"I am a member of the Convolvulaceae family - common name Bindweed. If I arrive in your garden I will scramble to the very top of your highest hedge. I will garland it with arrow shaped leaves and then present you with my perfect white trumpet flowers; what is my reward? you dig me out.
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Convolvulus arvensis
Even my little relative is removed despite the fact that she scurries around covering the ground displaying her pretty shell pink flowers.
Note from 'blog owner'; Many readers have completely misunderstood this post, so sorry for the confusion. I do love, love, love, my coloured morning glories - they are a total delight in my garden. The unloved and unwanted are the white Bindweed and the small pink Bindweed that can be a huge problem when they turn up in your garden, but can look pretty along the country roads. I had written this post from the point of view of the Bindweed, perhaps this may have been a step too far.
It is difficult to understand why the owner of this blog treats our overseas relatives, the Ipomoeas', in the way she does. Seedlings are pampered, pricked, and potted. She seeks places where they will enjoy growing within the garden, feeds them with compost, and even gives them structures to climb.
The buds appear like neatly furled umbrellas
This one is her favourite she loves it - Morning Glory - Heavenly Blue - this year the flowers are huge, a diameter of at least 13cms (5 inches) - it must be all that compost her husband makes.
By the mid afternoon it neatly folds its bloom away like a silk parachute in preparation to generate seeds for next year.
Just what is the difference between them and us?"
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Dearest Rosemary ,with your permission ,I disagree with the title of this post .They are cute ,giving many colours in the garden and really I love them !
ReplyDeleteI bought the past spring but I did not plant them .I will do the next spring !The photos as always give light in my eyes !Have a nice day !
Dear Olympia - I agree with regarding the coloured ones as I mentioned I have them planted in my garden and nourish them, but it is just the white Bind Weed and the small pink Bind weed that are difficult if they arrive in your garden - their tough roots go down into the ground forever.
DeleteI never dig the Bindweed out.
ReplyDeleteI let them grow in the hedge, because the flowers are so beautiful.
Youre photo's are amazing, I love this flower.
I hope you find a similar Paste Wax
Have a nice Sunday Rosemary,
Greetings,
Inge, my choice
Dear Inge - fortunately I have never had to make the decision about the Bindweed as it has decided not to grace my garden. However, I can see the white flowers sitting very prettily in your garden - as far as I can see you have a very attractive green and white garden.
DeleteI am sure that I shall be able to track down some Paste Wax somehow, but thank you very much for your very kind offer.
I am amazed that they are treated as a weed there.!
ReplyDeleteOnly a few days before the wedding, I took a photo of Heleen's growing so beautifully at the poolside kitchinette..and seating.. I love this Bindweek. I never know half the names of flowers, you know that already.. but i do love this one. You have written about her so sweetly.
I would love to have it growing all up and down my inner fences..
I am glad that you have it in your garden... Heleen cuts hers down once a year..and up she grows again so proudly.
beautiful photos Rosemary.
I am a little dissapointed in my garden at the moment.. Pedro has just come back from the Ukraine.. and I really need to attack it. Its still warm.. but the weather getting cooler.
happy sunday.. x val
It is the white Bindweed that is a menace in the garden Val, its roots go down so deep and it smothers everything around it. The Morning Glories are delightful and I love them. I cut mine down each autumn, but new plants come up again in the spring from the bountiful crop of seeds that they scatter. This post seems to have caused some confusion so I have added an extra note.
DeleteWell, dearest bindweed, I wouldn't know, can only say you often appear here as well and show your white flowers but not so that it becomes too much. You let the other plants and flowers bloom and grow, if they feel like it.... Haven't had the joy to encounter your relatives yet but I do love the heavenly blue one I must say, although your white flowers are gorgeous as well I think.
ReplyDeleteMarian
The white flowers of the Bindweed are lovely Marian, but if you have it in the garden it is impossible to get rid of -unlike the Morning Glories which are difficult to grow really well, that is why I nurture them so much.
DeleteHello Rosemary, In America, I always loved the gentle charm of morning glory or bindweed, which seems to grow everywhere, sometimes even recumbently over a lawn. It doesn't seem to take over, so I can't imagine people trying to get rid of it, although I am not a gardener.
