The Doors of Italy

| Flower Roberts

One of my readers commented about my Passion Vine flower, Blue Crown, reminding me of Italy. I did not blog much back in 2015. I will share photos from that trip while I am trapped inside, prior to surgery.

Blue Crown Passion vine

Here is the flower that started my passion for Passion Vines. This vine had grown to cover the fence of our lodgings in Volterra.

Passion fruit



The rest of the post will be of doors in Italy. These could be in Volterra, Rome, Florence Venice or Verona.


I had two cameras to work with and took thousands of photos of plants, people, art, food, and doors.

At the Vatican.

The doors were so ornate and huge that I got carried away taking photos of them. Everything seemed to have more color and detail than I am used to. My eyes stayed wide open the whole time.

FLOW tens years ago, on the go.

Taking a Walker to Visit my Passion Vine

| Flower Roberts

This plant is a combination of everything I love.

Blue Crown Passion Vine


Twining vine, purple, complex flowers and lovely memories of Italy.


Vines fascinate me in how they find ways to use other structures for support.
Purple is the ultimate regal color.
This flower is more than just a pretty face with stamen that move according to the weather.


This flower brings back memories of a small, walled-town in Tuscany, Volterra.

I hobbled to the end of the deck just to see these magnificent blooms. Neither leg is functional now. I must use this walker for support.

Extra legs


Hopefully the surgery will get me moving again.

FLOWER

The Perfect Pebble Patio

| Flower Roberts

My vision has come to fruition in one afternoon.
Rose removed the cardboard that killed the weeds before the crew from Ncline Landscaping arrived.


Then a crew came and put in a cut-stone perimeter, geocloth and colored pebbles.


This is exactly my vision. I am so pleased.


FLOW

The Church Rose

| Flower Roberts

This lovely Iceberg rose belongs in the church courtyard. It had to be removed to make room for a columbarium.

Iceberg rose

Decades ago we designed the space to be a meditation garden with all white flowers.
It has a fountain in the middle and benches to sit on.

When death entered the space, the rose and I left.


The rose is still with me, waiting for a parishioner to fetch it.

FLOW

Nature Comes to Me

| Flower Roberts

I came very close to falling last night. We have steps everywhere outside. I needed to water some pots. I started down some steps at the spigot, I stumbled in slow motion. My bionic knee pogo-sticked me into the air. It was a miracle.
I have promised myself to stay on level ground until my surgery later this month.
I slithered out the front door to my chair. I sat quietly as hummingbirds zoomed across in front of me.
They love the Firecracker Vine. Males and females buzzed by my head. I enjoy the sound of their wings and the quick chirps they make.

Firecracker Vine / Ipomea lobata/ Spanish flag vine

Then not one, but two, Pileated Woodpeckers landed in a tree close-by. These two giants seemed to be conversing face-to-face on the trunk.

Two Pileated Woodpeckers

I am so grateful for these lovely visitors right outside my door. They are all the company I need.

FLOW with friends

Sedums Are Not Needy

| Flower Roberts

It is August in the south. That means that most plants constantly scream for water. Even though we have had many rains here, it is not enough for the pots. I cannot ignore a wilting plant. It would be like ignoring the cries of a hungry baby.

There is a lot of screaming going from my potted plants now. I will be sharing the ones that are not needy in this post. That would be the sedums. They grow without fuss and bloom when all other plants are closing down.

One of my favorites is Burrow’s Tail/ Sedum morganianum. It has a pleasing gray-blue color that contrasts beautifully with terra cotta or hypertufa pots.

I also appreciate the lack of neediness of herbs in August. They also thrive in dry heat. I group these together in full sun.

Why wilt yourself outside in August, when you can have plants that thrive in sun and heat without your constant attention?

I am getting too old for needy…you know?

FLOW

A Red Horn and Grenades

| Flower Roberts

I plant ground cherries for my chipmunk, Stubby. He enjoys climbing the plant and picking his own snack. Stubby leaves the wrappers under the plant, so I know he has been there.

Tobacco Hornworm has a red horn at rear


I spied someone else snacking on the ground cherry this morning.
A Tobacco Hornworm is devouring the delicate ends of the ground cherry limbs.

The hornworm leaves his grenade-like frass under the plant, so I know where he is.



Someday this green caterpillar will be a lively Sphinx moth that pollinates the Four-O’clock blooms at the corner of the vegetable garden.

My garden is not about me you see.

FLOW

There’s a New Bug in Town

| Flower Roberts

I finally hobbled down to my vegetable garden. I wanted to investigate what was ravishing the zuchinni leaves.


This was not the usual culprit. Instead of finding the golden eggs of the squash bugs, I found a cluster of yellow eggs.
I hoped these were ladybug eggs, so I left them.

Squash lady beetle eggs


Then I saw things that looked like corn kernels with whiskers hooked on to the leaves like ticks on a dog. These were not moving, so if they had eaten the holes in the leaves, they were finished.


I did find elongated, yellow, spiky larvae which moved quickly to get away.


This is my first infestation with these whiskered- corn critters. I am a pesterer of pests, so finding any new insect is of interest.


I fear I should not have let that volunteer butternut squash vine take over my small garden.

Big ole butternut squash vine


The shade and lack of airflow cannot be a good thing.
There is a lot going on in my tiny plot. Stay tuned for birds, butterflies, snakes, squash and pumpkins.

FLOW

The Transformation of Flowers

| Flower Roberts

It is an unusually wet July here in North Carolina. All the rain has kept plants green longer, but the flowers are transforming.

Lablab purpureus blooms

Flowers are not the end of the garden. There is one more phase before the life leaves it.

Lablab purpureus pods

Flowers have a purpose you see. They are more than pretty faces. All that flash is for attracting pollinators. Then the petals fade and fall and only the seeds are left.

Blackberry lily bloom

Sometimes seeds are in fruits and other times they take the form of nuts or pods.

Blackberry lily pods

That is where my garden is now. The colorful curtain has closed. Transformation abounds.

Magnolia macrophylla bloom

Not having flowers is a bit sad, but a future is being left behind.

Magnolia grandifolia pod

Those fruits, nuts and pods hold promise. They are the gardens of the future. They should not be ignored just because they are not big and bright.

Those seeds are the most valuable part of the story. They are the gardens of tomorrow and next season and forever.

I have faith in those seeds.

My beautiful friend, Sandra, left us last week. Sandra has transformed from being a beautiful mortal.

She leaves behind two girls and two grandchildren. It has been quite a shock to the people who love her. I will miss her being here with me, but she left things behind for the future.

Treasured memories of laughter, love and grace; as well as two more generations…a beautiful past and a beautiful future.

FLOWER