Morning glories ate my gazebo--pic heavy

17 years ago

My husband and I installed our granite patio last spring. It was all planned around a metal gazebo I bought years ago. I planted 6 morning glories and 4 moon flowers around Memorial Day and this is what I got...they ate my gazebo. Well, not literally, it's still in there....somewhere...

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Comments (17)

debbieca
17 years ago
That is really cool! You must do some trimming to keep it looking so nice. Last year my vines crushed my arbor so this year it only got one vine.
grant_in_seattle
17 years ago
Awesome! You have a beautiful home and garden, and the gazebo looks terrific! I'm totally envious.

Here in Seattle we have the aggressive perennial bindweed which is a real nuisance, but the fancy-flowering annual types really struggle here with our lack of summer heat. They do okay, but not great. I'm envious.

Thanks for sharing the pics. I really enjoyed them.
Take care,
Grant
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romando
17 years ago
Oh snap! That's so cool! I can't get over how large those leaves are on the top of the gazebo! I've never seen any that big. Are they from the moonflower?
Amanda 'romando'
pat_tea
17 years ago
Absolutely gorgeous. The patio is spectacular and I love the way the morning glory has been trained to the shape of the top of the gazebo. Good job!
haziemoon
17 years ago
Wow!! that looks just wonderful!
I was shocked when the 4 plants I planted ate my lamp post,
and made a 2 foot high hedge! But that is really something!

Haziemoon
lillian_one
17 years ago
Beautiful...restful...so healthful looking..it makes a really nice shady place to sit....it must be really sturdy to hold so much plant life.
Lillian
lynnencfan
17 years ago
eks - That is just absolutely beautiful - isn't it amazing how fast the morning glories can cover the gazebo. My husband built an arbor over the entrance to our woodland garden this spring and was immediately covered with morning glory and moonflower. Below is a picture with the morning glories in full bloom. The moonflower has only had a few blooms so far. Don't know if it got gobbled up by the morning glories. Do yours manage to hold their own against each other?? This was my first year to combine the two....

Lynne
friesfan1
17 years ago
Eks,
That is really awesome, I bet is beautiful in bloom!

Lynne,
Love the blue flowers, the bunnies kept mine sheared
off so my MG looks pretty raggedy :-/
Mary z 5b KS
kathi_mdgd
17 years ago
Those are gorgeous pictures.I especially love the zinnias,they're one of my favorite flowers. We have our morning glories covering our back fence,so we don't have to see the canyon behind our house.DH cuts them back to the ground every winter,and in spring they cover that 6' fence in no time at all.
Kathi
krystine
17 years ago
Beautiful, just beautiful! :)

May I ask what you used underneath the granite scraps? Sand? Limestone screening?

I also have access to granite scraps and you're pics have provided lots of inspiration... now if I could just figure out what you used as a base :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Krystine's Garden Blog
mora
17 years ago
Ohhhhhh! Big time morning glory envy here....my tallest vine is only two feet high, (hold off frost) M
kathi_mdgd
17 years ago
Krystine,
Beautiful gardens,can you tell me what the heart shaped plant is in the last picture,behind the hostas??TIA
Kathi
eks6426
Original Author
17 years ago
Lynne--I keep hoping the morning glories will flower and look something like yours. Your arbor is beautiful.

Krystine--Under the granite is just plain sand. We dug down about 6 inches. Made a frame using wood or metal edging (for the curves), put down landscape fabric then filled with about 4-5 inches of sand. Rented a tamper and watered well then leveled and did it again. We laid the granite then swept sand in the cracks. It seems very solid. We do periodically need to sweep in more sand...just a shovel or 2 does the whole patio.
krystine
17 years ago
Kathi,

I believe that's Lily of the Valley, but I'm not 100% sure which pic you're referring to...

Thanks Eks6426 :) Your patio is beautiful... I can certainly appreciate all the work that went into it!

Here is a link that might be useful: Lily of the Valley, bottom right
tufftufa
17 years ago
Does the granite have a finish on it? Is is slippery? I have some granite and am thinking of putting it finished-side down with a thin epoxy coat to bring out the color. Any suggestions?
Chris Gulden
11 years ago
Eks - I see it has been a few years since this was posted,so you may not even have your gazebo up any longer, but I wanted to tell you that the huge leaves & lack of flowers on your morning glory mean the soil is too rich or you are over-fertilizing. They like (for lack of a better word)bad soil - if it's too rich the plant just keeps growing & wont' stop to bloom. Just thought you'd like to know.
hosenemesis
11 years ago
Eks, your granite patio is sheer genius. Beautiful- you must have had fun laying it out and creating the pattern. I'd lov to see more. Your gazebo is out of a magazine. I love to grow morning glories, but I have never seen leaves that big before! Thanks.
Renee