ReplyDeleteIt is just the white Bindweed that is a problem to gardeners and the small pink ground covering one. The others are not bindweed but Morning Glories, however, they all belong to the same family.
DeleteDear Rosemary,
ReplyDeleteI love Ipomoea - especially 'Morning Glory - Heavenly Blue'. Your photographs are so lovely - they get the innocence and - well - 'heavenly' blue! The blossom is light itself. Last year I bought from the great Karl Foerster's garden in Bornim near Berlin a variety that is perennial - one side of his house was covered by it, opening for about three hours, next day the next ones. Beautiful - but not as beautiful as Heavenly Blue! And although you'll find almost every day something pink on me, I'm not that enchanted by the pink variety (it is nice, of course). But I enjoy finding the tiny wild one's at the border of a way - they smell so lovely and of course remind me of childhood days.
Weeds - well: there are quite a lot of plants that people call weeds... Though I have to admit that I have a watchful eye on Ipomoea winding into my vine on the balcony... Makes me think to post something about garden boors on gardeninginhighheels.
You are quite right Britta - in fact many flowers in the garden are in fact weeds in another country. If they are a struggle to grow and do not take over the garden, perhaps that is when we think of them as garden flowers, but if they become rampant, then the term weed takes over.
DeleteI'm always amazed by your beautiful garden! Love those blue flowers.
ReplyDeleteThey are delicious, I love the soft shade of blue reminding me of a cloudless summers day.
DeleteThe colours are so vibrant. These are the wonders of nature.
ReplyDeleteLittle wonders of nature is correct, which grace us with their presence for just a few hours each day and then die.
DeleteDear Rosemary, We've had this discussion before. We love morning glories but despise the wild bindweed variety. I love the way ipomoea greets me early in the morning in the most unexpected places. They reseed themselves most beautifully and also show up in my planted flower pots where they wind themselves into neighboring pots most artistically.
ReplyDeleteHave you dried the blossom in a book? Lay them sideways (doubled). After a few days they are ready to be used on soaps if you attach them with a little hairspray.
Thanks Gina, what a lovely idea - this post seems to have created some unintentional confusion. I do love the way that they reseed themselves and survive the cold and the winter. As long as mine are near to the wall, and have vegetation to hid behind they seem to survive. I am like you, and love to see them in the early morning, they bring happiness in their wake.
DeleteOh, what a beautiful post, Rosemary! It is something I have often considered unfair, but I think on reflection it is a matter of manners. Morning Glory has such impeccable manners, using only the space its host accords it; but poor Bindweed has such a lack of social graces, and will so often hog space not allocates for it. It needs its very own Henry Higgins to come along and teach it the niceties of keeping to its place, and then all will be well.
ReplyDeleteDear Kate - I hadn't thought in terms of them having 'manners' but I like the idea. I suspect that Morning Glories in their own environment - is it south America? not sure - are quite likely to cause problems climbing rampantly everywhere, and are not the restrained beauties that we have here.
DeleteDear Rosemary,what a beautiful post!!!!Such beauty in your pictures!!!
ReplyDeleteI thought the mame of these flowers was climates!I was wrong!
Very preety soft blue colour!!!I really enjoyed your exellent photos!!!
Have a lovely week!!
Dimi...
Were you thinking about clematis perhaps? - These morning glories I originally grew from seed, but now happily they reseed themselves in the garden. The blue is a wonderful colour, just like the sky on a perfect day.
DeleteI love this post! So fun and pretty! Where I live the blue morning glories take over and climb to to the top of telephone poles and coat palm trees up to their frawns… I LOVE them, and planted them in my yard, only to take them out because I was too scared they would take over… I used to always wonder how such beautiful flowers could be considered pest… But now that I have my own big yard to tend, I try to keep them at bay. But it's the small ground running morning glories that are truly difficult for my garden. They take over EVERYTHING!!!
ReplyDeleteAgain, I love this post, so fun!
