I hope you have a happy Valentine's Day. J and I couldn't work out our schedules so we'll celebrate later this week. We feel fortunate to have each other and we celebrate that every day.
To those who have a date tonight: have a lovely, romantic time. Indulge in your love. It's good stuff.
To those who dread this day like final exams, nausea and the coming of Al Qaeda all in one: I recommend self-indulgence of the non-alcoholic kind. (Drinking makes it more maudlin than it already is.) Ice cream, chocolate, chips, cookies, a good book, a funny movie, bubble bath--whatever you want, you should have it. Indulge yourself, dammit. Somebody's got to do it.
25 comments:
i have the same thing in mine... i will check w/the gal that sold it to me...i do know it can trail into a vine.. mine does.
MANDEVILLA is the name... Excuse the brain fart I had... This sucker loves shade at least where I am at... did this sneak over from a neighbor';s yard?
There's something to be said for love confident enough to celebrate every day, not just "special" days.
Enjoy the Mandevilla---a periwinkle cousin that should flourish in the shade beautifully.
Mandevilla. Yes, it climbed over the back fence from the neighbor's. It gets a little bit of morning sun, but the flowers grow on the low part of the vine where it's shady. Pretty! I'll encourage it.
That mandevilla is much prettier than a bunch of scentless roses. I bet John's been coaxing it over the fence for ages, and persuaded it to flower at exactly the right moment, just for you.
Haha! I doubt it, Bellis, the back yard is more my domain. More likely it came over here to see Boz.
Mandevilla has a nice ring to it. It sure is pretty.
I'll indulge in a red velvet cupcake with buttercream frosting later today. Tonight I'll celebrate my 4-year anniversary with Tommy. He'll eat a bone; I'll eat some chocolate. If that's not love, I don't know what is.
For those who don't know who Tommy is, that sounds downright rustic.
Low part of the vine only? should be all throughout... must be loving the shade if the flowers are down there.
I don't think this is a Mandevilla - the tube on the trumpet's a bit too long. I think it's a Bignonia capreolata, but I don't know the variety name.
what ever the name, it is pretty! Of course we need the name so we can all rush out and get one for our shady areas. :)
Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I love the self-indulgence idea, someone made an appointment with my husband for tonight. It's been passed down so he didn't talk to the guy but someone (not mine) may be in trouble later ;) Go figure
I looked at pictures online and I think you're probably right, Diana. The leaves of both are similar but the blossoms, even on the different varieties of Bignonia capreolata, most resemble my little invader.
Book Dragon, you've sung your husband's praises before so I know you've got yourself a prince. Can you two find another day to celebrate? Or are you simply planning on a solo bubble bath?
Mmmmm...I rather like the idea of the red velvet cupcake!!!
Whatever the name...those flowers are beautiful!!! And I love your top pic!!!
Re: Bellis' scentless roses...I agree! When did it become fashionable to breed the scent out of the rose??? The scent is part of what makes roses so special!!! And those same roses typically drop the whole rose bloom before it even blooms!!!
I knew I had a keeper when the TheChief ripped out all the daisy type flowers at the back of our yard in Glendale and planted roses (the older, scented varieties) because I said it was a perfect spot for roses...before we were married...when we had been dating for just a few months!!!
@Chieftess---amen! Nothing much I like better than the first warm day after the roses bloom at our local rose garden...just sit there and inhale!
and yet, a friend received some roses last week for her birthday and they had no scent, the greenery smelled more than the roses!
@Susan...uhm...thankfully, I know who Tommy is, or I'd begin to wonder what kind of relationship you were into...lol.
Yeah, the Chief is a keeper, and not just because he plants roses.
I wonder if the scentless roses have anything to do with:
importing them from hothouses in Mexico
or
bee colony collapse disorder
guessing
Surely, with all the fabulous roses growing in Pasadena, we can get gorgeous, scented roses? The thing is, we want roses year 'round and they don't grow year 'round. So if we want them when we want them we may have to have to crappy ones. Our Valentine's Day culture probably created this.
Great comments. Said flower is a beauty. That's really all that matters. Kiss Boz, Kiss John. You choose the order.
Lovely flower! It looks a lot like Trumpet Vine, but then I'm not a gardening-type person.
We had truffles and wine to celebrate.
Happy Valentine's Day to you, John, and of course, Boz. :-)
I think chocolate is appropriate under all circumstancess.
Steven, I've lost track.
Fancy, Ms. M! Fungus truffles or chocolate truffles? You see what Margaret says, and of course she's right. I give chocolate on Columbus Day and Beltane as well.
This is a plant I now only admire from afar. I've killed two of them.
We had chocolate truffles made by a local, family-run candy company that's been in business here since 1947. De-lish stuff!
Beautiful pics! Lovey Valentine.
Thanks, Tash.
Here you go:
Bignonia capreolata var. atrosanguinea
Red Cross Vine Zones: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Cross Vine is a woody vine that grows to 50 feet or so with compound, semi-evergreen leaves and very showy summer flowers. It is common throughout the east. It winds its way up trees and telephone poles, and over rocks, and holds on by twining and by tendrils that can dig into tree bark. The typical wild type has clusters of 2 inch, red, tubular flowers with widely flaring lobes or lips that are yellow inside. They are very showy and fragrant and hummingbirds love them. This form has entirely reddish maroon flowers - no yellow. Leaves turn reddish purple in the fall. In the south, they are evergreen, otherwise they will loose some leaves when it gets very cold. Grow in full sun and average to moist soil. Plants do not generally get overbearing so a super strength support is not necessary. Flowering is on old wood, thus any pruning is best done shortly after flowering.
http://www.sunlightgardens.com/pages/1436.html
Betsy
Thanks for that, Betsy. Good link. It also explains why I got buzzed by a hummingbird in my back yard the other day.
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