HOMECOMING

Saturday was beautiful, near eighty degrees with a perfect blue sky. The orange, yellow and red leaves of the maples that line many of the city streets provided a perfect backdrop for the day's events. The person in charge of selecting Homecoming weekend this year must be a psychic.

The morning parade featured the university band, floats, politicians, and a variety of non-profit groups and retailers promoting their messages and products. Oh yeah, there were bagpipers too. It's always fun to watch a parade

The football game didn't start until four so there was plenty of time for tailgating and socializing before kickoff. Alumni were welcomed back with chili, burgers and brats provided in the tents hosted by the different schools, departments, and organizations. Crazy competitions, such as the cardboard boat race, provided entertainment.

The football game was the icing on the cake. It was a good, tight, hard fought game and just as it should be, the home team came out on top.

TEMPTATION

It's nearly the end of growing season but there are still lots of temptations in the garden centers.

I think I already mentioned my fascination with pansies and violas. Both of these are members of the genus, Viola (Violets). There are over 400 species of Violets. The cute-faced, fragrant blooms of pansies and violas can be found in white, shades of yellow, blue, red, and bi colors. Not only are these wonderful flowers a treat for the eyes and nose, they are edible, high in vitamins A and C.

Here's a little know fact, Ancient Greeks considered Violets a symbol of fertility and love and used them in love potions.

Fall bulbs are another temptation. I have no problem by-passing ordinary tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths, it's the more unusual bulbs that grab my attention. Fritillaria, a member of the Lily family is said to have a skunk-like smell but I like the droopy bell flowers. Alliums or ornamental onions are show stoppers. The larger allium bulbs are a little pricey but I consider them an investment. There are several species available and I am having a hard time deciding which species to invest in this year. I do like the smaller alliums, like "Drumstick" also. I wish the garden centers had allium variety packages. Maybe bulbs will go on sale soon.

MEMORIES

While I was in Maryland recently, I visited an historical site that is being restored and upgraded into a beautiful park area. I don't remember the area as it had been. Growing up, I had no reason to go there. All I knew about this wharf area is that it was at the bottom of a steep hill and there was an ice house somewhere near the wharf. My grandmother had an icebox and I remember my uncle bringing huge blocks of ice to cool that icebox. As I remember, the ice block wouldn't fit exactly so uncle had to chip it to size using an ice pick. Lucky for us kids because we got to suck on those crystal clear ice chucks my uncle chipped off. Oh boy, what a treat that was on a hot and humid, Maryland day!

Celosia

My mom calls them roostercombs. Other common names are cockscombs and woolflowers. These unusual plants are members of the Amaranth family, belonging to the small genus, Celosia. According to Wikipedia, one genus of Celosia, C. argentea is a leading leafy green vegetables in Nigeria. It's known as "soko yokoto" which means " make husbands fat and happy". (Interesting, huh!) Chinese herbalists reportedly used celosia to stop bleeding and to treat blood diseases and infections of the urinary tract. In the Victorian Language of Flowers, Celosias signified humor, warmth, and silliness.

Celosias are easy to grow from seed and often self seed in the garden. They like full sun and are drought tolerant. Celosias are also easy to dry. I used some to add color to the wreath I made for my front door.

DAHLIAS

Dahlias! Who wouldn't love these beautiful flowers that are native to the mountains of Mexico and Guatemala! The American Dahlia Society categorizes dahlias into various groups based on size, form and color. There are 9 sizes, 18 forms, and 15 colors or color combinations.

Dahlia Hill in Midland is a spectaular little garden with an interesting history. According to its website, Dahlia Hill is possibly the only garden in the country dedicated entirely to dahlias and grown on a hillside. " A visitor ...once stated that one person planting a dahlia garden on a hill was foolish, over forty people helping that fool was amazing." (a quote from the website)

VINES

It has suddenly occurred to me that I have not talked about vines. I love vines. They are so useful in the garden. They add height. Most have beautiful flowers. They are generally easy to grow. They can hide just about anything you don't want exposed.

