25/07/2018 - Desiccated

Well it's been one month since the last blog post so high time to post an update on the garden. I've been very busy this month with other projects and enjoying some time off for the summer so it took a bit longer than expected. I have been trying to keep the photo galleries up to date in the meanwhile though so you may have seen a few new varieties pop up.

Ipomoea hederifolia | Pumpkin Trumpet

The year started out with dream weather. Warm temperatures, lots of sunlight, little rain.

However there seems to be no end to it. Average temperatures have been much higher than normal and it hasn't rained properly for almost two months now. And there really doesn't seem to be an end in sight. This week was the hottest of the year so far.

So the garden is suffering a bit from the heat and drought. Flower production has still been okay despite of this, although I'm sure it could have been a lot better still. But I'm not going to start wasting water like a madman just for a couple more flowers. The plants and I will have to endure a little while longer until the weather changes.

Kodachi Red

I was particularly pleased seeing this blueish purple flaked Ipomoea purpurea variety pop up. I had one such flower among some white/blue flaked purpurea last year. So I'm really glad to finally have two plants full of these flowers. Now I will have plenty of seeds at the end of the season to keep growing this lovely variety for many years to come.

Maisugata has started blooming as well. The flowers are even more stunning than I anticipated. The purple crests are sometimes diluted and let through some fine pink striping when the flower start senescing.

The first Ipomoea tricolor are starting to bloom as well. Blue Star and Flying Saucers have opened a couple flowers so far.