Marica
Dear Marica - thank you for your comment which is so interesting to me. You have just proved the point completely. Once a flower gets out of hand it becomes a pest in the garden. Morning Glories in our garden are nurtured and under my control - we do not have the climate that allows them to have free reign as they do with you. Our Bind weed acts like the morning glories for you and climbs over everything. The ground bindweed is really, really, difficult to control. If you snap the root another half dozen will grow from it. Your comment is so very interesting.
DeleteI've never heard of morning glories that are five inches across! You (and H) must certainly be working some magic!
ReplyDeleteI have never seen flowers as big as the ones on this plant. I shall definitely be collecting the seeds from it to keep for next year. The other morning glories are just a normal size, and they too have received H's compost.
DeleteYour garden has reminded me a number of times of Findhorn. Have you ever visited there?
DeleteI presume that you are referring to the Findhorn Foundation and its community on the Moray Firth. If so, we did visit there many, many years ago. Our eldest son was at boarding school nearby, just along the coast from Findhorn. I seem to remember that they are known for their gigantic vegetables, is that what you were thinking about?
DeleteYour Morning Glories are gorgeous! We fight with Bindweed too. I miss our goats, who ate it all and kept the field free of it. Now I have to pull and dig. The Himalayan Blackberries keep me busy too - I save a few canes for the fruit, but if I don't keep on top of the others our entire property would look like something out of Sleeping Beauty.
ReplyDeleteThe trouble with Bind weed is that it is so difficult to remove as you will know from experience. I understand that if the root snaps in the ground, then several more plants spring up from the original root. Here, I must admit, that I do not actually have it in my garden - I think that it is not happy in our oolitic limestone.
DeleteI struggle with bindweed here. Very rare, but very satisfying, to chase out a whole root intact! I've never grown Morning Glory, for fear that it would be equally invasive. Good to know that it is better behaved, in the UK at least!
ReplyDeleteYes, as far as I know Morning Glories do not pose a threat in the UK. From my experience I have to nurture them. Having said that all of the bright pink and dark blue ones were not planted this year, but have come up of their own accord from seeds dropped by plants last year. I was surprised that they survived the winter snows and cold.
DeleteYour morning glory photos are amazing. I planted seeds in the spring and it grew large but the blooms aren't very pretty. There are many varieties and I chose the wrong one. The Moonflowers I grow are a relative but bloom at night. They are white. The bindweed I'm not familiar with at all.
ReplyDeleteThere are some really lovely varieties to choose from these days. There is one that is almost black, and a white one that I like with blue stripes. I haven't seen the Moonflowers I will have to check those out.
DeleteI love to see the bindweed and morning glory in their place, in the wild. Bindweed is a rather unsympathetic name, for such an elegant plant, although I agree it is such a pest!
ReplyDeleteI also love the flowers of the bindweed, but know it to be a problem if it arrives in your garden. As I have admitted earlier I don't actually have it in my garden - I do not think it likes our oolitic limestone and lack of soil. However, the morning glories are thriving in our garden really well, many of which have reseeded from last year.
DeleteI often wonder why some "weeds" repel us so much. I, for instance, can't bear to see a dandelion in my garden but welcome daisies, clover and cow parsley in moderation. Perhaps it relates, as with bindweed, to how difficult they are to control.
ReplyDeleteIts a conumdrum - Morning glories grown in our country are considered a garden flower whereas in many parts of the world they are a weed which is difficult to control in the same way as the bindweed is for us.
DeleteI love this post, Rosemary. I laughed out loud when I realized that it was written from the bindweed's point of view! I love morning glories, but don't have in my garden, yet. ;) Great photos are usual. Greetings from Canada.
ReplyDeleteGood I am glad that you got it Marie, for some it has caused confusion - sending you my heartfelt greetings back to Canada.
DeleteHi Rosemary, I love, love, love your Morning Glories! On you photos I even love the Bindweed, too, but I can understand that it can be a nuisance when it actually shows up in your garden. Hope you enjoy the rest of the summer!
