MORNIN' GLORY'S GARDEN

Houston, Texas is in zone 9a.
We wanted to attract birds, especially hummingbirds, and butterflies to our yard, so we planted althea, hibiscus, hycinth bean, hummingbird bush, butterfly bush, canna, globe amaranth (my mother called them bachelor's buttons) penta, and zinnia for them.

Me and one of rare blooms I get from the iris' I insist on trying to grow without much luck.

Our latest addition to the rose garden is a Jackson & Perkins "Scentiment" rose

This is a "Passion Flower" or Passiflora caerulea. These 'passion flowers' are vining plants that possess perhaps the most beautiful, most exotic blooms you can imagine. I have not been able to keep a vine past one season though they are supposed to be hardy and even invasive in our area. I think I could live with this beauty invading my garden. The Legend: Legend has it that in 1620 a Jesuit priest in Peru came across the plant we now know as passion flower. Enthralled with its beauty, that night he had a vision likening its floral parts to the elements of the Crucifixion or Passion of Christ. The five petals and five sepals became the ten apostles (omitting Peter and Judas). The three pistils became the nails of the cross; the purple corona (or filaments) was the crown of thorns, and the stemmed ovary was the Lord's goblet.

When choosing flowers for my garden I took into account their height, shape and color, and also considered their perfume. Scent is one of our keenest senses and can trigger memories considered long buried.

The heliotrope, jasmine, maid of Orleans jasmine, citrunella, mint, ginger, and gardenia provide a variety of fragrances to stimulate my appetite for aroma throughout the garden.

The seeds for my candlestick plant were given to me. I have never seen the seeds or plants for sale. As a matter of fact a nursery asked me for some when I took a sample to them to try to find out the proper name for the plant. I guess you can tell I enjoy growing things that are unusual. I have learned from an online neighbor that the proper name for the candelstick plant is Cassia alata. Thanks Maggie .

They have only been on the annual flower scene for a few years but this hybrid relative of the petunia has already become a favorite of gardeners fortunate enough to grow and display them.

The Proven Winners web site identifies this lovely flower as Calibrachoa hybrid with the copyrighted name Million Bells. A hybrid, imported from Brazil, they have a spreading and trailing growth habit. Their height of 3 to 4 inches and spread of up to 24 inches make them ideal for flower box or hanging planting.

million I grew them for the first time in 1998 and found the claims to be closer to truth than most. Individual flowers of Million Bells are shaped like small petunias and are available in pink, purple-blue, "terra-cotta", and white. All colors feature a bright yellow throat. Mine is a bright trailing pink. Million Bells grow well in full sun or partial shade and, do well as a lush floral ground-cover.

Million Bells have a relatively low water requirement and recover well from brief periods of drought or neglect. The stems trail attractively and are not particularly fragile. Their leaves are a fresh green and petunia-like in form. They reseeded themselves so they haven't had to be replaced. I would love to have a barrel full of them though.

Monkeying Around With Monkey Grass

When we moved into our house, there were a few monkey grass plants around the front walk. The holly bushes looked naked, so I pulled up a few sprigs, being careful to get roots, and stuck it under the holly. It grew and spread and made a lovely, evergreen, perenial,"grass skirt."

I "comb" the monkey grass with a rake. This removes any leaves and straightens the grass blades and removes any carpet grass runners that have the nerve to attempt to share space with the monkey grass. The carpet grass cannot get its roots to the soil so it just crawls over the top and is easy to remove.

Later, when I made a new island bed, I pulled some sprigs from under the holly and stuck them under the spirea to create a frame around the bed.

The grass is so soft, I would love to lay down in it, but I am afraid of what might be making a home in its soft, cool shade and that whatever it is might express its disapproval of my invasion with a bite or sting.

Now every time I create a new bed, I add a few sprigs of monkey grass as a finishing touch. I have never purchased any monkey grass. I always just pull up a few sprigs from the existing beds and transplant it whereever I want more. The negative side of this is that it could be considered invasive because it is so prolific. However, it hasn't spread like this in the front yard where it gets the hot afternoon sun.

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