon". Beautiful iris. I hope those dried up looking bulbs grow!

Then I set a long 2X4 in the garden (potager) and back-filled it with all the good soil in the path. Looks so much better and it will help hold in moisture and nutrients. Then shovel-hoed out part of another path. When I get the paths hoed out, I am going to add more chipped wood.

This heat has really sent my plants into overdrive. (Man, what is July and August going to be like?) My veggies are growing like all get out! Even the insects can't seem to stop them now. (hehehe)

I hope to get the rest of that one area chopped out and then in two weeks, during the First Quarter in light of the moon, I can plant my okra seeds in there and plant a couple of rows of Italian Flat Beans. I love those things.

The rest of my annual veggies and flowers will be seeded then too. Can't forget the Lemon Cukes. They are round, yellow heirlooms - my favorite tasting cucumber. And you talk about awesome Bread and Butter pickles and relishes! Oh, boy! Slurp!

Today I am going to plant another couple of rows of onions since it is full moon, the quarter for planting Below Ground crops. It is a good time to set out plants and trees because the focus is on the roots in this phase of the moon. They will spend the next two weeks sending out new roots in their new environment. So it is a great time to set out the many more San Marzano tomatoes I have in pots, as well as the Brandywines, Stupice, and the other heirloom toms.

Blah, blah, blah. Sorry. I do LOVE to Garden and talk about it too. I am such a blabber box. Always seem to have something to say though. :(

~Annie

Annie,here's my BE vine taken 2 years ago.It was doing so well growing like weed then this year we had a bad storm,yes in S.ca we do get them now and again.Anyway it blew the arbor down and broke it to smitherenes.After the storm was over DH(and he wasn't dear that day) picked it all up and threw the plant away,before i even got out of bed.

I may just get another as i also liked it sooooooo much,only next time i'll use a stronger arbor.
Kathi

{{gwi:529855}}

How pretty that vine is. Annie, have you tried peppermint oil to discourage the gnats? It does discourage the ones here, but not all are alike.

Very interesting. Full moon, new moon. Sometimes I accidentally luck up and am in phase with the moon. Ther times not. It makes a difference when you are clearing a new bed as to whether you will have pesky weeds or not.
kay

Oakleyok and Annie, I am so glad to see your pictures. I have BE vine babies! I cannot wait! The babies are doing fine! I have some in a pot and one in a flower bed, where there is a real possibility for it to mesh with the morning glory! Wow, I had not even thought of that!

And yes... I love Morning Glories. But this year I made myself try another vine. But I still planted morning glories...
Annie, BE susan vine does have a naive quality about it!

Kathi, that is sooo pretty! Or was. :( Same thing happened to us last year with an arbor full of MG's, it blew over and broke right at the ground.

I'm going to have to show this picture to my husband.

Two questions. I have some Susans mixed with Morning Glories in one area. Will the MG's strangle out the Susans because the MG's are growing a lot faster.

Also, when I was outside late yesterday afternoon, I noticed the flowers on the Susan's had closed, like the MG's do, but much later in the day.

Is this normal? And do the same blooms on the Susan's open up again the next day or are they a one day bloomer?

Can you tell I haven't been outside to look? lol

One thing I have noticed about many gardeners is that they worry TOO MUCH about the darndest things!

When I planted my Black-eyed Susan Vine, I hadn't a thought in the world about any of the afore mentioned things. The Morning Glories came up volunteers, so they did their own thing. I didn't worry about the BES vine climbing or not climbing - it is a member of the same family as MGs, so I assumed it would climb.

I planted my Cantaloupes nearby the BES's on the same stretch of the fence so the vines would climb it and they did. I needed more plants to grow up, because I didn't have the room for them to grow out, and I figured it would keep the fruit off the ground so they would ripen more equally and be less likely to rot on the ground. The melon vines didn't need any help from me to be tied to the fence nor did I have to hang the melons in slings - the vines took care of that with their tendrils. That is their nature! They are vines! When the melons were ripe, they came off in my hand with the slightest touch. How did I know they were ripe? They were bright orange, they smelled yummy and when I touched them, they came off in my hand! Elementary my dear Watson!

