Morning Glory Musings

Boulder Morning Glories
in Boulder

I started feeling nostalgic about the magnificent Morning Glories that grew up the South wall of our house around this time every summer. They are the only flowers that seemed to thrive better in the hot, dry Colorado sun compared to New Jersey's humid rich soil.

I planted two kinds of Morning Glories along the picket fence around my small herb and veggie patch. One was from a packet that the previous owner left in the garden shed. The other was the remainder from a seed packet I brought with me from Colorado.

New Jersey Morning Glories
in New Jersey

Boulder Morning Glories
in New Jersey

The New Jersey variety have taken over their half of the picket fence with extra large fuzzy leaves and smallish flowers that shrivel up before noon -- even on cloudy days.

Here, my Boulder Beauties are frail, insipid vines that can't even make it up the picket fence, much less produce a flower. I blame it on the fabulous New Jersey soil. In Boulder, my Morning Glories emerged from unamended soil in a crack between sandstone pavers and the concrete base of the house. The seed instructions said not to fertilize them so the soil was always poor.

So far, I'm pleased to report that I've handled the transition to New Jersey better than my Morning Glories have.