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Alyssum maritimum -"Carpet of Snow" "Royal Carpet"
I just love the cascading affect of Sweet Alyssum over the edge of a pot or window box. It is even an excellent annual ground cover plant that spreads well, blooms
profusely, and will easily self seed if left alone. (HA: Summer - Autumn)
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Bean - "Scarlet Runner"
Do you need a fast climbing plant that produces many spears of red flowers followed by edible beans? This is the plant. Meow, I like to hide in its leaves and watch
the bumble bees work the flowers. And ocassionally jump out and attack Joe's legs when he is watering. (HA: Summer)
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Celosia plumosa - "Century Mix"
Meow!! HSsssss... Mindy & Joe must be feeding these plants radioactive fertilizer. The Celosia plants are monsters! Some of the plants are 3 feet tall!! By the
end of the summer, they may eclipse four feet. The plumes are nearing a foot themselves. Clearly, the seeds were not for the dwarf types. (HHA: Summer)
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Convolvulus tricolor - "Royal Ensign"
"Picture1"
Meow, the plants I love to roll on top of. Shhhhh... don't tell Joe, he thinks his seedlings are just doing poorly or damping off. Maybe I'll stop laying on them so
they will grow well and Joe can take a picture of the flowers."Royal Ensign" is a funnel-shaped deep blue with golden center flower. It is a relative of Morning Glory but grows bushy
rather than climbing. (HA: Summer)
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Digitalis purpurea - "Foxglove"
Ok, truth be known. Joe & Mindy don't have any in the garden. It is a wonderful flowering plant but poisionous. They just can't grow any where they are right now. But some day I'm
sure they will have some in the garden. (HB: Summer)
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Ipomoea tricolor - "Morning Glory" "Heavenly Blue"
Picture1, Picture2
The two pictures are borrowed. Joe & Mindy just planted their Morning Glory. It is replacing the burned to a crisp Sweet Peas. Nothing covers a fence, trellis, or
pole more quickly than morning glory. If I took too long, meow, of a nap near the plant...it would probably cover me too. (HHA: Summer)
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Lathyrus odoratus - "Sweet Pea"
Picture
Joe & Mindy just won't take the hint. Sweet peas just don't do well in the heat of Oklahoma. Even the heat tolerant varieties can't hack it. Joe & Mindy get
them growing well, fairly tall and ready to flower, but then summer hits them with 100 deg F. weather and the sweet peas cook. Did you know that Sweet Pea is a native of Sicily? (HA: Summer)
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Lobelia erinus - "Crystal Palace"
Meow!! Another good plant for a cascade of colors in window boxes and containers. It is not a bad edging plant either. It does tend to demand humus-enriched soil and
a little extra care. (HHA: Summer)
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Malope trifida - "Pink Queen"
"Picture1"
Sometimes people call this "Annual Mallow" (Lavatera). In reality it is not. Malope is only similar in appearance. This is one of this year's experiments.
Hopefully, it will be successful. (HA: July - October)
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Nicotiana - "Mixed Varieties" Pink/Purple
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Petunia hybrida- "Pink Multiflora" & "Red Multiflora"
Petunia Border,
Petunia1
Being a kitty, I sometimes can't get Joe & Mindy to practice good gardening. The exact petunia varities aren't known because Joe forgot to save the nursery tags.
Petunias are excellent bedding plants, of course, but also very useful in window boxes, containers, and hanging baskets. (HHA: Summer)
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Tagetes patula - "Marigold"
"Calico Queen Sophia"
If you ask me, (and you should learn "Cat Meow" language
first to do so) marigolds stink. They actually produce a smell that many pests don't like. Thus, they can help protect other plants. Besides, they bloom profusely, grow bushy on their own, and are an easy garden annual to grow from seed. (HHA: Summer)
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Thunbergia alata - "Black Eyed Climbing Vine"
"Picture1", "Picture2"
One of the best pot plants for covering a large area quickly and for providing summer color. A few seeds sown in early spring will produce enough plants to cover a
screen of trellis with twining stems several feet long. Throughout the summer the brown throated flowers appear, with petals of white, yellow, and/or orange. There is also a white throated variety.
It does best in sheltered partial shade of the deep south or a greenhouse. (HHA/GA: Midsummer - Early Autumn)
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Torenia fournieri - "Grandifloria" "Compacta Blue" "Clown Burgundy"
The flowers are quite unmistakable. The face of each bloom is violet with dark purple lower lip and a distinctive yellow blotch. Actually, Mindy and Joe grew this in
last year's garden and while it had wonderful flowers, it grew rather straggly, and seemed rather picky. It would probably do best in a greenhouse. (GA: Midsummer - Mid Autumn)
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Tropaelum major - "Nasturtium"
Scarlet Red, Cherry
We have many varieties of Nasturium growing. There is "Cherry Rose," "Fiery Festival," and "Canary Yellow." We have one odd ball this
year that has produced probably the prettiest scarlet red flowers. (Picture linked above.) And did you know "Capers" are pickled Nasturium seeds? In fact almost every part of the plant is
edible. MmmmMMmmm... good and ZESTY. (HA: Midsummer - Mid-Autumn)
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Verbena hybrida - "Verbena" Pink & White,
Strong Solid Red
Annual verbena is easy to grow, tolerant of low water, and will bloom profusely if you remember to dead head. Verbena is a wonderful butterfly plant. It always seems
to attract a crowd. Bumble bees, butterflies, and moth hawks love this plant. And, watch out, if you plant a lot of red verbena, you will have hummingbirds defending the plants. Meow....hummingbirds
are too fast for this cat. (HHA: Summer - Autumn)
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Viola tricolor - "Pansy" "Heartsease" Pansy Border, Frilly Red Pansy, Orange & Purple
, Johnny Jump Ups
Actually Pansies are hardy biennials (HB) or perennials (P), but we tend to grow them like our annual plants. Pansies tend to prefer the cooler weather of early
spring and late autumn. The Johnny Jump-Ups were a volunteer from a neighbors garden. (HB/P: Early Spring, Late Autumn)
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