Don't exhaust yourselves over such things. Enjoy your garden by letting your plants do what they already know how to do! If you plant vines by a smooth pole, of course it will have difficulty grasping it and climbing it. You don't plant shade-loving plants in full sun, so why would you plant climbing plants on things they can't grasp to climb? Learn the nature of each plant and you will have more successes and won't have to work so hard at gardening.
It is hard enough as it is.

The hardest part of gardening SHOULD be getting the soil right and then culling out all the weeds. Good soil - good plants. Nature knows how to do the rest if you keep those things in mind.

{{gwi:681661}} ~Annie

Annie, love the picture! But you didn't answer my questions. lol.

I have the BES w/the MG in one spot. The MG's are growing much faster than the BES. I'm concerned the BES will get strangled by the MG.

Also, are the BES one day bloomers? I went outside and noticed I only have a couple of flowers open today.

Yes I did.

Okay. I will be more specific.

I grew mine together and they did splendidly together. I cannot know whether your MGs will overtake your BES vine. I only had a few MG vines mixed in with mine. They decided to grow together - I didn't plant them together. I didn't even plant the MGs!

But if you have lots of MGs, they quite possibly could crowd out the BES. It is their nature to grow rampantly in order to reproduce. So, too much of anything is often too much, especially in a garden. MGs are more, shall we say, VIGOROUS, so keep that in mind. They take over everything if not thinned, and thinned a lot.

I don't recall whether BES vine flowers are one day bloomers like MGs. MGs flowers open, then close up and then shrivel up and begin making seed pods within a day or two. Very short lived flowers. That is their way.

As for the BES flowers, you might mark one with a piece of bright red string or something and see if it is still open the next day. Write it down and see how long it stays open. Then you will know. I just can't recall. I only grew them one time and that was about 10 years ago.

Anyway, I wrote what I did above because I thought it was so funny (strange) that it worried or bothered you so much. I wouldn't have thought anything about it. That is what struck me as funny. As long as the leaves look healthy and it keeps making more flowers, I wouldn't care how long they stayed open.

Look it up on the web. "Life Cycle of Black-eyed Susan vine flowers", or something like that for instance. I just don't know sweetie.

If you think the MGs are strangling them out, remove some of them. Cut a few off at the ground and the next day when they are all shriveled up, you will know which ones to pull out of the mix. Just be careful not to cut your BES vines when you do it. Uh oh. :0

Hope this answers your questions.

~Annie

Wow kathi, that vine is huge. the ones I seen last yr while at the beach in July, werent half that size.
Sweetannie, thanks for the info about the cantaloupes. I figured they would have to be supported some way.
Oakleyok, great pic. Your vine is so pretty.
Tammy

Thanks Annie! Did you know that BES can grow inside? I'm going to take the pot with the vine and over winter it indoors.

I checked one of the vines last night and it's completely "tangled" up with a MG so I don't know if it will grow on the trellis or now. That's okay though because I have a few vines planted near the fence with no MG's near it.

This is an experimental summer for me with a few plants. It's always exciting to see how the new ones do!

My house is as dark as a cave. My caveman loves it. I hate it.
Can't grow houseplants and can't winterover tropicals or tender perennials. I like lots of windows, sunshine and a grand views of the outdoors. :)

Good luck with your BES's. Keep us all posted on how they are faring.

((Hugs))
~Annie

BES vines are so pretty! I'm trying the white one this year. Very pretty pictures :)

Annie- I have a friend with the same problem. Her house is dark and lots of wood everywhere. She said she wouldn't mind so much, if her husband would build her a greenhouse along the back, where she can grow flowers, sip her tea and enjoy the view. She's still waiting (LOL) but I like her idea.