Gnats in My Coffee

As I stroll through my garden, I hold a cup of coffee, the sweet kind with additives that are purported to transport one to exotic locations. It is early morning. I am still wearing my pajamas. My husband fusses at me for walking around that way, but who is to see? I am blessed with privacy. The atmosphere is warm and laden with moisture: 100% humidity. I move slowly through the thick air, like a vacationer drifting in a tube down one of those lazy river rides, breathing in the vapors of the surrounding waters.I don't mind the mugginess of a summer morning when a view like this one in the front garden is waiting for me. Above are more midsummer views of the front garden. The shrubs with lavender blooms are a dwarf form of Crepe Myrtle.

The problem with this scenario is the coffee. What nut drinks coffee outside on such a muggy summer morning? Ice water would be more appropriate, but old habits, acquired in a cooler season, are hard to break. And there is another purpose for the coffee. It is difficult to pull weeds while carrying a mug of steaming coffee. Even with one hand free, the danger of spilling hot coffee is too great to be bending over and tugging at offenders near the ground. So the coffee is to keep me on task, which is to enjoy a morning stroll. I want to concentrate on the garden while the birds are active and before the glare of the white hot sun begins to scorch the skin and dazzle the eyes.Assorted coneflowers(echinacea) are blooming in the front garden now.Penelope Rose in the front garden bloomed lavishly earlier this year and is beginning to put out a second flush of flowers.Colorful exotics like Stromanthe 'Tricolor' bring a dash of color to the summer woodland garden.
Top is 'Limelight' Hydrangea, just coming into its summer glory. Below Limelight is Hydrangea 'Lady in Red', fading but still lovely. Its blooms, originally blue in my acid soil, have turned to rose.

The coffee doesn't work. It never does, and I don't know why I retain the silly notion that it might. A weed right there demands my attention. If I wait till later, it will be two feet tall with offsprings of thousands. So I sit my coffee down on a nearby stump. It will only take a moment to yank the weed out of the ground. An hour later I return to the coffee. A pile of weeds, long snaky vines, and clippings from a shrub lay nearby. The coffee is cold, and an assortment of tiny twigs and dead gnats are floating in it. I sigh. I didn't need to drink the stuff anyway. What I do need is a bath. It is time to start the day.

My Lovely Weed and Other Summer Flowers

I have fallen in love with an invasive weed. It was an impulse buy. Only after I had paid money for it and then proudly planted it in my garden did I discover its classification, at least in neighboring Florida, where its cultivation is prohibited. This doesn't apply to my own state of Alabama. Yet. The offending flower is Bush Morning-Glory, Ipomoea fistulosa. It is more likely to become invasive in wet sites, which it prefers, though it will grow and behave itself in well drained situations. It is a native in tropical America and is reported in a number of southern US states, as well as in Puerto Rico and Hawaii. 

The bush morning glory looks similar to the morning glory vine, with pink to purple flowers opening only in the morning, but there are important differences. The bush has a thick stalk which can grow seven to eight feet tall. It has beautiful heart shaped leaves on sparse branches and funnel shaped flowers, which are three to four inches across. In Brazil the hollow stems are used for making pipes. Whereas the vine is an annual, here the bush morning glory is hardy and will return each year.

I will watch my bush morning glory closely. I don't think it will be a problem for me, though with all the rain we have had lately, I wonder!

Meanwhile, I am enjoying some other summer flowers. In semi-shady areas assorted hydrangeas continue to bloom:

Here is a combination of white impatiens and colorful caladiums, also growing in a partially shaded site:

Monarda and Veronica bloom in sites that receive morning sun and some afternoon shade:

While much of our property is shaded, we do have some areas that receive full sun. Flowers in these areas are heat lovers that can take our sultry conditions. Below in both upper and lower photos are Tropicana Canna Lily, on the left, and Pavonia Hastata, on the right. These are reliable beauties in my hot summer climate.

This is my first year to grow tropical hibiscus. It will not be my last!

Many summer flowers are commoners seen at every garden outlet. I am not a plant snob. Toughness and survival count for me. I love marigolds!

Finally, I don't always depend on plants for color. This is my flower bug. Call it whimsical, gaudy, cute, whatever.Bring on the heat!