ReplyDeleteChristina
Dear Christina - depending on where you live I think that the Convolvulaceae family can be either a problem or a delight. For us in the UK it is the Bindweed, and although it does have lovely flowers its roots are a huge problem to release from the soil. If they snap several more Bindweed grow up from the same spot. On the other hand morning glories behave nicely in the UK, but I understand in parts of the States they can go completely mad and cause problems.
DeleteThat grows down here like a weed, however it's very lovely. I hope you don't have too much trouble with it.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that is likely to be the case here - I have to pamper them.
Deletegood luck getting rid of them...however as a viewer I tend to find the white ones really cute (of course as long as not in my own garden)...happy new september-week+
ReplyDeleteJust the white and the small pink ones cause problems here. Luckily I do not have them in my garden.
DeleteBindweed is like Morning Glories a beauty, but please not in my garden. I have already to many and I cannot get rid of them, a nuisance.
ReplyDeleteThe bindweed flowers are lovely, but if you have it in your garden it is so difficult to cope with. I love my morning glories they are a pleasure in the garden.
DeleteMorning Glory is such a weed in Australia. It does have a beautiful blue flower but becomes rampant, taking over the garden and impossible to ged rid of. I'm glad it is well behaved for you however! x
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting isn't it? A delight for me here but a problem in Australia - thanks for that information. Hope you and your daughter are enjoying yourselves.
DeleteΙ think they are wonderful! Here you can only buy them in pots and the grow so beautifully.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for passing by my blog dear Rosemary
I've started on art school and together with work and family there is hardly any time to blog.
I will try though to keep contact - and even post something in between.
all my love
Dear Demie - I am so delighted for you to learn of that news - you have the talent, and it is lovely that you are going to explore it further. Good luck to you in your new endeavours - hear from you when you have the odd bit of spare time - take care, I shall still be here when you return.
DeleteHi Rosemary, I do understand as I have several invasive specimens in my garden. The morning glory is lovely. I made the mistake, once, of putting passion flower in the flower garden. It took me a long time to eradicate it. CC is having a hard time finding time to launch her blog. It may not happen. Thank you for your sweet comment about her leaving. Olive
ReplyDeleteHello Olive - I can well imagine that time is of the essence for CC and that she will have so much to do getting used to a new country, a totally new environment, and way of living. Good luck to her, and hope that she is settling down well.
DeleteGlorious morning glory :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog faithfully despite my frequent absences. I was in fact over in your part of the country this weekend... a walk circumventing Chedworth in the south Cotswolds... lovely area!
Great - did you take some photos? We did a walk around the Chedworth area ourselves with a local geology group a couple of years ago eventually ending up at the Roman Villa. Glad you enjoyed it.
DeleteLuckily we have never had bindweed growing in our garden. I was only admiring it this morning as I noticed an abundance of it, in the hedgerows as my husband drove to work. As always your pictures are delightful.
ReplyDeleteSarah x
It is lovely along the countryside hedgerows Sarah - we are fortunate that it does not grow in our garden either. I don't think it likes are oolitic limestone soil.
DeleteLike the soft blue.
ReplyDeleteGreetings,
Filip
It is like a wonderful summer sky Filip.
DeleteMorning Glory takes over here. They have large purple flowers. Your lovely blooms in gorgeous colours are so pretty. I like the way their white centres 'glow'. You have photographed them beautifully.
ReplyDeleteI think that this poses a question Betty - when is a weed a weed? and when is a garden flower a garden flower?
DeleteStunning pictures, Rosemary! Beautiful bloomers in so many colors. Your pictures are art!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely comment Satu - thank you very much I really appreciate it.
DeleteOh Miss Rosemary you have hit a raw nerve with this one. My delightful neighbour is not perhaps an regimented in weed control as we are here at Magical towers.
ReplyDeleteShe has a delightful garden and is keen on growing all manner of plants and vegetables but does not believe in digging the root of 'Granny-pops-out-of-bed' from the soil to eradiate it hence I have an annual battle keeping it at bay.
I don't feel it is right for me to tell others how they should garden so I continue with my efforts. I garden completely organically here but I have considered unravelling the escapees from her garden popping them in a large jar and dousing them with round up to finish them off once and for all!