Getting ready to launch.

I know the name of this one. It’s a moonflower, so called because it blooms overnight. But it’s also known, by me, as one of the ugliest flowers around. One of my neighbours planted a bunch of them in her front garden and was giving some away. She offered to give me one but I told her there was no way I wanted that in my garden. I mean, the flower itself isn’t too bad, but the plant is ugly and the flower shoots out of this long tube-like structure that I think looks disgusting. And seeing as the flower only blooms for a day or two tops the rest of the time it’s just an eyesore.

A brief moment of glory.

I thought I was done with the lotus pond, but I wanted to post a pic of what the flowers look like after the petals are gone. Just because I think they look so weird.  Plus there were still a couple of flowers. (You can click on the pic to make it bigger.)

You can’t go wrong with the classics. Like these day lilies (sometimes spelled daylilies). You see these guys everywhere, and for good reason. We have a lot planted around where I live. According to Wikipedia, however, they are not actually lilies.

No this is not a dandelion gone to seed. In fact, I have no idea what it is. It’s a tall stalk (nearly five fee!) and it has these globular flowers at the top. It just looks weird.

Because the lotus flowers are so big they don’t last long. So there’s never an explosion of giant blossoms. But this pic shows the pond at its seasonal best. That’s a wrap for this year! Thanks to the owners for putting in all the effort to make it happen! (You can click on the pic to make it bigger.)

Believe it or not, this is a hydrangea. Another gift from a neighbour. I stuck it in the garden about ten years ago and it has never blossomed into the puffy snowball that hydrangeas are known for. I always thought this was because it wasn’t getting enough water. But this summer it has rained every other day, and this is the best it can do. (You can click the pic to make it bigger.)

Things are starting to open up at the pond. We’re not at full bloom yet, but getting there. (You can click on the pic to make it bigger.)

The new green deal.

In my last gardening post I made a passing reference to my garden’s “green wall.” This occurs at the point in the summer when the ivy has made a solid wallpaper effect, the blue false indigo (identified by an elite horticulturalist in the comment section here) is no longer in bloom, and the sweet pea vine is filling its pods, with only a few blossoms remaining. It’s green on green on green, in what I think is a wonderful mat of life.

Not everyone feels the same way! The last couple of years I’ve had friendly neighbours tear out most of the sweet pea, thinking it was a weed. I’ve also had not-so-friendly neighbours — the kind who go out to the garden centers every Spring and buy colourful annuals that they plant in pots and baskets — that the green wall looks like crap, that it’s just a mess.

Well, all I can say is that I’ll take my green wall and its riot of messy climbing things to their pretty flowers any day. We should enjoy nature at its most natural. Plus, I spend nothing on my garden while all I hear is endless complaining from the flower crew about how expensive plants have become. I have no sympathy for these people. They know what they can do. Build the wall!

The lotus pond flowers are getting ready to launch! (You can click on the pic to make it bigger.)

There’s a house near where I live that dug out a lotus pond in their front yard. At least I think these are water lotuses. And let me tell you, they are some giant flowers! I thought I’d post some pics of the pond as things go along so you can enjoy them  coming into bloom. (You can click on the pic to make it bigger.)