Most people are familiar with Morning Glories (Ipomoea sp). Drive along a country road and you're sure to see at least one mailbox covered with morning glories. As the name implies, the funnel shaped morning glory flowers open in the morning and generally remain open until midday. I have the old-fashioned purple variety that begin blooming mid summer. Although this vine is an annual, it reseeds readily.

The first time I saw Hyacinth Bean (Lablab purpureus) at the entrance to the demonstration gardens at Michigan State University I fell in love. It was late summer and the pink flowers, electric-purple seed pods, and purple leaves were gorgeous. Some of the seed pods had dropped to the ground so I helped myself to a few of those. I have grown hyacinth bean vine in my garden ever since and I have shared seeds with many friends.

I have added PassionFlower vine (Passiflora incarnata) to my garden a couple of times in the past. Before this year I always got vigorous vine growth but no flowers. This year I purchased a seedling that was already in bud and lo, I've been blessed with many beautiful passionflowers. Passionflowers are native to Tropical America. The name 'passion flower' is said to derive from a resemblance of the blue passion flower to the crown of thorns. Others say the parts of the plant symbolize features of The Passion of Christ.

The Moon Flower vine (Ipomoea alba) is a fast grower with large heart-shaped leaves. The tubular white flowers are fragrant and open at night. My moon flower is trained over my garden window so I have the best chance of viewing the flowers before they fold up with daylight.

A relatively unknown vine is Spanish Flag (Mina lobata). It's narrow, tubular flowers are grouped in stalks. Flower buds are scarlet, turn orange when they bloom, then yellow and finally white-cream. The flowers of the Candy Corn vine (Manettia luteorubra) look exactly like my favorite Halloween candy. This attention-getter has been blooming all summer. Another lesser used vine is Canary Creeper (Tropaeolum peregrinum) which I mentioned in my previous post.

My perennial vines include a couple of species of Clematis, Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata), Porcelain (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata) and Moon vines.

MY FALL BLOOMERS

I've been waiting and waiting for some of my favorite plants to burst into bloom. Some of my plants have been in bud form forever, it seems. Each day I look for even the slightest hint of an impending flower. Do these plants realize they are growing in Michigan! Don't they know we're now into September and first frost could come any day now.
These are some of the plants that are teaching me patience:

Mexican Bush Sage is not hardy in my zone 5. I have it in a pot and although Mexican Sage is drought tolerant I water it daily. I can see hints of brilliant purple peeking out from the gray-green lance shaped leaves. Its normal bloom period is September through first frost.I'm anticipating another purple bloom, Tibouchina (Princess Flower, Glory Bush). This plant is a native of Brazil. While waiting for Tibouchina's beautiful flowers I'm appreciating the uniqueness of its multiveined, silvery green leaves that look like velvet.
Every year I cross my fingers and pray that we have a fall that is warm enough for the Pineapple Sage to bloom. Hummingbirds love the firey red tubular flowers of this herb. The consolation for the lack of flowers is, of course, the intense pineapple scent of the leaves. I have used fresh leaves of pineapple sage in fruit drinks and iced tea. I've read that the flowers can be used in flowers and desserts.
Asked to name a fall blooming plant and the probable answer would be Aster. I have New England Asters, most are purple but some are pink. Oh yeah, some are white and look a lot like tiny daisy.
My over-wintered Brugmansia has been blooming for a few weeks now. The flowers are huge and pale yellow. However, the "Brugmansia Collection" I ordered in the spring are not blooming yet. One plant does have lots of dangling buds. I'm anxious to see the different flower colors of the new plants.
Turtlehead, Chelone, produces spikes of pink flowers that resemble the head of a turle. Hence the name. My Turtlehead is not planted in an obvious place so I need to remember to look out for the blooms.
The purple leaved Cannas have not bloomed and possibly will not bloom. But that's okay because the flowers of the green leafers are much more interesting and beautiful.
Canary vine (Tropaelum peregrinum) has little bird-like yellow flowers. It's a native of Ecuador and is related to Nasturtiums. So far, the vine has made it's way up the trellises and has wrapped itself around neighboring plants.