Sort of Obedient Plant

If you really like perfect symmetry, then this is the plant for you.  The stem is square and the leaves march in perfect order down the length of the perfectly vertical stems.  Even the flowers match up in perfect rows.

I like this plant because it is a perennial native to Alabama and once it is established it grows completely on its own, requiring no assistance from me.  The long-blooming flowers are a gorgeous addition to my late summer garden.

Flowers in their natural formation

According to one of my sources, the reason this plant is called "obedient" is that you can re-arrange the flowers on the stalk and they will stay.  I tried this out and it works
. . . for about three hours . . . it reminds me of certain children who will agree to do a task, but three hours later, there is no evidence of any task being completed.  They are obedient . . . sort of.

Re-arranged flowers

Mistaken identity

Tobacco horn worm

Sometimes I just think I know what I'm talking about.  Research can be a humbling experience.

I had planned to write about the pesky tomato horn worms that sneak onto my tomato vines and strip them bare before I even know they are there.  I was going to tell you stories of past encounters with these evil villains in my garden.  However, I decided to do a little research first, just to make sure of my facts. 

Surprise!  There is another caterpillar that looks almost exactly the same as the tomato horn worm and people (read "I") often confuse the two. 

What was really decimating my poor tomato plant was a tobacco horn worm.  Here is how to tell the difference.  The tobacco horn worm has seven diagonal lines along it's sides, while the tomato horn worm has eight.  If you really look closely, you can see that the tobacco horn worm's "horn" is a reddish color, while the tomato horn worm's "horn" is black.  The tomato horn worm grows up to be a five-spotted hawk moth, while the tobacco horn worm becomes a carolina sphinx moth.

Sadly, in the end, the two horn worms will always meet the same fate if I find them in my garden.  As fascinating as the horn worms may be, I like my tomatoes better than either of them.

Absolute gardening principle

Grass will NOT grow in the shade . . . unless you are trying to grow a shade garden.  Then the grass grows vigorously in the shade, with hearty roots and lengthy rhizomes.  It has taken me all morning to remove grass from an established shade garden. 

Yard perfume

When I walked out onto my back deck this morning, I noticed a sweet perfume wafting through the air.  None of the fragrant plants growing near the deck is in bloom right now so I was puzzled for a moment.  Then I realized that the fragrance was my sweet autumn clematis which is in full bloom, draping over the old swingset.

I'm not sure why it is called sweet autumn clematis since it always blooms in late summer for me.  Perhaps it blooms later in cooler zones.

I also feel compelled to confess that I stole this plant from a mailbox several blocks from my house.   My husband and I walk past this house every morning.  I had noticed that the homeowners had cut the vine completely down to the ground.  In a few weeks, it was back, a few days later they cut it to the ground again.  Apparently, they were trying to kill it.  When it started growing again, I knew that I needed to rescue this plant so I pinched a few tendrils and carried them gently home to root them.  The neighbors finally succeeded in killing their sweet autumn clematis and I'm thoroughly enjoying this vine that I rescued  . . . or stole from them (depending on your point of view).

Moonlight madness

I am a morning gardener.  I love watching the sun rise and heading outdoors as soon as possible to see what is happening in my gardens.  I am busy tending my human family during the evenings so I almost never garden then.

However, there is one night-blooming, flowering vine that is a "must have" for me--moonflower!   I always plant a few of them on the chain link fence outside my kitchen window. 

One very important benefit is that
the vigorous vines quickly hide the less than attractive chain links.  Those vines not only cover the fence but everything growing nearby and then start running across the lawn.  The other reason I plant them in this location is so that as the sun starts to set each summer evening, I can look out my kitchen window to see the most amazing flower show in the backyard--huge, six-inch plus, white flowers that positively glow in the evening light.

On the rare occasion that I go out to check on them, the fragrance fills the air with sweet perfume.   The garden is not complete without moonflowers.

Pea patch

I'm not from the south originally but I married a fabulous southern gentleman (us northern girls know a good thing when we find one).  One of the consequences of this "mixed marriage" is a total disconnect when it comes to some foods.

One of those total miscommunications surrounds the meaning of the word, "pea."   For me, a pea is a sweet, bright green vegetable that is eaten either raw or cooked, included in salads and casseroles for color and sweetness.  To my precious husband, a pea comes in a wide variety of colors, sizes, and flavors and is always boiled with lots of pork, preferably bacon. 

Ever since I started to garden my husband has asked me to grow "peas" for him.  Of course, my first attempt to grow peas turned out to be the wrong peas (which don't grow well in Alabama in the summer) so we were both very disappointed.

I have repeatedly attempted to grow southern "peas" without success--not because the peas wouldn't grow but because they weren't the "right" ones.  I was completely baffled by all the choices and poor Bob had no idea what kind of peas his grandmother grew and fixed for them when he was a child; he just knew how they should taste.

This year I tried "pink hull peas" and I am reporting success!  May you enjoy your version of "peas" wherever you garden!

Pop Quiz

What plant grows best during a wet, hot August in central Alabama?

WEEDS!!!!  I need to dedicate some serious time to weeding--I know I have some gardens in there . . . somewhere.